...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead Artistfacts

...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead song list

...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead Artistfacts

1994-
Jason ReeceVocals, guitar, drums
Conrad KeelyVocals, guitar, drums
Neil BuschBass, guitar1995-2005
Kevin AllenGuitar1995-2010
Autry Fulbright II Bass2010-2019
Jamie MillerDrums2011-2020
Influenced by such artists as Sonic Youth, Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, and Bruce Springsteen.
Based in Austin, Texas. It's where they were formed and where they continue to have their fun.
They want to move from the underground to the mainstream. Says Keely: "Man, if we don't do it, and no one does it, kids will continue to listen to vacuous nonsense."
The band members all met as members of the same church in Plano, Texas when they were really young. They started by singing together, then gradually progressed to using instruments.
Other instruments they have used include the harp, ukulele, accordion, violin, viola, sax, sitar, harpsichord, and trumpet.
They were originally called Richter Scale Madness.
Reece moved to Austin in 1993. The rest of the band was persuaded by their church pastor to spend their college money and follow him to Austin. They did.
Keely is also an essay-writer on the side, having such titles as "In Defense of the Living: REM and the Teutonic Cult of Death Imagery," and "'From Counter-Culture to Hegemony': Can the Underground Withstand Mainstream Collision with Modern Violence?"
Origin of the band's name remains largely a mystery, but it oddly resembles a Mayan religious ceremony summoning the corn gods saying, "We will act as your sword, oh Great Itzamna and you will know us by the trail of dead." It is also similar to an inscription in the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, "You will find the Eye of Horus standing thus against you and you will know it by a Trail of the Dead." Weird.
They have a tradition of performing with cheap instruments so that they can break them at the end of every performance. >>
Suggestion credit:
heather - minneapolis, MN

Comments: 2

Gena from Los Angeles, CaYou gotta get it stratight. Neil is no longer in the band. There is a new bassist - Danny Wood - and a new drummer - Doni Schroeder. They have all been on tour since 2004. Now you know. They all rock.
Heather from Minneapolis, Mnall the stuff about the boys meeting in the church youth group is a lie. when trail of dead are interviewed, they always tell a new lie about the formation of their band. conrad and jason met in hawaii where they grew up. they then moved to washington state, and finally to austin, TX where they formed the band. the band was never called "richter scale madness", this was a name of a song on their first album.

see more comments

More Songfacts:

Stuck In The Middle With YouStealers Wheel

"Stuck In The Middle With You" by Stealers Wheel was the unlikely choice for a scene in Quentin Tarantino's 1992 movie Reservoir Dogs where somebody loses an ear.

Mr. RobotoStyx

"Mr. Roboto" by Styx was written by their keyboard player, Dennis DeYoung, who used Japanese words and imagery to create an allegory about censorship.

Flying Without WingsWestlife

A live, stripped-down version of "Flying Without Wings" by the Irish boy band Westlife was the first #1 on the Official UK Download Chart. It was recorded in May 1994 at The Globe, Stockholm.

ReasonsEarth, Wind & Fire

"Reasons" by Earth, Wind & Fire is a popular wedding song, but it's actually about a one-night stand.

Days Go ByDirty Vegas

The 2001 Dirty Vegas hit "Days Go By" was written by their lead singer when he was longing for his ex-girlfriend. The sad song gave him a happy ending though: They got back together after it was released and eventually got married.