Clint Conley

Clint Conley
Background information
Born	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Genres	Post-punk, Alternative Rock
Instrument(s)	Bass guitar, Guitar, Vocals
Labels	Ace of Hearts Records (US)

Clinton J. Conley is an American post-punk musician and journalist from Boston, Massachusetts, best known as a co-founder, bassist, and vocalist of Mission of Burma.^[1][2][3]

Early life and education

Conley was born in Boston, Massachusetts and graduated from the University of Rochester in 1977.^[4]

Career

Mission of Burma was active from 1979 to 1983.^[1] They found only limited success when signed to Ace of Hearts Records, but they have been re-assessed as one of the more influential American post-punk groups of their era.^[5] The band was cited as an influence for Pixies, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam. When the group broke up in 1983, Conley dropped out of music almost entirely for over a decade, earning a master's degree in broadcast journalism and going to work as a producer for WCVB-TV's news magazine program, Chronicle.^[6][7] He did, however, produce Yo La Tengo's 1986 debut album, Ride the Tiger.

With Mission of Burma, Conley played bass guitar and occasional guitar, and wrote and sang some of the group's best-known songs, such as "That's When I Reach For My Revolver" and "Academy Fight Song"—songs that often had an anthemic sing-along quality.^[1] Conley's bass work often featured double stops and chords.

In 2001, Conley formed a new group, Consonant, as lead vocalist and now playing primarily guitar. They released two albums. Conley said that playing in a band again helped him be more receptive to the idea of returning to his old one.^[8]

In 2002, Conley reunited with Roger Miller and Peter Prescott, and with Bob Weston of Shellac replacing original member Martin Swope, they began performing and recording as Mission of Burma.^[2] They released four albums before announcing they had disbanded again in 2020.^[9]

References

1. Milner, Greg (July 9, 2002). "The undeniable truth about Burma". Salon. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
2. Smyers, Darryl (July 22, 2011). "Q&A: Mission of Burma's Clint Conley on Why His Band is Unlike The Pixies". Dallas Observer. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
3. "Mission Of Burma: The Story Begins Again". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
4. Arthur, Christian. "Interview with Clint Conley, Bassist for Influential Boston Band Mission of Burma". The Mass Media. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
5. Robbins, Ira; Smith, Jason. "Mission of Burma". Retrieved February 13, 2020. During its original existence, Mission of Burma was one of the most important American bands surviving outside the major-label record industry.
6. McCally, Karen. "Resolution: Mission of Burma is a Rock Legend". University of Rochester Alumni Gazette. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
7. Carly Carioli (May 16, 2002). "Consonant come of age". Boston Phoenix. Archived from the original on October 10, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
8. Franklin Bruno (August 14, 2002). "Play It Loud, Real Real Loud". LA Weekly.
9. Sullivan, Jim (June 19, 2020). "Bidding A Quiet Adieu To Cacophonous Post-Punk Band Mission Of Burma". WBUR-FM. Retrieved June 20, 2020.

External links

• Clint Conley on Twitter