Mark Pickerel is an American musician best known as the original drummer for the alternative rock band

Screaming Trees Screaming Trees was an American rock band formed in Ellensburg, Washington, in 1984 by vocalist Mark Lanegan, guitarist Gary Lee Conner, bass player Van Conner, and drummer Mark Pickerel. Pickerel had been replaced by Barrett Martin by the tim ...

. He is also an active session musician and has released several solo albums as a singer/guitarist.

Biography

Originally from

Ellensburg, Washington Ellensburg is a city in and the county seat of Kittitas County, Washington, United States. It is located just east of the Cascade Range near the junction of Interstate 90 and Interstate 82 Interstate 82 (I-82) is an Interstate Highway in th ...

, Pickerel was a high school acquaintance of

Van Conner Van Conner (born March 17, 1967) is an American rock musician, best known as the bassist for Screaming Trees. Career As a bass player in high school, Conner formed the band Explosive Generation with his brother Gary Lee Conner and Mark Picke ...

and

Gary Lee Conner Gary Lee Conner (born Lee Gary Conner, August 22, 1962) is an American rock musician, best known as the guitarist and primary songwriter for Screaming Trees. Career Originally from Ellensburg, Washington, Conner formed the band Explosive Gene ...

, and the three formed the band Explosive Generation with Pickerel on drums and vocals. Several years after graduation, the trio formed

with singer

Mark Lanegan Mark William Lanegan (November 25, 1964 – February 22, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet. First becoming prominent as the lead singer for the early grunge band Screaming Trees, he was also known as a member of Queens of the St ...

in 1985 (by this time Pickerel no longer performed lead vocals). The band soon moved to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

to join that city's burgeoning

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

scene. During this period, Pickerel participated in recording sessions with several bands in the Seattle scene; some of these later appeared on Lanegan's solo album ''

The Winding Sheet ''The Winding Sheet'' is the debut studio album by alternative rock artist Mark Lanegan. It was released on May 1, 1990 on Sub Pop. The album was Lanegan's first solo work, and is notable in its departure from the characteristic sound of Screamin ...

'' and on the

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

rarities compilation ''

With the Lights Out ''With the Lights Out'' is a box set by the American rock band Nirvana released in November 2004. It contains three CDs and one DVD of previously rare or unreleased material, including B-sides, demos, and rehearsal and live recordings. The title ...

''. Pickerel played on five studio albums with Screaming Trees, but quit the band in 1991 just before they began recording their breakthrough album '' Sweet Oblivion''. He was replaced by

Barrett Martin Barrett Martin (born April 14, 1967) is an American record producer, percussionist, writer, and ethnomusicologist from Washington. As a producer he has won one Latin Grammy and has been nominated in two other categories. As an ethnomusicologist ...

. Pickerel then formed the band Truly with former

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yamamo ...

bassist

Hiro Yamamoto Hiro Yamamoto (born April 13, 1961) is an American bassist who was a founding member of grunge band Soundgarden, along with Kim Thayil and Chris Cornell in 1984. He left the band in 1989, and two years later, he started the independent rock ban ...

and singer/guitarist Robert Roth. Truly released two studio albums before splitting in 1997. Pickerel next switched to guitar and vocals and formed the band The Dark Fantastic in 1997; this band released two albums before splitting in 2001. During this period he was also an active session musician, appearing on records by Lanegan,

Neko Case Neko Richelle Case (; born September 8, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and member of the Canadian indie rock group the New Pornographers. Case has a powerful, untrained contralto voice, which has been described by contemporaries and cri ...

Steve Fisk Steve Fisk is an American, Washington-based audio engineer, record producer and musician. As a musician, he has been in bands such as the instrumental alternative/indie rock band Pell Mell and the electronic band Pigeonhed. He has long been as ...

Jim Carroll James Dennis Carroll (August 1, 1949 – September 11, 2009) was an American author, poet, autobiographer, and punk musician. Carroll was best known for his 1978 autobiographical work '' The Basketball Diaries'', which inspired a 1995 film of ...

, and

Pigeonhed Pigeonhed is an American electronic band from Seattle that combines elements of funk, soul, trip hop, and lo-fi. The band is a collaboration of Shawn Smith and Steve Fisk, that released three albums during the period from 1993 to 1997. They ...

. In 2004 Pickerel formed a singer-songwriter project called Mark Pickerel and His Praying Hands. The 2006 album '' Snake in the Radio'' under this name received positive reviews for its eclectic mix of

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

and

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

elements. The latest album by Mark Pickerel and His Praying Hands, ''Rebel in the Rearview'', was released in 2021. Pickerel has also owned and operated various record shops, and currently runs RoadTrip Records in Ellensburg.

Discography

;Solo *'' Snake in the Radio'' (2006) *''Cody's Dream'' (2008) *''Tess'' (2013) *''Rebel in the Rearview'' (2021) ;Brandi Carlile *''

Brandi Carlile Brandi Marie Carlile ( ; born June 1, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and producer whose music spans many genres, including folk rock, alternative country, Americana, and classic rock. , Carlile has released seven studio albums. She has ...

'' (2005) ;Screaming Trees *''

Clairvoyance Clairvoyance (; ) is the magical ability to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through extrasensory perception. Any person who is claimed to have such ability is said to be a clairvoyant () ("one who sees cl ...

'' (1986) *'' Even If and Especially When'' (1987) *''

Invisible Lantern ''Invisible Lantern'' is the third studio album by alternative rock band Screaming Trees, released in 1988 on SST Records. Critical reception ''Trouser Press'' wrote that "the Trees’ pop streak matures with 'Smokerings' and especially the marv ...

'' (1988) *''

Buzz Factory ''Buzz Factory'' is the fourth studio album by Seattle based band the Screaming Trees, released in the spring of 1989. It was their final record for SST Records before they moved on to their major label debut. The LP itself was available on trans ...

'' (1989) *''

Change Has Come ''Change Has Come'' is the second EP by the Screaming Trees. It was the only recording the band released through Sub Pop. After its 1990 release, the Screaming Trees moved on to a major label, Epic Records, for their next three albums - ''Uncle ...

'' (1990) *''

Uncle Anesthesia ''Uncle Anesthesia'' is the fifth studio album by the American band Screaming Trees. It was released in 1991 via Epic Records. It includes three of the four tracks from the band's previous Epic release, '' Something About Today''. " Bed of Roses ...

'' (1991) ;Truly *''

Heart and Lungs ''Heart and Lungs'' is an EP by the American rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places U ...

'' EP (1991) *'' Fast Stories... from Kid Coma'' (1995) *'' Feeling You Up'' (1997) *''Subject to Change: Artists for a Hate-Free America (1997) compilation *'' Twilight Curtains'' (2000) ;The Tripwires *''Makes You Look Around'' (2008) *''House to House'' (2009) ;The Dark Fantastic * ''The Dark Fantastic'' (1999) * ''Goodbye Crooked Scar'' (2001) ;Mark Lanegan *''

'' (1990) *''

Whiskey for the Holy Ghost ''Whiskey for the Holy Ghost'' is the second solo album by former Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan. The album builds upon the roots music foundation that Lanegan had established with his debut ''The Winding Sheet''. Recording The recording ...

'' (1994) *'' I'll Take Care of You'' (1999) ;Nirvana *''

'' (2004) *'' Sliver: The Best of the Box'' (2005) ;Carrie Akre *'' ...Last the Evening'' (2007)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pickerel, Mark Screaming Trees members Truly members People from Ellensburg, Washington Musicians from Washington (state) American rock drummers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Bloodshot Records artists The Tripwires members