"When I first heard his new album, I thought, "Something's wrong here," laughs Mark Lanegan's bosom buddy Greg Dulli from the Afghan Whigs. "Mark sounds happy for the first time. I said to him, 'Dude, what's the matter with you?' And he said, 'I guess I'm completely satisfied with myself and the world.'" No wonder, at 52 Mark Lanegan has reached the point he always dreamed of, both professionally and privately. He is in a steady, stable relationship, renounces nicotine, alcohol and drugs, lives in a nice little house in Glendale, a bourgeois corner of Greater Los Angeles, has two dogs and two cats as child replacements and can live very well from his music.
After all, the former frontman of the Screaming Trees releases a new indie album every two to three years, is regularly on tour and also plays on countless recordings of friends and acquaintances. Proud balance of his fulfilled artistic existence: ten solo albums and guest appearances on over 50 others. "I've never done it for money, but always because I love music and because it fills me with pride to be invited by colleagues I admire."
