TELETEXT interview with Neil Busch [January 2001]

ON THE TRAIL OF DEAD

One gashed hand, 25 stitches, a broken knee and a drum riser through the arm. That's the average amount of injuries accrued by ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead after each gig. Their two shows next month, including a NME Awards gig at London Astoria on Feb 3, will be compelling viewing.

On a rare break from trashing himself and the stage, bassist Neil Busch tells PS how the band can't escape each other even when they're at home... .

Until last week, Trail Of Dead singer Jason Reece and bassist Neil Busch lived together in Texas. Surely a house of carnage, judging from their gigs?
"It's not as if Jason smeared his own excrement on the windows while I swung from the ceiling fan," scoffs Neil. "We don't help our own image, as we all exaggerate our drug-taking - we're not so demonic. I've only had one coffee this morning, so this'll probably be the most truthful interview I've done!"

Famed for their on-stage mayhem which regularly sees the band injure each other, Trail Of Dead's Neil Busch admits: "I feel like I'm Russell Crowe in Gladiator, waiting for the crowd to give us the thumbs up or down."

Busch admits the focus on the likely injuries can detract from their music.
"There's some people who only want to see a bunch of geeks better themselves. At least the real fans are guaranteed extra enjoyment from a gig."

Bassist Neil claims Trail Of Dead don't deliberately set out to get injured before a gig.
"Stretching exercises is all we do pre-show," smiles Neil. "Afterwards? We collapse. I develop a second skin on tour, so fresh injuries don't hurt so much - 'Oh, a new gash on my knee, OK...' Our guitarist Kevin is the sensible one. He gave up pain after jumping so that the pole on the drumkit went right through his arm."

Trail Of Dead's Neil Busch identifies At The Drive-In and Queens Of The Stone Age as the Texan rockers' peers.
"We don't take our music to the same place for how we sound," muses Neil. "But we do share a similar attitude. I feel our three bands say there is room left for intelligence in rock music. It doesn't all have to be as simplistic as bands like Linkin Park or Limp Bizkit, bands who've popularised metal by taking the easy option."

From a bassist who once split his head open on a microphone stand, it comes as a shock to learn that Trail Of Dead's Neil Busch planned to be a lawyer.
"I was academically bright," says Neil. "Even though I coasted through lessons, the subjects had little interest. Jason was a more fraught teenager, he was a delinquent. My battle was either being a punk or drifting to a good job I wasn't interested in. Which is where making intelligent music comes in."

In previous interviews, Trail Of Dead have spoken of getting their energy from the frustration of poverty. Bassist Neil Busch claims success won't prevent them from getting angry.
"Even if we're successful for the next 10 years, it won't stop us remembering how terrible the first 25 years of our lives were," Neil says. "Jason's a lot happier, he's moved in with his girlfriend. Even so, I wouldn't start underestimating how angry he can be."

Trail Of Dead's album Madonna came out in '99, and bassist Neil admits it's frustrating still touring old songs. "We badly need some downtime to record the next album," he sighs. "The next album will hopefully have a fuller sound, maybe we'll be getting some strings on there. Since a fan got injured at a gig, we've started to calm down a fraction on stage. So having some major symphonics on a record could be what we need.