?And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead is an art rock band best known for its heavy yet anthemic music, frequently compared to bands such as Sonic Youth, The Who and Unwound. They have gained notoriety for destroying their equipment during performances, a tradition associated with The Who, Nirvana, and many other bands. According to the band's website, their name is taken from an ancient Mayan ritual chant which shows a striking similarity to an ancient Egyptian chant
[1] (see also Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact). However, this explanation is said to be merely an ongoing joke
[2]. The chief creative elements of the band are Jason Reece and Conrad Keely. The two switch between drumming and lead vocals and guitar, both on their records and during their shows. (On some songs, former bass player Neil Busch sang lead vocals).
Formation
Keely and Reece have been friends since their youth, meeting originally in Hawaii. Reece is said to have won a competition as best drummer in Hawaii while living there. They each formed their first band in 1993, soon after moving to Olympia, Washington, where Keely studied at The Evergreen State College. Keely started a band called Benedict Gehlen that only lasted a year. Nancyville was Keely's next project, though it also was short-lived. Reece started with Honeybucket and then formed queercore band Mukilteo Fairies while living in Olympia. Dissatisfied with the northwest, the two ventured south to Austin, Texas and started playing as a duo under the moniker, You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. The band expanded to include guitarist Kevin Allen and bassist Neil Busch. They then officially lengthened their name to ?And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. Conrad's girlfriend from Olympia, Deanne Rowley (now Deanne McAdams), of Plain Jane, Pro-Ex Marauders, and currently Leopards (and occasionally Dead Air Fresheners), briefly played with them as a back-up guitarist, but never appeared on any recordings. Sometimes the band is known by the shorter names, ?Trail of Dead or Trail of Dead.
History
By 1995, they had issued their first release (one song on cassette-only compilation called Austin Live Houses Golden Hour Records), followed by another self-titled four song cassette on Golden Hour, and in January 1998 a self-titled full-length on Trance Syndicate. On October 30, 1998, the band's tour bus, and all equipment, was stolen after a live show in New Orleans, forcing the cancellation of a planned European tour.Trail of Dead soon moved on to Merge after the Trance label went defunct. The band released
Madonna on Merge in late 1999, and toured the U.S. opening for labelmates Superchunk to promote it.
Madonna became a moderate success and garnered the band major-label interest. They signed to Interscope Records after the label's president, Jimmy Iovine, read about them in a magazine. Their first major-label release was the
Relative Ways EP in 2001.
In early 2002, the Trail of Dead released
Source Tags & Codes to immediate critical acclaim, making numerous critics' year-end top 10 lists. A follow-up EP to
Source Tags & Codes was released in April of 2003, titled
The Secret of Elena's Tomb. The EP featured more adventurous and experimental songs, namely the electronic track "Intelligence," which featured and was co-written by Tyler Jacobson from A Roman Scandal, Reece's other band.
Keely falsely stated in a 2003 interview that he was engaged to actress Juliette Lewis in 2003. In July 2004 it was announced that Neil Busch was ejected from the band for persistent heroin abuse and Danny Wood had taken his place on bass. Second drummer/percussionist Doni Schroader also joined the band around this time.
Trail of Dead released
Worlds Apart on January 25, 2005.
So Divided was released on November 14, 2006.
In late Summer of 2007, the Trail of Dead once again toured Europe, this time with drummer Aaron Ford replacing Doni Schroader.
[http://pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/44565-trail-of-dead-announce-replacement-drummer] After their overseas tour ended on March 15, 2007, the Trail of Dead returned to the studio to begin recording their 6th record.
[[3]][http://trailofdead.com/news.aspx] For the time being, the status of the album is unknown. The band is currently without a label, having recently left Interscope Records. The Trail of Dead has recently welcomed new members Clay on piano and Jay on bass.
Discography
Albums
- ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead (20 January 1998)
- Madonna (October 19, 1999)
- Source Tags & Codes (February 26, 2002)
- Worlds Apart (January 24, 2005)
- So Divided (November 14, 2006)
Singles
- 2000 "Mistakes & Regrets" UK #69
- 2002 "Another Morning Stoner" UK #54
- 2002 "Relative Ways" UK #84
- 2005 "And the Rest Will Follow" UK #77
- 2006 "A Classic Art Showcase" UK Download Chart #49
EPs
- Self-titled CD-R (Oct. 1998, self-released) (Limited edition of 60; all three songs would later appear on Madonna)
- Relative Ways (November 6, 2001)
- The Secret of Elena's Tomb (April 1, 2003)
Music videos
- "Mistakes & Regrets"
- "Relative Ways"
- "Another Morning Stoner"
- "All St. Day" (on Worlds Apart's bonus DVD)
- "The Rest Will Follow"
- "Caterwaul"
- "Naked Sun"
Members
- Conrad Keely - Vocals, guitar, drums, piano
- Jason Reece - Drums, vocals, guitar
- Kevin Allen - Guitar, vocals
- Danny Wood - Bass, vocals
- Doni Schroeder - Drums, percussion
Reviews
