Whether you describe it as the dichotomy between high-fi and lo-fi, or '70s classic versus indie, the two rawk schools – let's call them old school and no school-tend to be mutually exclusive. Strangely enough, the Screaming Trees are a product of both. From their very first album, the band's fondness for the kind of melodic '60s psychedelia that begat progressive rock was very much in evidence. So ten years later, nobody should be surprised that the Trees have followed a similar path, giving birth to their 1996 entry into the world of true classic rock-dom, called Dust, a marvelously grandiose album of dark anthems and sweet melodies produced by George Drakoulias (Black Crowes, Jayhawks, Tom Petty) and mixed by Andy Wallace. Mark Lanegan's deep, warm vocals anchor the ship as usual, accompanied by the larger-than-life brothers of Gary Lee Conner on guitar and Van Conner on bass and, as with 1992's Sweet Oblivion, Barrett Martin provides the driving rhythms. What might seem strange, however, is the path the Trees took on their way to the main stage of the 1996 old school Lollapalooza rock'n'roll roadshow.

In 1987, after two independent recordings, Other Worlds (1985) and Clairvoyance (1986), the Screaming Trees signed with SST in the midst of the label's heyday, joining a roster that included fIREHOSE, Hüsker Dü and Sonic Youth. All of the Trees' early work was produced by Steve Fisk, an artist who was similarly able to straddle the great divide between simple sonic purity and the sculpting power of the studio. A studio hound himself, Fisk constructed his own solo material by tape splicing found sounds in the spirit of Negativland, while producing the likes of Nirvana and Soundgarden, in addition to the most no-fi and DIY of the lot, Beat Happening. One of the Screaming Trees' most peculiar albums is a day-long recording session with Beat Happening that was released in 1988 on Homestead.

"We did it both ways with [Steve Fisk]," agrees Trees guitarist Gary Lee Conner. "We did four albums and an EP with him. On Clairvoyance, which is in really limited release because it's only available on vinyl, we wanted a big rock sound with a big drum sound. We actually did things then that Andy Wallace does now, like triggering white noise for the snare and tones for the kick. As we went on, we kept trying to make things sound better, or different, and by the time we did [1988's] Invisible Lantern, we ended up cranking the guitar and the vocals as loud as we fucking could. So we got frustrated after a while, because we really wanted to do better sounding records, but with the 8-track and the studio room we were kind of limited. That's when we started working with Jack Endino."

1989's Buzz Factory, produced by Endino, was the band's final release for SST. Uncle Anesthesia (1991) and Sweet Oblivion (1992) followed the band's signing to Epic. Although the songwriting was superior on Uncle Anesthesia, it was the Don Fleming-produced Sweet Oblivion that provided them with the majestic sounds they'd been seeking, while giving the band their first taste of commercial radio airplay. As it turned out, Dust was actually their second attempted follow-up to Sweet Oblivion – the first was ditched after disappointing recording sessions with Fleming. Finally the band agreed that they would work with someone they'd been talking to for quite some time, George Drakoulias, yet the recording delay continued.

"Last summer he was doing a Tom Petty box set so he couldn't do it until the fall," explains Gary Lee. "In the meantime, it turned out to be a godsend, since we wrote half the album after that. We definitely picked the best songs that we had and I can't think of any songs that didn't turn out way better [than the demos]."

There is no question that Dust is the band's most consistent and fully realized album to date, and it is the songs themselves that make Dust such a timeless rock album. It kicks off with the heavily orchestrated, East Indian-inspired "Halo of Ashes," complete with coral sitar and tablas. On "Dying Days," Mark Lanegan's wonderfully timbred soulful growl takes on the guise of Joe Cocker, while "Sworn And Broken" is a true cigarette-lighter stadium ballad. The melodic elements of the band's craft are now front and centre, as heard on the insanely catchy "All That I Know," the exquisite harmonies of "Make My Mind," and the drum-free Beatlesque pop of "Traveler," with its Mellotron-driven flute and strings played by Benmont Tench.

"That's my favourite thing on the record," enthuses Gary Lee. "It's two Mellotrons at one time. Benmont Tench from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers played all the keyboards on the record. He's just amazing. We were totally lucky to get him. It just brings that added spark because he's such an amazing musician." Then, flashing his no school roots, Gary Lee downplays the importance of his own musicianship: "I consider myself more of a songwriter, as opposed to being just a guitar player. The reason I play guitar is to write songs, and I'm not a very technical guitar player. I've gotten to the point now where I can do stuff that sounds cool, but to duplicate it is the problem. I'm definitely no Eddie Van Halen."

At their live performances you're more likely to see brothers Van and Gary Lee rolling around on the floor than performing lightning fast licks, and at this year's Lollapalooza, even the pair's on-stage acrobatics were at a minimum, although Van did manage to spend a large part of his time on the floor, due to his unbelievably inebriated state, chugging Jagermeister like beer and distributing cigarettes to the kids in the mosh pit. In the meantime Mark Lanegan hugged the mic stand, motionless, while Gary Lee played his heart out, strutting down the stage's side walkway, knee pads ready for the occasional somersault. After the show, he wasn't too concerned about the band's performance and his brother's debauchery. "Lollapalooza is really a tool to promote your band, especially when you're playing earlier slots. With the second stage bands it's the same way. I've been over to the second stage and sometimes there's not anybody fuckin' watching or maybe just a few people. But it's the press and the visibility. We learned that with the Spin Doctors tour – the show is not the whole thing with a tour like this." Ironically, at this point the record company tells Gary Lee that it's time for a TV interview. "I thought the other guys were going to do it," he says and turning to me, "they usually don't have me doing that stuff." But off he goes, because that's why he's here and after all, selling rock music is what the old school knows best.

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