Valis

In 1996, following the final <a href="spotify:artist:3Ukr3Ufjg8ygRJv7Ww887f">Screaming Trees</a> album, Dust, bassist Van Conner formed a loud, spaced-out psychedelic metal band called Valis, with himself on lead vocals and guitar. When it became clear that <a href="spotify:artist:3Ukr3Ufjg8ygRJv7Ww887f">the Trees</a>' hiatus was likely to become permanent, Conner focused his attention on his onetime side project, which took its name from a <a href="spotify:artist:4NCU7Ke4zRYtTYe3VR5A97">Philip K. Dick</a> novel. The remainder of the group also had a strong Seattle pedigree: brother and guitarist Patrick Conner had been playing in Kitty Kitty; bassist Kurt Danielson had been a member of <a href="spotify:artist:2mncWLPUUFpNvBLkHzTsDO">Tad</a>; and Dan Peters had drummed for several Seattle notables, including <a href="spotify:artist:2mlDM1k4J5XijZKXALxhDT">the Fastbacks</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:43wwctvUaVOoEHEijQ8NpF">Love Battery</a>, and his full-time gig, <a href="spotify:artist:7LuYiSXiWs86rwWJjEEgB9">Mudhoney</a>. They started gigging around the Northwest in 1997, and the following year they released a split EP with Kitty Kitty on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Man%27s+Ruin%22">Man's Ruin</a> label. Peters subsequently returned to <a href="spotify:artist:7LuYiSXiWs86rwWJjEEgB9">Mudhoney</a>, and was replaced by Kitty Kitty drummer Sean Hollister. As the members took time to focus on other projects, Valis fell by the wayside for a time, but they kicked back into gear in 2001, when they added keyboard and guitar-synth player Wes Weresch and signed with the Swedish label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Luna+Sound%22">Luna Sound</a>. In 2002, they issued their first widely available album, Vast Active Living Intelligence System, by which time Adrian Makins had replaced Danielson on bass. Van Conner died on January 17, 2023, from pneumonia; he was 55 years old. ~ Steve Huey, Rovi