50 Fun Facts About Alkaline Trio

Which pop-punk band did Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio join in 2015 as the replacement for Tom DeLonge?

Blink-182 kept Skiba for seven years and two albums, California and Nine. He stepped aside in 2022 when DeLonge returned.

In which Midwestern city, home to Atlas Studios, did Alkaline Trio form in 1996?

Chicago's punk scene shaped the band, who call local acts Screeching Weasel, Pegboy and Naked Raygun their forefathers. They cut much of their early material at Atlas, then returned for This Addiction.

What objects, each set to 6:00, appear three times on the cover of Alkaline Trio's Goddamnit?

Alarm clocks on the cover read 6:00 three times over to spell 666. Matt Skiba said that when his own went off at six, 'Goddamnit!' was always the first word out of his mouth.

Which rock star was set to play the devil in Alkaline Trio's 'All on Black' video before pulling out?

Marilyn Manson was to gamble opposite Matt Skiba in a purgatory-themed casino. The location was already rented when he withdrew, and the disappointed band never filmed the video.

Alkaline Trio's 'Sadie' is about Susan Atkins, who took part in the 1969 killing of which actress?

Sharon Tate was among the victims of a California cult whose leader nicknamed Atkins 'Sadie Mae Glutz', giving the song its title. A friend of the band reads from Atkins's testimony on the track.

The video for Alkaline Trio's 'Time to Waste' was directed by Joe Hahn, the turntablist of which nu metal band?

Linkin Park's Joe Hahn filmed the trio playing in a hangar amid lighting effects and projection screens. The 2005 single reached number 32 in the UK.

Which doomed 2017 event that Matt Skiba was booked to headline is a theme of Alkaline Trio's Is This Thing Cursed?

Fyre Festival, planned for the Bahamian island of Great Exuma, had billed Skiba's other group in its lineup. The 2018 album also takes on depression and the 2016 presidential election.

Alkaline Trio recorded their tenth album in 2023 at Studio 606, the studio of which rock frontman?

Dave Grohl's Studio 606 appealed because it was engineered for loud rock music. The trio built the songs from the ground up in one space, which Matt Skiba said had not happened since they started.

Which organization did Matt Skiba pay to join in Alkaline Trio's early days, calling its founder 'very punk rock'?

Church of Satan membership appealed to Skiba because he saw its founder, Anton LaVey, as a punk figure. He also practices Transcendental Meditation.

Alkaline Trio's 'Help Me' was inspired by Control, a biopic about the singer of which English band?

Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis is the subject of Anton Corbijn's film, which Matt Skiba said captured his life beautifully. The single's sleeve pays tribute to the artwork for 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'.

Alkaline Trio's 'Dine, Dine My Darling' puns on a song by which punk band founded by Glenn Danzig?

Misfits recorded 'Die, Die My Darling', and Dan Andriano borrowed the title with one letter changed. A reviewer called his song a wink to the band's forefathers.

In which Alkaline Trio video does a humiliated admirer take off his hat to reveal devil horns?

Stupid Kid was the band's first charting song, reaching number 53 in the UK. Its video ends with the teacher consumed by smoke after she writes 'you scare me' in the boy's yearbook.

Which opening track of From Here to Infirmary by Alkaline Trio features on the Watch Dogs video game soundtrack?

Private Eye reached number 51 in the UK, two places above the album's first single. Its video was cut from concert footage shot with a stand-in touring drummer behind the kit.

Which 2003 Alkaline Trio single features backing vocals from Keith Morris, the original singer of Black Flag?

We've Had Enough became the band's first single to chart in the United States. In its video the members play ghosts who lead a boy to their skeletons under a basement floor.

Which Alkaline Trio single from Crimson appears in the racing game FlatOut 2 and reached number 30 in the UK?

Mercy Me was the second of the album's singles and the highest-placed of them in Britain. It later returned as downloadable content for Rock Band 4.

Which Crimson single's video shows Alkaline Trio playing in a circus alongside acrobats and contortionists?

Burn has Dan Andriano miming on a double bass and Derek Grant drumming on pots and pans. A remix of the song landed on the Underworld: Evolution soundtrack.

Alkaline Trio's 'Prevent This Tragedy' concerns three teenagers convicted over 1993 murders in which Arkansas city?

The West Memphis Three, as the teenagers became known, drew wide support from musicians. Matt Skiba corresponded with Damien Echols, the only one of them sentenced to death.

Which reality TV star plays the damsel tied to a locomotive in Alkaline Trio's steampunk video for 'Help Me'?

Kat Von D is rescued by Matt Skiba, who swoops in wearing a jet pack as two locomotives head for a collision. The clip leans heavily on computer-generated imagery.

Which drug does Alkaline Trio's 'This Addiction', the opening track of their 2010 album, use as a metaphor for love?

Heroin and methadone dependence stand in for love in the lyric. Matt Skiba said he was struck by how many unhappy people cannot shake or fix their relationships.

Which David Lynch film influenced 'Dorothy', a song on Alkaline Trio's album This Addiction?

Blue Velvet has Isabella Rossellini as a troubled lounge singer named Dorothy Vallens. Matt Skiba said the song borrows her story as a metaphor for someone and something else.

Which Alkaline Trio song was inspired by a soldier who took his own life after returning from Afghanistan?

The American Scream broke a long habit, because Matt Skiba said the band had been afraid to write overtly political songs. He wrote it after reading an article about the soldier.

Which Ben Affleck film inspired 'She Lied to the FBI', the opening track of Alkaline Trio's My Shame Is True?

The Town follows a Boston bank robber who falls for a victim of one of his raids while hiding who he is. Matt Skiba called the album a love letter and apology to an ex-girlfriend.

Which actress and former model appears in the 2013 video for Alkaline Trio's single 'I Wanna Be a Warhol'?

Milla Jovovich stars in the clip for the lead single from My Shame Is True. The studio recording also features backing vocals from Brendan Kelly of The Lawrence Arms.

Alkaline Trio's 'Blackbird' takes its name from which gangster's pet name for his girlfriend in Public Enemies?

John Dillinger calls Billie Frechette his 'blackbird' in the film. Matt Skiba replaced Dan Andriano's political lyrics with words about a woman he considered a great love of his life.

Which closing track of Alkaline Trio's Maybe I'll Catch Fire did Hot Water Music cover on a 2002 split EP?

Radio was one of two songs the Florida band took on for the Jade Tree release, alongside 'Bleeder'. Alkaline Trio returned the favour with a version of 'Rooftops'.

Alkaline Trio's 'Exploding Boy', from their self-titled 2000 compilation, covers a song by which English band?

The Cure are a touchstone for the trio's gothic side, and Matt Skiba calls himself a big fan. The cover first surfaced on a 1999 compilation called Pocket Bomb.

The B-side of Alkaline Trio's 'Help Me' single is a cover of 'Wake Up Exhausted' by which Canadian duo?

Tegan and Sara released the original in 2004, and the trio cut their version in St. Augustine, Florida, apart from the album sessions. It came on a free seven-inch with vinyl pre-orders of Agony & Irony.

Which mostly acoustic 2011 Alkaline Trio album marked their fifteenth anniversary and includes a Violent Femmes cover?

Damnesia reworks fan favourites in a semi-unplugged format and adds two new songs. The Violent Femmes number is 'I Held Her in My Arms'.

The 'Metro' that Alkaline Trio covered as a B-side was a 1981 song by which Los Angeles new wave band?

Berlin, fronted by Terri Nunn, released 'The Metro' five years before 'Take My Breath Away' topped the charts. The trio's version also appears on their rarities set Remains.

Alkaline Trio's album title My Shame Is True nods to My Aim Is True, the debut by which English songwriter?

Elvis Costello's debut lent its title to a record Matt Skiba wrote about a break-up, and he said afterwards that the album brought the couple back together.

Alkaline Trio's album Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs is named for a phrase Matt Skiba's mother used in which job?

Emergency room nurse Joan Skiba and her co-workers called exceptionally busy nights 'blood, hair, and eyeballs'. She served in the Vietnam War and later became an elementary school teacher.

Alkaline Trio covered 'Over at the Frankenstein Place' for a 2003 punk tribute to which cult film musical?

The Rocky Horror Picture Show has Brad and Janet sing the number in the rain outside Frank-N-Furter's castle. The tribute album had punk bands remake the whole soundtrack.

Which job was Matt Skiba working in 1996, after dropping out of art school, when he founded Alkaline Trio?

Bike messenger work had Skiba delivering beepers by day. He had studied design at Columbia College before leaving to start the band.

Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio was best man at the wedding of Fat Mike, the frontman of which punk band?

NOFX frontman Fat Mike is a close friend of Skiba, who also gave a solo song to a charity compilation on the singer's label in 2005.

Which band's singer, Tim McIlrath, shares lead vocals on 'I, Pessimist' from Alkaline Trio's My Shame Is True?

Rise Against took the trio out as a support act in 2008. When McIlrath fell ill on that tour, Matt Skiba's band played two of the dates with Thrice instead.

Alkaline Trio's album title Agony & Irony quotes a lyric from 'Flagpole Sitta', a late-1990s hit for which band?

Harvey Danger earned the trio what Matt Skiba called double points, because the phrase was also their own spin on 'ebony and ivory' for an album about light and dark.

Which instrument did Matt Skiba play before he switched to guitar in 1996 and founded Alkaline Trio?

Drums came first for Skiba, who took them up along with piano at an early age and played in bands including Blunt, Jerkwater and the Traitors before the switch.

Alkaline Trio's 'Bad Time' recalls a call Matt Skiba took in a hotel lockdown after a 2019 shooting in which Texas city?

El Paso was a tour stop when a friend rang to ask if it was a bad time to talk. Skiba said it was a terrifying time, but never a bad time to hear her voice.

Alkaline Trio's own label Heart & Skull is a joint venture with which punk label owned by Brett Gurewitz?

Epitaph Records came aboard after Gurewitz phoned to say he wanted to be involved, which settled it for Dan Andriano. Heart & Skull takes its name from the trio's logo.

Alkaline Trio's My Shame Is True was produced by Bill Stevenson, the drummer and main songwriter of which punk band?

Descendents mainstay Stevenson recorded the album at the Colorado studio he co-founded. Dan Andriano said the whole band had wanted to work with him for a long time.

Which former Rocket from the Crypt and Angels & Airwaves drummer replaced Derek Grant in Alkaline Trio in 2023?

Atom Willard had history with the trio, having filled in on tour in 2001. He and Matt Skiba had also played together in the side projects theHell and Lektron.

Which Detroit ska punk band did Derek Grant drum for before he joined Alkaline Trio in 2001?

The Suicide Machines began life as Jack Kevorkian and the Suicide Machines. Dan Andriano first met Grant when his own earlier band toured with them.

Which pop punk band of the three Caterer brothers did Mike Felumlee drum for before he joined Alkaline Trio?

Smoking Popes named themselves after the film The Pope of Greenwich Village. Felumlee lasted one album with the trio, then formed Duvall with his old bandmates.

In which ska punk band from Elgin, Illinois, did Dan Andriano play bass before he joined Alkaline Trio in 1997?

Slapstick is the root of a family tree of bands that also includes the Lawrence Arms and the Broadways. Andriano went on to sing in another offshoot, Tuesday.

Under which band name did Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba and Josiah Steinbrick release the 2006 album Patent Pending?

Heavens paired Skiba's voice with an indie rock sound, and an organist from the Mars Volta guested on the record. Patent Pending, made with producer Ben Lovett, was the duo's only album.

Which producer, who had mixed From Here to Infirmary, went on to produce Alkaline Trio's 2005 album Crimson?

Jerry Finn sat in on the trio's practices before the sessions and helped rework songs they were stuck on. Crimson was the last album he made with them before his death in 2008.

Which 1997 debut single by Alkaline Trio was recorded with original bassist Rob Doran, before Dan Andriano joined?

Sundials came out a year before the debut album, and both of its tracks were later gathered on the band's self-titled compilation of early EPs and rarities.

Which Norwegian experimental band added strings and vocals to 'Lost & Rendered' on Alkaline Trio's Agony & Irony?

Ulver also supplied programming for the track and appear again on 'In My Stomach'. Another guest, Douglas P. of Death in June, speaks the introduction to 'I Found Away'.

The self-release of In Rainbows by which English band helped inspire Alkaline Trio to start their own label?

Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails had both put out albums without a label, which Matt Skiba called very inspiring. The trio had just left Epic after the staff who signed them were let go.

Alkaline Trio's 'Wait for the Blackout', the only cover on their 2004 split album, is by which English punk band?

The Damned are a favourite of Matt Skiba, who calls himself a huge fan. The other eleven tracks on the split were new, including the first version of 'Sadie'.