…Trail Of Dead: The Santa Clause.

…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead play the Main Stage at Livid at the RNA Showgrounds on Saturday.

“I’m watching these jets flying over the city right now. They’re protecting the city of Cleveland from the evils of the world,” notes …Trail Of Dead drummer Jason Reece back on September 11. “Things are so quiet right now. It’s so quiet. There’s a heavy sort of air about today. But I’m going to get pissed drunk and forget about it all.”

Alcohol, the solution to all the world’s problems…

“I’m going to go see some grindcore bands tonight. I think the gig’s Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death and Deicide. It’s going to be a crazy show. We’re going to score some PCP and drive around until we can crash our car into something. I think I’m going to kill a chicken and go to the show all covered in chicken blood,” he laughs. “Just to celebrate life. Cleveland is a rock and roll city.”

Currently one of the hottest acts in the rock world, …Trail Of Dead have much to celebrate. Their most recent album Source Tags & Codes found them acclaim the world over. This weekend finds them at Livid, where the Jason is keen to catch Morrissey as well as putting in their own set.

“I’ve never seen him. I don’t know if he’ll live up to my expectations, but I’ll try and keep and open mind. I hope he plays some old tunes, you know. A festival is a strange place to see music. I kind of treat festivals as a way to get freaky, be festive. You get thrown up there without a soundcheck, so you’ve got to be very spontaneous and not worry about getting your music perfectly across to a crowd. You’ve got to just let loose and be loose and let your body groove with the motion. Do a little dance. We’ll just embrace the sun Gods and give you our love. We’re going to commit ritual suicide atop the stage.”

There’s no real need for that, but perhaps a few more chickens wouldn’t be out of the question…

“Alright, we’ll just do our normal kung fu and judo chops,” he laughs. “Hang from wires and fly across the stage on a big ‘ol surf board. Just the usual.”

Since the release of Source Tags & Codes the band’s touring schedule has seen little release.

“We only get small increments of time. Whenever we have some time I just try and read a book or its just plug into the Playstation and hit Grand Theft Auto. You just try and maim as many people as possible and take all their money and drive their cars into a wall and have them explode and take on the police. I try to read something culturally enlightening. Or go and see a film. It’s really nice to see a good film in a theatre.”

What was the last film you saw?

“It was called The Kid Stays In The Picture. It’s a documentary about a Hollywood producer. For a documentary it’s great. You get all these seedy stories about Hollywood. It was just kind of a collection of past footage and interviews.”

“I saw one of your crazy arse films, what was it called, Bad Boy Bubby. You guys have some sick fucking shit down there. Have you seen it? I love that film. That was quite a trippy film. Who was that actor? He looks like Nick Cave”

It’s Nicholas Hope.

“Yeah, he looks totally like Nick Cave, you know. He’s like a mutant version. I saw it like yesterday on the tour bus. I love fucked up films. Have you seen Santa Sangre? I love that film. It’s like a crazy Mexican version of psycho, only more surrealistic. You feel like you’re in this crazy circus world. Watch that film. You have to check it out or I wont be your friend. I wont talk to you.”

What would you like to see in a film about …Tail Of Dead.

“Just the fact we’re great and we’re legendary and we kick arse,” he laughs. “Every song we write is a hit… we’re the new Zeppelin, man. I want to have our film like The Song Remains The Same. There’ll be a part with me riding a big horse through a field with a sword.”