Interview with Conrad Keely and Jason Reece [2000]

KICK OUT THE BAMS

Recall the sensation experienced in your sprawled hands after an ungraceful dismount of the swings; a thousand needles prickling your mits into a blurred mosaic of red and white. This is the physiological equivalent of the punk noir created by Austin buzznicks And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead.... Think the empathetic nihilism of the ever-cited MC5, Sonic Youth circa Death Valley 69 or the anarchic chic of the Afghan Whigs' Going To Town. Both their eponymous debut, recorded in one week on Butthole Surfer King Coffey's Trance Syndicate label and their sophomore slump defying Madonna (on Superchunk's Merge imprint) can be viewed respectively as realised aural narratives; gracefully layered subtleties bolstered by focused campaigns of sonic assault. Before some aging Skids fan wags a finger citing the likes of Yes' relayer as indulgent twonk, the 'concept album' is certainly not necessarily anathema to the punk aesthetic. The more salient dichotomy is compulsion versus wank, not the concept versus the 90 second outburst. Trail of Dead's schtik abounds with surface contradictions: on stage the coherent recorded storyboard mutates into hyperkinetic catharcism, the school goth disco (remember them? thought not) sleeve art and the occasional juvenelia of the lyrics are juxtaposed against a myriad of reference points and psychological insight. Trail of Dead's apocalyptica transcends the visceral/ cerebral dissension moulded by the sheer desolation of Godspeedyoublackemperor! and the boilersuited twats in masks, fusing shagging-in-the-streets frenzy with the horror of the abyss.

N: What was it like growing up in Olympia and Washington and why did you escape to Austin?
Conrad: Our band is from Austin. Where we were before that we don't consider significant.

N: What were your respective formative influences and who did you set yourselves against?
C: I was influenced a lot by movie soundtracks. Something about the thematic continuity of a soundtrack appeals to me - recurring motifs, borrowed sounds that would conjure scenes, and place the listener in a setting, compelling them into a drama. Some of my favourites are Jesus Christ Superstar, Tommy, Star Wars and Conan the Barbarian. And one mustn't forget Quadrophenia.
Jason: I am against snobby motherfuckers who decide what is 'high brow' and what is 'low brow' in life...I love the diversity that surrounds my world...and enjoy having a laugh at the chaos that swallows us whole. What is best for me is a full plate of wild tastings.. like korean food!

N: What did you learn from recording your first long player in such a short space of time (one week) and how did it compare to that of 'Madonna' (six months)?
C: I'd have to say that we learned we need more time to complete an album.
J: 'Madonna' was made like a fine wine; we let each track age a bit. I think that rushing to do anything is foolish.

N: What's with the guitar/drums rotation? Ideology or prudence? I've never heard drums as nose-bleed inducing as those on 'Mark David Chapman'; are they technologically augmented in some way or are you just true men of steel?
C: What's ideological or prudent about switching instruments? we do it out of necessity.
J: Mark David Chapman is the work of blood on the hands and tears of profound anguish and a little bit of grass.

N: 'Madonna' seems to reflect a fully realised narrative which is comparable in recent years to the Manic's 'Holy Bible' or Nirvana's 'In Utero'
J: Yes, we had a loose concept behind the music. For me, Public Enemy's 'Fear of a Black Planet' was an influence - I like music that has substance and multiple layers.

N: Gore or Bush?
J: Neither of those pricks are worthy of my vote. I feel very detached from mainstream politics and am bored with the figureheads of our political scene.
C: Politics has the same etymological root as 'polite'. I feel that treating others with a modicum of decency is far more significant than debating over which rich old man ought to be the figurehead of a country.

N: Music seems more of a compulsion than a career choice for you. Do you view yourself as those who'll deliver a well deserved arse kick to the complacent, indulgent wangst pushers of the new music establishment?
J: A compulsion to make an explosion - a compulsion to make repulsion.
C: Complacency is certainly a repugnant quality. However I see an equal amount of it in our 'independent' and underground scene as I do in mainstream music. Otherwise why would Maximum Rock'n'Roll be trying so hard to assure that punk does not evolve past 1985? One could go on for hours debating over who sucks and who doesn't, but you should ask 'hey, do I suck?'; the petty rivalries of current bands and attempts to recreate some previous pocket of time matter little to the vast, beautiful and ever evolving river of our artistic heritage.