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And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead Information
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'And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead' is an indie rock band best known for their heavy yet anthemic music and their tendency to destroy their equipment at the end of their performances (a rock and roll tradition usually associated with The Who). According to the band's website, the name "¦And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead" is taken from an ancient Mayan ritual chant. The chief creative element of the band consists of 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, bass player Neil Busch sings lead vocals).
Keely and Reece have been friends since their youth, meeting originally in Hawaii. They each formed their first band in 1993 soon after moving to Olympia, Washington. 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 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 changed their name to And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead" (adding the conjunction and then the ellipsis for effect). Sometimes the band is known by the shorter name Trail of Dead;.
By 1998 they had issued their first release (a live cassette on local Golden Hour Records), a self-titled full-length on Trance Syndicate.
thumb|left|Conrad Keely
Trail of Dead moved on to Merge after the Trance label went defunct. The band released Madonna on Merge in the fall of 1999.
Madonna became a moderate success and garnered the band major-label interest. The band signed to Interscope Records after the label's president, Jimmy Iovine, read about them in a magazine. They quickly released the Relative Ways EP in 2001.
In early 2002, Trail of Dead released Source Tags & Codes to immediate critical acclaim, and made 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 took some by surprise for some of its more adventurous and experimental songs, namely the electronic track "Intelligence" which was pulled from Reece's side-project A Roman Scandal.
In November of 2005, it was announced that Neil Busch had left the band and Danny Wood had taken his place on bass. 2nd drummer/percussionist Doni Schroader also joined the band around this time.
Trail of Dead released Worlds Apart on January 25, 2005. Keyboardist David Longoria was added to the lineup soon afterwards.
In their short history they've had considerable influence on the post-rock scene, with bands such as Peace Burial at Sea frequently namedropping them.
The art on the album disks and booklets is done by Conrad Keely and his longtime collaborator James Olsen. They have occasionally exhibited their original artwork, in college and recently on September 24, 2005 in Austin.
Taping, recording, and trading
And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead has the following taping and trading policy:
The band appreciates taping as long as they get a copy of the show. Board access is no problem as long as they are consulted beforehand. Policy may be venue-dependent though.
On July 19, 2004 Trail of Dead gave their OK for inclusion in the Internet Archive.
Discography
*...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead (1998)
*Madonna (2001)
*Source Tags & Codes (2002)
*The Secret of Elena's Tomb (2003)
*Worlds Apart (2005)
Members
*Conrad Keely - Vocals, Guitar, Drums, Piano
*Jason Reece - Drums, Vocals, Guitar
*Kevin Allen - Guitar, Vocals
*Danny Wood - Bass, Vocals
*Doni Schroader - Drums, Percussion
*David Longoria - Keyboards
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