The founding members were brothers Gary Lee Conner (guitars) and Van Conner (bass), vocalist Mark Lanegan, and drummer Mark Pickerel. They recorded several records on the SST record label between 1985 and 1989, culminating in the anthology SST Years 1985-1989. Pickerel left after their major label debut, Uncle Anesthesia, in late 1991, and was replaced by Barrett Martin. They achieved some commercial success with their final two albums, 1992's Sweet Oblivion and Dust. This was driven in part by the song "Nearly Lost You", which appeared on the movie soundtrack, Singles.
All members have moved on to other musical projects, with Mark Lanegan's being the most noteworthy. He has released several highly acclaimed solo recordings, and is now a part-time member of Queens of the Stone Age.