Urgent Energy
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By Ashley Perez-Hollingsworth photos by Jonathan Weiner
lkaline Trio is no stranger to the macabre . The Chicago punk outfit doesn ’ t shy away from talking about heavy topics like loss , addiction , and depression . But even when they ’ re talking about how everything sucks , they do it with a wink and nod . Their wry lyrical wit paired with punchy high energy music makes their brand of bleak , catchy and fun . It ’ s why fans find them so endearing , even nearly 30 years later . It ’ s not hard for frontman Matt Skiba to tap into the dark side . He just has to look around to find it . And with the gun violence , political unrest , unabashed racism , and the threat of AI , the darkness is looming around every corner .
Skiba often writes from a personal place , but on the new album Blood , Hair , and Eyeballs , he shifts his gaze outward to look at how ugly everyday life has become . If the title didn ’ t give it away , the album gets grim . The chaotic state of the world and the constant barrage of bad news inspired Skiba to write an album that looks at life ’ s horrors and comes to the realization that things are downright apocalyptic . Pulling from real-world events , along with personal experiences , the album takes listeners on a dark journey , yet it doesn ’ t leave you hopeless . Rather , it pumps you up , and gives you the energy to keep moving . To keep on fighting .
This , being their 10th album , also marks new beginnings and endings for the band . It ’ s their first release on their new label , Rise Records , and their last with drummer Derek Grant . Still , Blood , Hair , And Eyeballs sees Alkaline Trio revitalized , and Skiba is eager to dive into the new era . Before the release of the new album , Skiba sat down with IE to dig into the record , the secret behind his writing process , and how he finds light in the
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darkness .
Illinois Entertainer : The new Alkaline Trio album , Blood , Hair , and Eyeballs , is out later this week . Tell me about the making of it . When did you start working on it ? Was this while you were in blink-182 ? Matt Skiba : This was post , with the exception of one of [ bassist ] Dan [ Andriano ’ s ] songs . Most of the songs we wrote well after Tom [ DeLonge ] came back to blink , and I left . Most of the writing for this record – the three of us live in different cities . So , over the past two decades , we ' ve lived in separate towns , and we ' d send each other demos . We ’ d be writing in our off time and sending each other songs . We ' d learn them a little bit , then get together and turn them into Alkaline Trio songs . That worked for us for a long time . It may work again , but this time around , with it being our 10th album , we thought , let ' s do something different . We used to write our records in the same room , the three of us . And that ' s how we wrote this record . We got back in a room together out here in Los Angeles and started writing and recording it .
We worked at a couple of different studios . We did the writing and the rhythm tracks at Studio 606 , Dave Grohl ' s studio in the Valley . We did all the bass and drum tracking on his Neve board . Then I did all the guitars , and we did the rest of the instrumentation and the vocals . We did the majority of the writing at a studio called Spitfire , which is two houses away from where I live . Actually , we were the last act to do anything there . We recorded the album , and then they tore the house down . So it ' s not there anymore , but we had a great time . I ' ve worked in that studio a bunch . It being so close to home was really cool . I ' d wake up in the morning to have coffee and
fruit . I ' d just walk up the street . Literally five houses up from me . We wrote and recorded the album pretty quickly , but I spent almost two months writing lyrics and playing guitar .
IE : You guys got together in the studio and built the songs from the ground up . How did being in the same space together change the recording experience ? MS : It ' s not dissimilar from how we made our last record [ 2018 ’ s Is This Thing Cursed ?]. On that record , we just had some really rough ideas , but we had a bunch of ideas we worked out in the studio as well . For that record , we came in and sent each other demos ahead of time . This time , you know , it definitely made the work a little more rigorous . It was a little more intense and a little more immediate , but it was really fun . Writing an idea and then recording it like that , it ' s inspiring . It ' s daunting and lengthened the time it took to record . We did all the rhythm tracks and wrote and recorded everything in two weeks , but we hadn ' t any guitar parts written . We didn ’ t have any lyrics written either . That I spent longer on than I ever have . So , it took a long time to make the record , but I think it was worth it .
IE : It sounds challenging , but every now and then , you need to challenge yourself so you can grow and learn from it . That can be rewarding also . If anything , it keeps you on your toes . MS : Exactly . Yeah , and I think you want to sound like you ' re on your toes . Whether we accomplished it or not is in the " ear of the beholder ," but I feel like the reason we approached the record like we did was to get that immediacy and get that urgent kind of energy in the songs .
IE : The thought of going into the studio with no
lyrics and writing them on the spot sounds intimidating . In a sense , you ’ re walking in with a blank slate , and suddenly , the pressure ’ s on to crank out some good songs . Was it stressful going into this record without any lyrics prepared ? MS : It wasn ' t for me . I mean , it was a decision . You know , the amount of stress and the amount of pressure only comes from ourselves . I knew it was going to be a lot to do , having never really done it in this way , and certainly not for a long time . I mean , we ' ve never had the time or money to just take our time and do it this way . So , it ' s different than ever before . I think there were times when it was stressful for my bandmates because I just had the idea that it was going to be fine . We ' re going to work on this , and we ' re going to make our best record . Everything ' s going to be fine . There were definitely days when it seemed like I was the only one who felt that way . It was labor intensive , but it wasn ' t especially stressful . We presented ourselves with a challenge , and , you know , we rose up to that challenge . It was a great deal of fun more than stress . I like a challenge . Otherwise , it ' s boring . If it ' s not challenging and it doesn ' t push us , then what ' s the point ?
IE : Especially when you ' re hitting album number 10 . At that point , it ’ s easy to stick with what you know and stay within your comfort zone . But challenging yourself helps keep things fun for you and fresh for the fans . MS : Well , yeah , that ' s the whole point . I mean , Dan and I said if Alkaline Trio ever stopped being fun , we would quit . That ’ s the whole reason behind the band . Somebody asked me what I hope fans get from this record or what they get from an Alkaline Trio show . And I said , ultimately , our
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