Van Conner

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title: "Van Conner" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1967-births", "2023-deaths", "20th-century-american-bass-guitarists", "20th-century-american-male-musicians", "american-rock-bass-guitarists", "american-male-bass-guitarists", "screaming-trees-members", "people-from-apple-valley,-california", "grunge-musicians"] description: "American rock musician (1967–2023)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Conner" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American rock musician (1967–2023) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]

Field	Value
name	Van Conner
image	Van Conner with Screaming Trees (1980s SST promo photo) (cropped).jpg
caption	Conner with Screaming Trees in the 1980s
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth_date
birth_place	Apple Valley, California, U.S.
death_date
genre	Grunge, psychedelic rock, alternative rock
occupation	Musician
years_active	1984–2023
instrument
label	Velvetone Records, SST, Epic, Small Stone
past_member_of	{{Flatlist
::

| name = Van Conner | image = Van Conner with Screaming Trees (1980s SST promo photo) (cropped).jpg | caption = Conner with Screaming Trees in the 1980s | background = non_vocal_instrumentalist | birth_date = | birth_place = Apple Valley, California, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | genre = Grunge, psychedelic rock, alternative rock | occupation = Musician | years_active = 1984–2023 | instrument = | label = Velvetone Records, SST, Epic, Small Stone | past_member_of = {{Flatlist|

• Screaming Trees
• Gardener
• VALIS
• Solomon Grundy | website =

Van Patrick Conner (March 17, 1967 – January 17, 2023) was 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 Pickerel. That band later evolved into Screaming Trees with the addition of singer Mark Lanegan in 1985. The band moved from their native Ellensburg, Washington to Seattle in the late 1980s to join that city's burgeoning alternative rock scene. Conner played on seven studio albums with Screaming Trees until the band split in 2000.

While he was with Screaming Trees, Conner formed the side project Solomon Grundy, in which he performed lead vocals and guitar. That band released an album in 1990, and during that period Conner also joined a live lineup of Dinosaur Jr. He later formed another side project called Gardener, which released an album in 1999. After the breakup of Screaming Trees, Conner worked as a session musician and had formed several additional alternative rock bands, including VALIS and Musk Ox.

Illness and death

In December 2021, Conner fell into a comatose state after suffering complications from emergency stomach surgery. While hospitalized, Conner also contracted an infection of COVID-19, severely worsening his condition. Conner would continue to struggle with respiratory and mobility issues for the rest of his life.

Conner died from pneumonia on January 17, 2023, at the age of 55.

Selected discography

For his work with Screaming Trees, see Screaming Trees discography.

• Solomon Grundy (Solomon Grundy, 1990)
• New Dawning Time (Gardener, 1999)
• Vast Active Living Intelligence System (VALIS, 2002)
• *Head Full of Pills * (VALIS, 2004)
• Dark Matter (VALIS, 2009)
• Minds Through Space and Time (VALIS, 2012)
• Coming Back Again (Van Conner, 2018)

References

References

1. "ALL I KNOW". American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
2. "Screaming Trees Biography, Songs, & Albums".
3. Wilding, Philip. (June 20, 2016). "Screaming Trees: Grunge's Nearly Men".
4. "Solomon Grundy Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More".
5. (April 21, 2019). "Shadows of the Season. Looking Back at Screaming Trees' Sweet Oblivion with Gary Lee Conner".
6. Mundy, Chris. (April 18, 1991). "Dinosaur Jr. Pull Guitar Rock Back From the Brink".
7. "Gardener Biography, Songs, & Albums".
8. Barbrick, Greg. (May 17, 2013). "Music Review: VALIS - Minds Through Space and Time [Colored Vinyl Edition]".
9. Diamond, Lee J.. "Album Review: Valis - Minds Through Space and Time".
10. "Screaming Trees Co-Founder and Bassist Van Conner Dead at 55".
11. (January 18, 2023). "Van Conner, Screaming Trees Bassist and Co-Founder, Dies at 55".
12. Starr Bowenbank. (January 18, 2023). "Van Conner, Screaming Trees Co-Founder & Bassist, Dies at 55".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::