Trail Of Dead – Worlds Apart 20th Anniversary w/ Ringo Deathstarr, Banged Out, Whisper

Saturday, December 6
The Far Out Lounge
Doors at 6pm
Austin Texas 2003 near the I-35 corridor behind a Target store…
The four of us (Conrad Keely, Kevin Allen, Neil Busch, Jason Reece) finally had some time off after touring the world relentlessly. The dust had settled and soon we became restless. The creative process was calling. It was time to make something. A album much more ambitious and grandiose than Source Tags & Codes. No old songs kicking around and nothing really written. We had to start from zero.
It was a Texas balmy January day when we stepped in to the musty gutted out former hip hop studio awesomely named Mob House. It was pretty run down and probably had seen many stoned out late night sessions. Beer cans all over the floors, condom wrappers in the vocal booth, DJ Screw and Screwed Up Click posters on the wall. The former tenants didn’t pay the rent and left in a hurry. We had our work cut out for us. The place was trashed. This makeshift studio in a tiny industrial strip mall became our home for the second album on Interscope records.
Mike McCarthy (Producer of World’s Apart) had been with us for the last two albums and our relationship with him was pretty tight at the time. He was a bit of a older brother to us. His influence and opinions were either definitely well received or challenged to the bone. We kept the name Mob House and Mike was jokingly referred to as “The Wizard”. He was part El Capitan or part agent provocateur. Working with him again on this new album was going to be quite the journey.
” Will You Smile Again For Me” was tracked first. It was a bit of a challenge and it took some time to get it right. References to Brian Wilson, the struggle between genius and madness, that song became our mission statement. That being said it helped kick off more ideas, more songs coming together like “The Rest Will Follow”, with it’s reflections of the human condition. The blessed fact that we are all on this planet with all our flaws and wonder.
As our path continued, we had an opportunity to escape the darkness of The Mob House. We heard of this studio out in the Hill country ran by this eccentric ex- military industrial complex engineer named Jack Rock. Jack traded his life of war for the love of music. His studio, The Texas Tree Fort perched on top of a mountain surrounded by Live oak trees, was the perfect escape from our windowless home.
Conrad wanted to bring a choir up to Jack’s to record the intense opening track “Ode To Isis”. A ominous Wagnerian booming track calling out for the goddess “Isis”, it was something we have never done before. After that, vocals were laid down for “Caterwaul” in the piano room. The song inspired by love and revolution, and the impetus to rise above adversity.
The title track “Worlds Apart” is a sardonic punk as fuck statement that offered a critique of American materialistic culture. We wanted the album to propose many layers and ideas. Introspection plus reflection. Caustic beauty burning in to your psyche. “Summer of 91”, A song that seems sentimental yet it questions if the past
was all that great. The idea of letting go of the outside world in “A Classic Art Showcase”. We started to get creative with tons of overdubs. This led us to Brooklyn Bridge Studios in Red Hook to finish the album. We had a chance to work Sylvia Ramos with her soaring vocals that brought the whole song to a massive close. In fact, we had many voices and collaborators on this album. James Olsen (A mysterious character from our past) doing back up vocals on “Let It Dive”. The world renown classical star Hillary Hahn playing the violin on “To Russia, My Homeland”. We had so many folks coming by adding to this vast canvas.
As the album comes closer to the end, we get to “All White”. Pictures of drunken evenings while watching bands with our friends in Austin. It definitely captures the moment. “The Best” is a strange tune about the horrors of celebrity. Partly inspired by Michael Jackson or any famous person that starts to lose reality. The albums closer “The Lost City Of Refuge” takes you away to quieter place. Hawaiian dreamscapes in a alternate time space. The album ends on a somber moment.
We decided to re-release Worlds Apart on vinyl because this album wants you to take your time , to drift away, and lose yourself in the story.
Enjoy my friends, Jason Reece
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PLEASE NOTE: Parking is limited, and rideshares are encouraged!
The Far Out Lounge is located at 8504 South Congress.
www.thefaroutaustin.com/