| Clint Conley | |
| Birth Place: | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Associated Acts: | Mission of Burma Consonant |
| Instrument: | Bass guitar, Guitar, Vocals |
| Label: | Ace of Hearts Records (US) |
| Genre: | Post-punk, Alternative Rock |
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]
Conley was born in Boston, Massachusetts and graduated from the University of Rochester in 1977.[2]
Mission of Burma was active from 1979 to 1983. 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.[3] 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.[4] [5] 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.[6] 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.[7]
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.[8] They released four albums before announcing they had disbanded again in 2020.[9]