Matt Skiba - Alkaline Trio 'There Was This Possibility That Was It. No More Shows, No More Life'

Walladmin

Heavy Metal Wordsmith

Nov 12, 2024

7 min read

On the cusp of a long-overdue tour back down under with the inimitable Dropkick Murphys, Alkaline Trio frontman Matt Skiba chatted with WoS about everything from new drummers to old tour disgraces. Humble and polite despite his eminent credits across near-innumerable albums and outfits beloved by fans the world over, Matt is a universal credit to his industry and sub-culture.

Let's begin...

Hey Matt, how you doing?

Hey buddy, how are you?

Good thanks, mate. Full disclosure; I have been drumming along to all your bands for about 20 years now, so this is a full bucket list tick to be speaking to you from across the planet. Thank you!

You. Oh, that's awesome. So you're a drummer then?

I do play the drums. Drummed along to (ex-Alkaline Trio drummer) Derek Grant and (Blink 182’s) Travis Barker the most over the last two decades.

Those are good drummers too! My introduction to playing music was on a piano, but my first chosen instrument was the drums. So I'm a huge… whenever I watch bands live, whenever I listen to, I'm like a drummer at heart. So it's nice to meet you from across the globe, and thanks for the kind words. I appreciate it.

I was thinking about all your various bands and side projects in a row, and I realise that you are the only artist I know who's had a band named after Heaven and a band named After Hell [Heavens and TheHell respectively]. I think, anyway. Unless there’s some death metal folk out there who have too, maybe.

I guess it was a little cheeky of us, but after Heavens I don't even remember how that band name… I think we [Matt and TheHell/ new Alkaline Trio drummer Atom Willard] thought of the name TheHell before we made the correlation. It wasn't because of Heavens. I think it was the chicken before the egg, or vice versa. We thought of the name, I guess the egg before the chicken. We thought of the name and then we realized that I had a former band that's the polar opposite of that. So yeah, it worked out pretty well. We almost changed the name when we realised, but we figured whatever. Stick with it.

Would it be fair to say TheHell is how Atom got the call up to be in the drummer for Alkaline Trio?

It is. It also, Atom was in Rocket From The Crypt when I fell in love with that band as a teenager. And Adam played with us for two… it was a total of a month. I had never met him before, but we were between drummers way, way long ago. Twenty-something-odd years ago, and we needed somebody to fill in for this tour. We had scheduled this two-week tour with Face To Face. Rocket from the Crypt just signed to Vagrant Records, and the owner said “If you could pick any drummer to fill in for this tour, who would it be?” And I'm like, Atom Willard straight away. I had no idea that they had just signed Vagrant!

So Adam played with us 20 something years ago too. That was a huge contributing factor, and we've been friends ever since. Before he joined Trio, we also did a project called LeKTron. He's always been my guy. Somebody who’s a dear friend and also a drumming hero even before I knew what a great guy he is.

Plus, it's easy to see him back in the day touring at festivals. He's been in that many bands! You'd probably wind up on a bill with him anyway. He's like the ultimate punk rock journeyman.

He is, yeah. I mean, even in recent days. We just finished a tour maybe, I don't know, it was three weeks ago. We’re home now, but as recently as a month ago he'd be telling some story and I'll forget like “Oh yeah, you played in that band, and that band, and this band, and this other band.” I mean, the guy knows everybody and everybody loves him. He's got lots of good stories and he is a great addition to the trio for sure.

Absolutely. He obviously came on after your latest album Blood Hair and Eyeballs was recorded. Did you know it was Derek's last album when you were recording it, or was it a thing that he decided after?

He decided after. But it wasn't out of nowhere. I mean, pretty much everybody that's interested in us knows the story*. He was still in the band while we were recording, but there was definitely… it was pretty apparent that he had one foot out the door kind of against his will. So the making of that record was a bit of a process, but he seems to be doing great. He plays some shows with The Vandals here and there. We actually just played with The Vandals in Orlando, Florida at a festival here a couple months ago. It was great to see him.

I think he is happier and healthier not being on a full time touring schedule. We each got to do what's right for ourselves and what's right for the band. Luckily it was amicable and we're still friends. There's no bad blood. It just kind of, things ran its course and we could kind of tell. We express our feelings pretty openly with each other. Known each other for so long that we wouldn't be very good at hiding 'em anyway! We get along.

That’s beautiful to hear.

I mean, it's nice. And it's unfortunate that it seems like it's rare that people in our position are treat each other with respect and kindness, and act like quote/unquote “adults”. So, it is nice. I don't know anything else, but of course you read the horror stories, or hear them.

You seem to be very, very good at the amicable leaving of bands and members changing. You had no hard feelings leaving Blink, and your drummer had no hard feelings leaving you in an emotionally communicative fashion. You should be proud of yourself!

Oh, that's very nice. Thank you.

Now did you ever think you’d make ten Alkaline Trio studio albums? Like, tour number one in the late 90’s you're sitting around thinking “We've got nine more studio albums in the tank, for sure.” You've made ten original albums with one band. It's quite a credit.

It's pretty crazy, and the best part is it doesn't feel like it this long. It's gone by in a flash. I'm doing a couple other interviews today, so I was just kind of taking little trips down memory lane and thinking about our first tour. Man, that seems like yesterday. I think that's a really good sign.

I don't know if it's related to amicable splits, but I think having some kind of emotional intelligence probably has something to do with it.

Also, being incredibly blessed with amazing fans that are now having kids, and those kids are having kids! It's like, Jesus, it’s been like three lifetimes that we've been making music together. Somehow, it's more fun than it's ever been. It just gets better.

We were all so worried during the pandemic - especially here in Melbourne - that with live music doomed, but now so many bands are headed here for new and nostalgia tours. Blink played 15 shows in Australia last year, and 5 in Melbourne.

Blink played 15 shows in Australia?

I think so, yeah. Arena shows. They were here at the same time as Taylor Swift and it was just fucking wild.

Holy crap.

Happy for Blink 182 to play half a dozen shows in my town any day of the week. And you guys had to put an extra one on; such was the excitement for you coming back to the Forum after seven or eight years.

Oh yeah. I mean, that seems like a long time ago! That seems like longer ago than our first tour here in the States.

The last time I saw you guys was at Soundwave Festival at the Melbourne Showgrounds, and you'd had a big night out the day before.

I'm still sober from that. Oh God, it was awful. I am pretty sure I gave myself alcohol poisoning and I was hanging out with Dave Brock from GWAR, and he died not long after that tour. I remember being there and thinking “If I ever do this to myself again, I would die.” I was so dehydrated and sick, and I'm still… I cannot wait to come back over there and hopefully make up for that. I'm still ashamed of myself.

You gave good advice to everyone in the crowd; “Don't party with GWAR.” You were very serious about sharing that advice with your fans.

Yeah, it was. Oh my gosh. I mean, I guess we're talking about it now, but I still, I definitely learned a valuable lesson. It's like we came all the way over there to blow it. I still kick myself about it, but if it had to happen anywhere… people couldn't have been nicer about it. I had a three-year shame over and even talking about it right now, it turns my stomach. Sorry.

I'm sorry to have brought it up!

No, I deserve it. I did it. I am responsible for that. Y’all down there are so nice. But yeah, it'll be great to come back. Getting the call about coming back down, it's like… it's just like a dream. I really was preparing myself for not only never touring again, I thought it might've been the Earth was… it was going to be curtains for all of us, basically.

There was this possibility that was it. No more shows, no more life. Luckily, I was wrong about both of those things, and I am really excited to come down there again.

Everyone that’s come down after ages recently that I've seen are like “Holy fuck, we really do appreciate it. We thought we'd been forgotten.” I’m sure if a band doesn’t come here for long enough, they just assume that people have forgotten about them. Creative pretender syndrome kicks in. And then you sell out shows all over the country. Australia has been paying attention the whole time!

That's amazing. I left the house just today and realised I needed a new rash guard and board shorts for Australia. So I'm pumped. I'm getting ready.

I know that two-year album/ tour cycles are a mostly dead concept. So, despite just releasing a new album very recently, is there a desire to immediately make and release new music with Atom in the mix?

Oh yeah. We're excited to get back in and get stuff going with Atom. With only three of us, nobody's ideas are ever negated. If somebody has an idea for something, we always try it. Something might surprise you. Even something that doesn't sound like a good idea, try it! It might inspire something else, or it might be a great idea you can’t see yet. To have that process with someone like Atom - who I've worked with numerous times on different projects - and I really love collaborating like that.

One of my favourite things about being in Blink was writing those records. It's like the travel and touring is the victory lap. Playing the songs is the party for me. The work though - if it can be called that - that kind of alchemy or magic between people when you're creating music is magic. And Atom's such a great guy to do that with. To do that with Alkaline Trio. We're excited. So, we actually already recorded. We've already done one song, we have to do another, but we recorded a song recently; a cover for a benefit compilation. I don't know if I'm supposed to say anything about it… we just did a Johnny Cash cover for a charity thing with Atom.

We're definitely excited to write some new music in this day and age. God, I sound like an old man more and more every day, but with pop and hip hop they don't really release albums these days. They just drop singles or EPs, or whatever. I feel like we can record a few songs and put them out. We don't have to make people wait another couple years for another album cycle. We're definitely going to try and put some new stuff out with Atom playing as soon as possible.

Where do you sit mentally with your very impressive and very influential legacy across such a big global cultural explosion? You were already there when the great popular punk wave started, you rode the whole wave, and it's still going to this day even though people's kids are coming with them now.

I think not so much in a historical context, but just that I think how you said it, riding that wave. It is really just riding a wave. It's like we were there when we were paddling into it and what that was like, and for whatever reason - our lucky stars? - that wave just keeps rolling. People keep coming, and it’s something that I just feel honoured to be a part of. I can't really put words to it. I can't quite really wrap my head around it. All I can say is that I'm grateful for it, and it's a trip. I mean, it really is. It's just trippy as hell in the best possible way.

That's amazing. You’re very humble. Do you have advice for anyone who wants to stay in the music industry for as long as you've been in there? What's the trick? What's the magical piece of singular golden advice that will guarantee that for someone?

Oh, I don't know that there's one piece! I can only speak for my experience, but I think that as long as you write songs with truth in what you're writing and what you're singing, or playing between you and your bandmates, then that will extend to the greater audience.

I think being true to yourself, being true to the art of music. If there's truth in it, it'll work. If I had to say one thing, that's what I would say.

I think that's very good advice and I appreciate it. And you're right, creativity feels the nicest when it's real. Last two questions as they give me the wrap up; got a message for your Australian fans, and what’s your favourite Alkaline Trio song?

Oh, if I had to pick one… I mean it changes, but I think just the mileage that we've gotten out of the song ‘Radio’. The longer we play it, the louder people sing it. So, I'll just say it 'Radio' for the sake of answering the question.

I can't wait to see you my friend. I can't wait to see everybody down there. I'm psyched for summer in Australia and it's like the cherry on top being able to play again, and then to come down there and see all of y'all again is going to be fucking amazing. So I'm psyched.

Thank you, Matt. I deeply appreciate it. We'll see you soon. Cheers.

Me too! See you soon.

Interview edited for length and clarity.

Writen by Todd Gingell

Alkaline Trio and Dropkick Murphys kick off their Australian Tour on Friday.

Tickets via Destroy All Lines