…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead is an indie rock band that was formed in 1994 by Jason Reece and Conrad Keely. The two met in Hawaii and later both moved to Olympia, Washington where several different bands took shape and fell such as Benedict Gehlan, Nancyville and Honeybucket. Also during this time period the queercore band the Mukilteo Fairies was started up by Reece, and although short lived, some of the songs are reaching cult status. It was only until the duo found themselves in Austin, Texas that ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead formed, with the conjunction and ellipsis being added shortly after being formed. It was also in Austin that both Kevin Allen and Neil Busch joined the band as Guitarist and Bassist respectively. After issuing a live cassette on the local Golden Hour label, the group already legendary in indie circles for their anarchic concert sets and their habit of smashing and wrecking their equipment at the end of shows much like the band The Who, released their self-titled full-length debut on Trance Syndicate in early 1998. After Trance Syndicate went under, Trail of Dead moved to Merge for their next release Madonna. Then it was on to Interscope for Source tags & Codes, which was critically acclaimed and made several top ten lists. Then came The Secret of Elena's Tomb, which was shocking to many with its more adventurous and experimental songs. In July 2004 it was announced that Neil Busch had left the band and Danny Wood had taken his place on bass. Second drummer/percussionist Doni Schroader also joined the band around this time. Afterward came Worlds Apart, which only garnered lackluster sales at best. Keyboardist David Longoria was added to the lineup soon afterwords, despite the fact that sales were bad enough on Worlds Apart to almost disband the group. However, they have recently found new inspiration and released So Divided in 2006. The name "…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead" is supposed to be from a Mayan ritual chant which some say also resembles an Egyptian chant. The name is also sometimes referred to as a joke and is mostly just another facet of the strangeness that is the band Trail of Dead.
…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.
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 - Touring Keyboardist
Former Members[]
Neil Busch - Bass, Sampler/Sound Manipulator
Discography[]
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of DeadReleased: January 1998
Richter Scale Madness
Novena Without Faith
Fake Fake Eyes
Half of What
Gargoyle Waiting
Prince With a Thousand Enemies
Ounce of Prevention
When We Begin to Steal...
MadonnaReleased: October 1999
And You Will Know Them...
Mistakes & Regrets
Totally Natural
Blight Takes All
Clair de Lune
Flood of Red
Children of the Hydra's Teeth
Mark David Chapman
Up from Redemption
Aged Dolls
The Day the Air Turned Blue
A Perfect Teenhood
Sigh Your Children
Relative WaysReleased: November 2001
Relative Ways
Homage
Blood Rites
The Blade Runner
Source Tags & CodesReleased: Febuary 2002
It Was There That I Saw You
Another Morning Stoner
Baudelaire
Homage
How Near, How Far
Heart in the Hand of the Matter
Monsoon
Days of Being Wild
Relative Ways
After the Laughter
Source Tags and Codes
International Release contained these Bonus Tracks
Invocation
Life Is Elsewhere
Blood Rites
The Secret of Elena's TombReleased: April 2003
Mach Schau
All St. Day
Crowning of a Heart
Counting Off the Days
Intelligence
Worlds ApartReleased: January 2005
Ode to Isis
Will You Smile Again?
Worlds Apart
The Summer of '91
The Rest Will Follow
Caterwaul
A Classic Arts Showcase
Let It Dive
To Russia My Homeland
All White
The Best
The Lost City of Refuge
+ 2 Release contained these Bonus Tracks
Mach Schau
All Saints Day
So DividedReleased: November 2006
Intro: A Song of Fire and Wine
Stand in Silence
Wasted State of Mind
Naked Sun
Gold Heart Mountain Top Queen Directory
So Divided
Life
Eight Days of Hell
Witch's Web
Segue: In The Realms Of The Unreal
Sunken Dreams
Singles[]
Mistakes & RegretsReleased: January 2000
Mistakes & Regrets
Half Of What
Electronic Bird Mating Ritual
Another Morning Stoner
Released: July 2002
Another Morning Stoner
Baudelaire
Richter Scale Madness
Worlds Apart
Released: October 2004
Worlds Apart
Back In New York City
The Porpoise Song
Other Releases[]
Worlds Apart (Collectors Edition CD + DVD) - January 2005