ToD to Personally Document Recording Process for Film
02/25/2008 -- by merlin

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) --  Veteran documentary centerpieces ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead will once again be dissected under the on-screen microscope, this time shooting themselves in an introspective piece focusing on the recording of their new album.

Trail of Dead half-frontman Jason Reece compared the reasoning behind doing the documentary themselves to skydivers packing their own parachutes before jumping out of a plane.  "If we do it ourselves and it doesn't work out, then there's no one else to blame," explained Reece.  "If we let someone else handle it and they mess up, you inevitably open a Pandora's box of guilt, blame, and civil lawsuits."  A full-length Trail of Dead documentary had long been seen as a possibility for the band after their last semi-documentary, included with 2005's release "Worlds Apart", met with almost universal fan approval.  "We definitely got it right with the Worlds Apart DVD," said other half-frontman Conrad Keely.  "It took into consideration years and years of [video] tapes and didn't really go all the way, but everyone loved it.  They loved the idea.  That's why we're going ahead with this."

"We want to give everyone an insight into what goes on behind the scenes," continued Reece in agreement.  "Not just the typical studio recording documentary drivel, who stood where, who played what, how'd this come about.  There's so much more to it than that.  Metallica had their 'Monster' documentary which was turned into a feature film or something.  That's what we want to do.  We want to show the constant struggle for perfection, the sleepless nights, the internal strife within the band and, indeed, within ourselves.  It's not at all like people would think.  There are no parties, no fans to propel us forward, just bare bones heart and soul."

"I think this film will prove culturally significant for Austin in the long run," suggested Reece.  "We want to portray life here in the proper light.  Did you see the Real World Austin?  It sucked."

Previews of the upcoming film can be seen on YouTube.

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