[Cover photo credit to Dylan Johnson]
After two decades of music, Oklahoma City Post-Hardcore band Traindodge will release their eighth LP, The Alley Parade, on September 22, 2023 via Spartan Records. The album’s third single, “Living Proof” is out now.
Vocalist/guitarist Jason Smith says:
‘Living Proof’ is about finally getting out of a dark place but not realizing it and not recognizing anything you remember — being unsure of what you actually have at the end of the day can feel weird. I was writing as someone navigating that confusion.
In 1993, brothers Jason and Rob Smith joined bass guitarist Chris Allen in a pre-existing band. Over the next three years, the three musicians connected over a shared love for the harder side of Indie Rock, like Fugazi, The Jesus Lizard, Jawbox, and much of the Kansas City scene. After lots of writing and some lineup shifting, Traindodge was born.
Jason Smith adds:
At the time, the loftiest goal I had was to go on tour and if we were lucky, make one album. I figured we’d maybe last three to five years. That’s a long time when you’re 22. None of us knew anyone who’d had a band that long. One thing that shifted for me [early on] was realizing that the more I invested myself in the band, the more satisfying it got. Getting on the road and meeting like minded people confirmed for me that even the midwest can seem like a bigger place. Even through the flimsy ‘networks’ we were stumbling through in our first few years, I could gradually see the reality of being that band that traveled around and woke up some unsuspecting crowds. Maybe it’s a defect I have, but I just found that lifestyle really addictive. I still love it. Even in the down times we’ve had, I’ve always felt like I’m where I belong.
Fast-forward twenty seven years later, and The Alley Parade is the band’s eighth full length record, and first since 2016. The lineup also features second guitarist Ross Lewis who joined Traindodge full time in 2011.
Rob Smith (drums/synths) shares:
We’ve been chipping away at writing this record more or less since the last one came out, which, with all of us not in the same city, and a global pandemic to boot, took a sec. Some of these songs were written in 2017, and some were finished weeks before we went into the studio last year. That gives the newer songs a more spontaneous feel, while the older ones feel a bit more ‘lived in,’ and I think that’s a strength of the record – it is the most immediate, accessible thing we’ve ever done.
