Interview with Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio has always had a relatively small but incredibly devoted fan base stemming from their dark punk-pop days in Chicago. Looking at the cover and artwork of their latest CD Crimson, it appears that the band hasn’t deviated from this darkness – Dan Andriano (vocals/bass), Matt Skiba (vocals/guitar), and Derek Grant (drums) are pictured in gothic poses with black suits and stuffed, dead animals in attack poses. The music inside, however, is anything but your standard Alkaline Trio fare. Producer Jerry Finn (Blink-182, Green Day, Jawbreaker) worked his magic on Crimson, and helped the band turn out what is quite possibly their most mature album to date. Here’s what Derek Grant had to say about it.
1. This past album is getting more publicity than your previous album, the critically acclaimed Good Mourning. How are you guys dealing with all of the attention?
Everything has actually progressed naturally, thankfully. A lot of groups are bound to level off at some point, but we haven’t, which is great. Asian Man Records was only capable of doing so much for us, and we’re getting better distribution with Vagrant. We left Asian Man with Mike Park’s blessing, and now we’re playing more stores, doing magazine ads, interviews like the one I’m doing now, and things just kind of snowballed.
2. Crimson features the song “Prevent this Tragedy,” which is inspired by the story of the West Memphis Three. How did you guys become involved with the cause?
I saw some of the documentaries many years ago, and brought a VHS tape [of a documentary] on one of our first tours. We could all relate on some level, we were all sort of outcasts at school, and it’s sad that these kids were singled out because of Metallica t-shirts. At first we were hesitant to get involved, ‘cause we didn’t know whether we would help or hurt them, since these kids were put on trial because of the music they like. The organization approached us in 2002 and thanked us for our support. Matt found so much emotion in the movies and did research, and it translated into a song. We just want to get people interested and let them form their own opinions about it.
3. Lead singer Matt Skiba injured his arm twice during production of Crimson. Did you guys face any other difficulties making the album?
Actually, Good Mourning was complicated to make. I had physical problems and couldn’t play, we thought it was doomed. Matt had acid reflux, and he never learned to sing properly, his doctor told him he had 2-3 years tops before his voice was totally gone, so we were both faced with the prospect of being unable to do what we loved, and unfortunately I think that came through on the album. This time was way better – Matt learned to sing better, my arthritic problems got better, we felt healthy and happy. We had more time and freedom with the album this time around, and it’s the first time we’ve all felt 100% about an album.
4. How does working with Alkaline Trio compare to the other bands you’ve played with?
I started with the Suicide Machines when I was 16, which is also when I met Dan in Slapstick. We slept on floors and in vans, played people’s basements, which was a real learning experience. I eventually realized I couldn’t handle being with a band on a major label, and had to be prepared to walk away – I was a little jaded about the music business. Then I toured with the Vandals a few times a year, which was great –no complications or commitments. I grew up and felt prepared to make a commitment, and heard from Dan [bass], never realizing he was a member [of Alkaline Trio]. I’ve always been a sucker for imagery in bands like Kiss, Motley Crue, King Diamond with album covers…and this just fit.
5. What was the writing process like for this album?
Matt and Dan are the main songwriters, and we live in three different states. Matt writes when he’s inspired and emails his recordings to us. Then Danny’s writing and putting ideas down, and we all trade, then get together on the tour bus or at our practice base in Chicago, where we split elements of all our styles and combine them.
6. What kind of show can Boston fans expect at the Avalon on June 23rd?
We’re not the craziest band in the world, because we’re each tied to an instrument. Hopefully we’ll sound good and have the bugs worked out, and we’ll play a good, well-balanced mix of newer and older stuff. I have great respect for their older stuff as an outsider, but Matt and Dan are sometimes embarrassed by it because they were young and it’s about something that’s so over. But it should be a good time with audience participation.
7. What are your particular musical influences?
I listen to a lot of older heavy metal and jazz, and Prince is one of my favorite artists of all time. I like some new stuff too, like the newest Mars Volta and NIN albums. I could survive on the same twenty CDs for the rest of my life, some Misfits albums, the first Danzig, Megadeath, but I feel bad, like I might shut out lots of new music. I listen to Prince in the studio, and I’m sure there’s some element worked in that merges with our sound.
8. The past two albums since you’ve joined Alkaline Trio have arguably been their most successful. Do you think your style has influenced the band’s sound?
I have great respect for [former AT drummers] Glenn and Mike, and was worried I’d influence the sound, so I exercised restraint and didn’t try to do anything too unique at first. I found the middle ground when writing Crimson, however. But I disagree that I’ve changed the band, I know there’s some press out there saying I changed their sound, but they were already there when I joined. The guys were talking about how cool things could sound with strings and piano. I eventually relaxed and interjected and developed my own style, but the guys were already at this point musically when I joined.
Alkaline Trio play Boston’s Avalon Ballroom on June 23. Crimson, their latest release, is now available from Vagrant Records. |
