After two decades, Oklahoma City’s Traindodge continues their post-hardcore sound with the release of their eighth album, ‘The Alley Parade,’ out via Spartan Records.

While the band’s collection of canonized albums have become required listening for every budding heavy band since the 90s, and their legacy of hundreds of shows (sharing stages with the likes of Mudhoney, Cursive, Avail, and Botch, to name a few) has impacted thousands, perhaps the biggest mystery surrounding Traindodge is how under-the-radar this band has flown throughout its prolific career.

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 deeply over a shared love for the harder side of indie rock – Fugazi, The Jesus Lizard, Jawbox, and much of the already buzzing Kansas City scene. After endless amounts of writing and some natural lineup shifting, Traindodge was born.

“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,” says Jason Smith (vocals/guitar). “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, ‘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. “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,” says Rob Smith (drums/synth). “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.”

You’re currently promoting your newest album, ‘The Alley Parade’. How much time and effort went into it?

Jason Smith: We started writing in earnest just before the pandemic, unfortunately, so the “time” it took since the last album got a couple of years added. Our drummer Rob Smith lives in Seattle so we had to write in spurts. During lockdown, he made three week-long trips down here where we were able to work as a full band. In early 2022, we prepped for three more days and then went to Atlanta, Georgia to record with our old friend Dan Dixon who recorded our previous two albums. We were there for about nine days and got everything recorded.

<a href="https://traindodge.bandcamp.com/album/the-alley-parade">The Alley Parade by Traindodge</a>

Can you share some further details about its recording process?

Nowadays, we generally track as a full band until the drum performance is there. Usually after two or three takes, the guitars and bass are about 90% there. Once the drums are done, the rest of us fix what we need, one thing at a time. Probably not too different from what most bands do. About 95% of the vocals are double-tracked. Any piano you hear on the album is Rob Smith. All in all, it went pretty smoothly. I was amazed we got everything done so quickly.

“We sound younger and younger the more time passes”

How would you compare it to your previous album, ‘Time Will Never Know Your Name’?

Stylistically, it seems like the next step to me. They’re fairly similar in that they were both conceived and written by all four of us, facing each other in the practice room. I wanted that same full-band chemistry again but with a shorter record. ‘Time Will Never Know Your Name’ is a long album and it sprawls on purpose. A more concise album seemed more challenging and enticing this time so we told ourselves this one HAD to fit on one LP.

Would you like to share about your upbringing? Where did you all grow up? Tell us about daily life back in your teenage years.

Chris Allen and Ross Lewis are lifelong Oklahomans. Rob and I are brothers and our dad was in the Air Force so we moved a lot growing up. His last assignment was in Oklahoma so that’s where I ended up finishing high school and going to college. By the time I graduated, Traindodge had already started.

I generally kept to myself as a teen. Maybe two or three solid friends at any given time. I withdrew pretty hard when we moved to Oklahoma. I would stay home on weekends. Listened to a ton of music and played a ton of guitar.

Was there a certain scene you were part of, maybe you had some favourite hangout places? Did you attend a lot of gigs back then?

There was no scene here when we started. The cool venues had dried up and closed. We could never get a “favourite hangout” settled because the places kept changing and were nowhere close to each other. But we would attend as many shows that we could back then – the location was just always different.

If we would step into your teenage room, what kind of records, fanzines, posters et cetera would we find there?

Van Halen was my first obsession, which led to Mötley Crüe, Kiss, Dokken, Ratt. I was really into shredders for a year or so. Had Satriani posters and was buying Shrapnel Records tapes. As a guitarist, I quickly learned I wasn’t going to be that kind of player. Thankfully, I soon found the harder stuff. Iron Maiden then Metallica, Slayer and the thrash bands. That became my new standard of excellence. In my 9th grade math class, this kid Paul took a shine to me and made me mixtapes of Black Flag, Dag Nasty, Minor Threat, TSOL, Hüsker Dü, The Accused. I loved all of it. Finally I heard Fugazi in his car one day and I flipped and they became my favorite band.

Can you elaborate on the formation of Traindodge?

Chris Allen, Rob and I were in a band together from ‘93 to ‘96 with another singer/guitarist. During that window, our tastes had shifted but the other guitarist didn’t follow us. We eventually broke off as Traindodge with a singer who just sang. In ‘97 we became a trio and I started singing. We’ve had various second guitarists over the years. But Ross Lewis has been with us since 2011 and he has easily been the best.

“We practiced six nights a week for years because we had nothing better to do”

If you listen back to those early albums like ‘About Tomorrow’s Mileage.’ ‘On A Lake Of Dead Trees’ … what runs through your mind?

I think about the janitorial job I had during that time. We practiced six nights a week for years because we had nothing better to do. All I could focus on was our next out of town show. We were so hungry to tour. We put all the adult stuff to the side and just hit it hard with the band to see if we could find any kind of existence with an audience. I just hear the earnestness of it all now. We sound younger and younger the more time passes.

Tell us about some of the most memorable gigs you did back then? What would be the craziest?

There have been lots. Opening for Botch when they were touring for ‘We Are the Romans’ was nuts. The first time we played with Season To Risk was wild because this band Hickey from San Francisco played and their crowd moshed naked. Opening for Mudhoney in ‘99 was a trip.

One unassuming show that sticks out to me was headlining Rubbergloves on a Tuesday and having 80 people in the room. ‘About Tomorrow’s Mileage’ had been out for a few months and we had been touring hard the entire year. All throughout our set that night, I remember looking at that crowd and realizing that we were right to start playing out of town. We had found what we didn’t have at home

Do you often play live? Who are some of your personal favorite bands that you’ve had a chance to play with over the past few years?

Because our drummer lives two time zones away, our live schedule is slower and more sporadic now. But we still love it and want to as much as possible. We’ve toured several times with Riddle Of Steel, Dropsonic and Self-Evident. Always a blast. I’d go on tour with any of them again. As a fan, playing with NoMeansNo, Unsane, Young Widows, Season To Risk, Maserati was fun.

What are some future plans?

Hoping to get to all of our hotspots and beyond with this new record. It’s been getting good responses. We’re psyched to be with Spartan Records now. Looking forward to growing more with them.

Let’s end this interview with some of your favourite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?

I’m chronically terrible at keeping current with new music. But I’ve really been into this band FACS for awhile now. They’re from Chicago. Their new album ‘Still Life In Decay’ is really cool. As is the rest of their catalog.