And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead consists of Conrad Keely (vocals, guitar, drums), Jason Reece (drums, vocals, guitar), Kevin Allen (guitar), Neil Busch (bass, vocals, guitar).
…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead is an indie rock band best known for their heavy yet anthemic music and their tendency to destroy their equipment at the end of their performances (a rock and roll tradition usually associated with The Who). According to the band's website, the name "…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead" is taken from an ancient Mayan ritual chant which shows a striking similarity to an ancient Egyptian chant (see also Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact). The chief creative element of the band consists of Jason Reece and Conrad Keely. The two switch between drumming and lead vocals and guitar, both on their records and during their shows. (On some songs, (former) bass player Neil Busch sings lead vocals).
Keely and Reece have been friends since their youth, meeting originally in Hawaii. They each formed their first band in 1993 soon after moving to Olympia, Washington. Keely started a band called Benedict Gehlen that only lasted a year. Nancyville was Keely's next project, though it also was short lived. Reece started with Honeybucket and then formed Mukilteo Fairies while living in Olympia. Dissatisfied with the northwest, the two ventured south to Austin, Texas and started playing as a duo under the moniker, "You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead". The band expanded to include guitarist Kevin Allen and bassist Neil Busch. They then officially changed their name to "…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead" (adding the conjunction and then the ellipsis for effect). Sometimes the band is known by the shorter name "…Trail of Dead".
By 1998 they had issued their first release (a live cassette on local Golden Hour Records), a self-titled full-length on Trance Syndicate.
Trail of Dead moved on to Merge after the Trance label went defunct. The band released Madonna on Merge in the fall of 1999.