Title:        "Mark Lanegan on Jeffrey Lee Pierce"
Author:       Chris Morris
Source:       Billboard
Date:         August 15, 1998


FLAG WAVING: Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan has never been the most
prolific solo artist.

Lanegan admits with a chuckle, "If I have the time and money, I'll spend
forever fuckin' around with records. I hate finishing 'em."

However, his fans can celebrate: His third Sub Pop solo album, "Scraps
At Midnight," has just hit the stores. It arrives a mere four years after
the superb "Whiskey For The Holy Ghost" and eight years after his solo
debut, "The Winding Sheet." Surprisingly, some other records may not be
far behind.

To record the new album, Lanegan literally went into the desert. At the
recommendation of ex-Kyuss guitarist Josh Homme and Masters Of Reality
guitarist/vocalist Chris Goss-both of whom have long cut their music in
the arid Palm Springs, Calif., area-Lanegan recorded "Scraps" at a remote
studio in the California high-desert town of Joshua Tree.

Lanegan, who splits his time between Seattle and Pasadena, Calif., these
days, says, "It was good for me to get away from distractions. . . [Homme
and Goss] said it would be good for me, to get focus. The place is reflected
in the music."

"Scraps," which was co-produced by Lanegan and his longtime collaborator
ex-Dinosaur Jr bassist Mike Johnson, is a more full-blooded version of
its somber predecessors. The singer again delivers a brace of powerful,
introspective songs (see "Hell Black Ocean," "Last One In The World," and
"Because Of This"), beautifully embellished by Johnson's guitar work. (Old
Tad fans will enjoy the presence of Tad Doyle on drums on the track
"Wheels.")

Lanegan's parched, affecting vocals betray a number of musical precursors,
but he offers a surprising name when asked about his key influence.

"Jeffrey Lee Pierce is God to me and the biggest influence on me," he says,
referring to the late lead singer of the Gun Club, who died in 1996. "For
me, I'm sure I never would have even made music [without his example] .
. . When I first heard the Gun Club, it was one of the first things that
spoke to me."

Lanegan and Pierce collaborated on some songs before the bandleader's death,
and Lanegan is recording some of them for his next album, which will again
feature Johnson's participation. "I'm throwing in the kitchen sink on the
new one," he says.

While he says that the next solo album probably won't arrive soon, he is
planning to release an EP of covers. "I was doing some British Bsides,
and covers is what I do for Bsides," he explains. The set will include
songs originated by such diverse talents as Eddie Floyd, Bobby Blue Bland,
and Tim Hardin.


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