Alkaline Trio Defend My Chemical Romance

Call them a group of rock' n' roll survivors. For more than 10 years now, Chicago's Alkaline Trio have slugged it out through intense touring, the festival circuits, lineup changes and multiple side projects and coming unscathed (even better, some might say) from the crash of their former label in 2007. Through it all, the threesome have maintained catchy pop-styled hooks combined with dark lyricism and punk sensibilities — which were all put on full display with their Agony And Irony album.

On the eve of their tour kick-off show in Vancouver, Alkaline Trio frontman/mainstay Matt Skiba talked to ChartAttack about the music industry, the tour life, and why rock music doesn't make people kill themselves.

ChartAttack: Did your move from the now-defunct V2 Records to Epic Records contribute any stress or pressure to the recording of the new album?
Matt Skiba: No, it was actually great. The head of A&R at Epic told us, "Your only job is to go into the studio and make a record that you love." And we're like, "Wow, that's really cool. I hope that's true when it comes down to it." Then he came in and listened to the record [Agony And Irony] in the studio when we were done with it, and said "Great job. You guys made an awesome record." So the only real pressure was coming from ourselves, to make the best record we could. It even felt like we had more encouragement and less stress from the label.

Looking at your current tour schedule, it seems pretty intense. Are you all used to life on the road by now?
I'm pretty used to it. We've been doing this for over 10 years, so I feel pretty road-worthy. It's definitely a routine that when you're first starting, you gotta get back in the swing of things. But once you get going, it's like second nature.

And you're going on to Europe right after you're finished with North America. Is your fanbase there bigger or smaller than it is here?
We always do really well in the U.K. Not as well as we do here, though there's been times when we've done better in the U.K. than we have here. Germany and France are a little slower, but the enthusiasm is the same. The numbers aren't as strong as they are here, but the vibe and the energy make up for it.

You guys opened for My Chemical Romance a few years back, and it's in the U.K. right now that their music is under fire for supposedly provoking a fan to commit suicide. Do you have any comments about that?
It's a terrible thing that happened, and the same thing happened with Judas Priest in the '80s. They got blamed because a couple of kids made a suicide pact and shot themselves. People blaming music and art for someone's demise is an awful thing, and I think if anything, My Chemical Romance kept that young lady alive because she loved that band and turned to their music in her darkest times. I think that people don't kill themselves because of a band they like, they kill themselves because of something else. My Chem has dark lyrics and themes, but they're also fun, and they have hope in their songs. They're anthemic in celebrating the darkness. They're saying that it's OK, we're all pretty fucked up, but we're all here for each other. So I think it's an awful thing that happened to that young lady, and I think it's awful that My Chem is getting blamed for it because I'm sure it's not easy for them.

You guys are a very fan-oriented band, with a club and participatory events and activities, but how much do you band members get to communicate directly with the fans?
Derek [Grant], our drummer, is very hands-on with our fan club, the Blood Pact, and we do meet-and-greets before all our shows. We have a pretty strong connection with our fans, and we don't keep ourselves very far from the crowd, either. I mean, there's definitely a barrier — there's definitely a backstage area and a crowd area — but we try and cross that barrier as much as possible. It's not hard for us to be that way. It just comes naturally that we're appreciative. We wouldn't be doing what we're doing without our fans. We do what we love because of them. It's definitely a scene, and even with people we've never met, we feel a kinship. That's the way music should be. We're all thankful that we get to be a part of that.

So you don't buy into the British music tabloids claiming that bands are having feuds with each other all the time?
I don't buy into that, no. I don't understand why musicians would speak negatively about each other, or why a magazine would want to start something like that. I guess maybe if there's nothing better to talk about. But that sort of thing doesn't have anything to do with me. If I don't like somebody, I just don't care about them, you know? The same goes for both people in bands and regular people. If I don't like them, I'm not gonna waste my time talking about them. I'd rather spend my time saying something positive about somebody I like, and that goes for musicians, too. It's not a competition, it's art.

The music industry is kind of like high school all grown up.
I've come to realize that almost the entire world is like high school all grown up. I mean, why talk shit about people? I don't understand it. And it's not just the British press. A lot of people all over the world like to start shit between people when they're envious of other peoples' situations. That's the nature of people. But when you can find your own niche and your own circle of friends where you don't have all that shit, then it's a beautiful thing.