Label Deal Puts Trail of Dead on Fast Track to Stardom

Ross Raihala

Originally published Friday, March 29, 2002

Despite possessing one of the most unwieldy monikers around, ... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead have got plenty of people talking. (And when they do talk about the band, by the way, they usually just say "Trail of Dead.")

The Texas-based four-piece boasts two former Olympia residents and a new record, "Source Tags & Codes," that has received almost universal praise.

And, for the most part, the group has earned the attention.

"Source Tags & Codes" is the latest in a line of remarkably interesting new rock records released on a major label.

It follows releases from the Strokes, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Jimmy Eat World and the White Stripes (who just moved to V2 Records) and suggests that maybe, just maybe, the big, evil record companies of the world have something to share beyond teen pop and new metal.

Olympia fans first heard Trail of Dead's co-leader Jason Reece in the Mukilteo Fairies, a notoriously loud queercore band that kicked around town for a few years in the mid-'90s. (His bandmates included John Quittner, who is now one of the Tight Bro's from Way Back When, and Rebecca Basye, leader of Ohio's Emerald Down.)

Reece and pal Conrad Keely moved from Olympia to Austin, Texas, where they formed Trail of Dead. Soon after, the boys earned a reputation for putting on raucous live shows that often ended in shattered guitars, not to mention shattered eardrums.

After releasing a debut album on Austin's Trance Syndicate label (run by King Coffey of the Butthole Surfers), Trail of Dead went on to record the much-loved "Madonna" album for Superchunk's Merge label.

A series of overseas live dates in 2000 earned Trail of Dead heaps of glowing press which, in turn, attracted the attention of Interscope. It wasn't, however, just another A&R rep who wanted to sign the band. Label head Jimmy Iovine himself courted Trail of Dead and, thus far, has promised he's ready to stick with the band as they build a bigger audience.

"I don't care how long it takes," Iovine told the Los Angeles Times. "We'll sit there and let them do their thing. They have the talent." (I wonder if that's what he told the long-since-dropped Helmet back in 1991 or Rocket from the Crypt a few years later?)

Still, Interscope does seem to be making all the right choices thus far, including pricing "Source Tags & Codes" low enough that consumers should be able to find it for around $10 at retail. And MTV2 has already picked up on the band's new, if somewhat boring, video.

On "Source Tags & Codes," Trail of Dead has refined its art-rock squeals of yore just enough to make the record palatable to the kids yet still thrilling enough to attract those usually wary of major-label fare.

Sonic Youth, and to a lesser extent Unwound, comparisons have dogged Trail of Dead from the beginning and "Source Tags & Codes" doesn't do much to dispel them. If anything, album tracks such as "How Near How Far" and "Relative Ways" would have sounded right at home during Sonic Youth's brief flirtation with the mainstream on "Dirty" and "Goo."

If "Source Tags & Codes" does start selling, expect that $10 price to shoot right up. And the band's impending Seattle show on April 12 at Graceland (tickets are $10 from Ticketweb) might just be the last time they'll play a venue that small. So catch them while you can.

Final Unwound shows

Olympia's own Unwound is unwinding with a trio of shows that mark the last time the trio will perform together, at least for the foreseeable future.

Of the split, bass player Vern Rumsey said: "We've all been really hesitant to use the word 'forever.' In a few years, it could be possible we'll do another record. If we are 'breaking up,' it's definitely on good terms."

The final shows include:

- 8 p.m. today, Northwest Asian Art Theater, 409 Seventh Ave. S., Seattle. With Bangs and Necktie Party. It's an all-ages show and tickets are $10 from Ticketweb.com.

- 9 p.m. Saturday, Bob's Java Jive, 2102 S. Tacoma Way, Tacoma. With Mona Reels and Vegetable F. It's a 21-and-up show with $3 tickets available at the door.

- 7 p.m. Monday, Thekla, 425 Franklin St. N.E., Olympia. An all-ages show with the Thrones. Tickets are $3 at the door. After 10 p.m., there will be live DJs for those 21 and up.

Ross Raihala covers music for The Olympian. Send items of interest for this column to: rraihala@olympia.gannett.com.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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