Alkaline Trio is the kickass band made up of Dan Andriano, Derek Grant and Matt Skiba. They just got the song, We Can Never Break Up, on an episode of the horror anthology series Masters of Horror. That song is included on the Masters of two disc CD soundtrack along with some amazing musicians as Buckethead, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Matchbook Romance and many more.
Check out the official site for Masters of Horror
Daniel Robert Epstein: Whats going on today?
Derek Grant: We are in an extremely rainy Baltimore on the final day of our tour with My Chemical Romance.
DRE: Hows it been touring with them?
DG: Its been fun. Were not used to opening for bands. Its been quite awhile since weve done that so that takes a lot of the pressure off and we get done early early. Its been a good time.
DRE: Did you guys get on the soundtrack for Masters of Horror in the usual fashion?
DG: Im a horror aficionado and I had heard that the series was going to happen, but I didnt realize they were trying to find rock bands or whatever for the soundtrack. It was just a coincidence that their people contacted our people and we were more than happy to do it.
DRE: Do you know which episode youre in?
DG: I was told that it was going to be in the episode directed by Tobe Hooper [Dance of the Dead]. We were in the dark about the whole project. Some friends of ours in Death By Stereo had a little bit more information about the episode that they were going to be a part of because they wrote a song that was tailored to the storyline. But they apparently requested one song in particular from us, called We Can Never Break Up, that they thought would be suitable for the episode.
DRE: What was that song about for you guys?
DG: Danny wrote it so its hard for me to speculate. It comes off as a song about your typical relationship or whatever but I think it also pertains to relationships that bands have. Its a fairly positive forward-thinking song so it can apply to a bunch of different situations. Id like to think it has a little bit to do with the three of us as individuals and how we relate to each other and also how we relate to our significant others and whatnot.
DRE: Ive read that horror is a big influence on Alkaline Trio.
DG: Absolutely. Ive been obsessed with horror movies ever since I worked in a stockroom at a lingerie store. It was my first job ever. It was in Michigan and it happened to be owned by Sam Raimis parents. Sam would come in maybe once a year and say hello. That was the first time that I had met anybody from Michigan that had made it out and actually did something with their lives. That was very encouraging to me as a musician. I felt like there was some hope because I had a pretty small scope at that time. I was just looking forward to playing a show in Ohio or something. Meeting the three Raimi brothers Sam, Ted and Ivan was definitely the seed. Then I went out and rented the Evil Dead movies and really caught the bug.
DRE: How old were you?
DG: I was I guess 13 or 14.
DRE: How were you able to work in a lingerie store at such a young age?
DG: It was through family members that I ended up as part time help to make a little bit of money and learn some responsibility. Obviously putting a 13 year old boy in a lingerie store is a bizarre setting but it was great. There were a lot of transvestites that would come in there and that was very eye opening experience for me. Now Im a transvestite [laughs]. No.
DRE: Youre in a rock band. Thats pretty close to being a transvestite.
DG: I wear makeup and Im not afraid to wear womens clothes so I guess that definitely had an impact on me.
DRE: Have you seen Sam Raimi again since the band got popular?
DG: We were in New York when he was filming the first Spider-Man and somebody was trying to prod me to go over there and say hello. I actually ran into his brother Ted at a restaurant in Hollywood. I hadnt seen him in at least ten years and he remembered me. I sat down, had dinner with him and we did some catching up.
DRE: Thats nice.
DG: Also Bruce Campbell would come into the store on occasion and Ive seen him quite a few times since then.
DRE: Whats it like getting to be part of a Tobe Hooper project? I know you guys didnt write the song specifically for him, but it must still be cool.
DG: Absolutely. Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a hugely influential film for us. It was violent, real gritty and dirty. I think it changed the face of cinema so being a part of his episode is a huge honor. The list of directors working on Masters of Horror is pretty amazing in general. Dario Argento is one of my personal favorites and so is Takashi Miike. Its great that people are signing on for this thing because theres been a pretty strong resurgence in the genre. A lot of those directors made the films that put them on the map in the 70s and 80s and didnt really gain much respect from the movie industry. Its great theyre getting some sort of recognition now. I was extremely happy when George Romero got to make his fourth Dead film.
DRE: Whatd you think of Land of the Dead?
DG: I thought it was great. It had all the elements that I love of Romero films. It had sociopolitical commentary, plenty of blood, guts and Asia Argento.
DRE: Are you guys interested in doing a song specifically for a horror movie?
DG: Definitely. On our last album there are two songs that were inspired by true crime such as the one about the Manson family and the West Memphis Three. That was pretty fun for Matt who wrote both of those songs. I think he would have a good time trying to wrap that around something fictional.
DRE: I read that Crimson is being reissued as a double CD.
DG: Its something we wanted to do right off the bat but due to politics and with the finances of the whole situation it just wasnt possible at the time. Were very grateful that were able to do this far down the line. Im a huge fan of tracking down my favorite bands demos, outtakes and anything I can get my hands on. We really wanted to show people what went into making this album and I feel that the demos for the album were really good. I think a lot of people are under the impression that Jerry Finn, who produced the album, took everything and tried to manipulate it to make it a more commercial product. But the songs were pretty much complete by the time we got into the studio. I think itll be interesting for people to see what existed before we went to the studio.
DRE: What movies do you guys have on the tour bus?
DG: Right now Ive got too many DVDs. Its my biggest problem on tour. Right now we have Land of the Dead, the directors cut of Saw, Todd Solondz's last film Palindromes, the original Psycho and the DVD sets of Arrested Development.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Check out the official site for Masters of Horror
Daniel Robert Epstein: Whats going on today?
Derek Grant: We are in an extremely rainy Baltimore on the final day of our tour with My Chemical Romance.
DRE: Hows it been touring with them?
DG: Its been fun. Were not used to opening for bands. Its been quite awhile since weve done that so that takes a lot of the pressure off and we get done early early. Its been a good time.
DRE: Did you guys get on the soundtrack for Masters of Horror in the usual fashion?
DG: Im a horror aficionado and I had heard that the series was going to happen, but I didnt realize they were trying to find rock bands or whatever for the soundtrack. It was just a coincidence that their people contacted our people and we were more than happy to do it.
DRE: Do you know which episode youre in?
DG: I was told that it was going to be in the episode directed by Tobe Hooper [Dance of the Dead]. We were in the dark about the whole project. Some friends of ours in Death By Stereo had a little bit more information about the episode that they were going to be a part of because they wrote a song that was tailored to the storyline. But they apparently requested one song in particular from us, called We Can Never Break Up, that they thought would be suitable for the episode.
DRE: What was that song about for you guys?
DG: Danny wrote it so its hard for me to speculate. It comes off as a song about your typical relationship or whatever but I think it also pertains to relationships that bands have. Its a fairly positive forward-thinking song so it can apply to a bunch of different situations. Id like to think it has a little bit to do with the three of us as individuals and how we relate to each other and also how we relate to our significant others and whatnot.
DRE: Ive read that horror is a big influence on Alkaline Trio.
DG: Absolutely. Ive been obsessed with horror movies ever since I worked in a stockroom at a lingerie store. It was my first job ever. It was in Michigan and it happened to be owned by Sam Raimis parents. Sam would come in maybe once a year and say hello. That was the first time that I had met anybody from Michigan that had made it out and actually did something with their lives. That was very encouraging to me as a musician. I felt like there was some hope because I had a pretty small scope at that time. I was just looking forward to playing a show in Ohio or something. Meeting the three Raimi brothers Sam, Ted and Ivan was definitely the seed. Then I went out and rented the Evil Dead movies and really caught the bug.
DRE: How old were you?
DG: I was I guess 13 or 14.
DRE: How were you able to work in a lingerie store at such a young age?
DG: It was through family members that I ended up as part time help to make a little bit of money and learn some responsibility. Obviously putting a 13 year old boy in a lingerie store is a bizarre setting but it was great. There were a lot of transvestites that would come in there and that was very eye opening experience for me. Now Im a transvestite [laughs]. No.
DRE: Youre in a rock band. Thats pretty close to being a transvestite.
DG: I wear makeup and Im not afraid to wear womens clothes so I guess that definitely had an impact on me.
DRE: Have you seen Sam Raimi again since the band got popular?
DG: We were in New York when he was filming the first Spider-Man and somebody was trying to prod me to go over there and say hello. I actually ran into his brother Ted at a restaurant in Hollywood. I hadnt seen him in at least ten years and he remembered me. I sat down, had dinner with him and we did some catching up.
DRE: Thats nice.
DG: Also Bruce Campbell would come into the store on occasion and Ive seen him quite a few times since then.
DRE: Whats it like getting to be part of a Tobe Hooper project? I know you guys didnt write the song specifically for him, but it must still be cool.
DG: Absolutely. Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a hugely influential film for us. It was violent, real gritty and dirty. I think it changed the face of cinema so being a part of his episode is a huge honor. The list of directors working on Masters of Horror is pretty amazing in general. Dario Argento is one of my personal favorites and so is Takashi Miike. Its great that people are signing on for this thing because theres been a pretty strong resurgence in the genre. A lot of those directors made the films that put them on the map in the 70s and 80s and didnt really gain much respect from the movie industry. Its great theyre getting some sort of recognition now. I was extremely happy when George Romero got to make his fourth Dead film.
DRE: Whatd you think of Land of the Dead?
DG: I thought it was great. It had all the elements that I love of Romero films. It had sociopolitical commentary, plenty of blood, guts and Asia Argento.
DRE: Are you guys interested in doing a song specifically for a horror movie?
DG: Definitely. On our last album there are two songs that were inspired by true crime such as the one about the Manson family and the West Memphis Three. That was pretty fun for Matt who wrote both of those songs. I think he would have a good time trying to wrap that around something fictional.
DRE: I read that Crimson is being reissued as a double CD.
DG: Its something we wanted to do right off the bat but due to politics and with the finances of the whole situation it just wasnt possible at the time. Were very grateful that were able to do this far down the line. Im a huge fan of tracking down my favorite bands demos, outtakes and anything I can get my hands on. We really wanted to show people what went into making this album and I feel that the demos for the album were really good. I think a lot of people are under the impression that Jerry Finn, who produced the album, took everything and tried to manipulate it to make it a more commercial product. But the songs were pretty much complete by the time we got into the studio. I think itll be interesting for people to see what existed before we went to the studio.
DRE: What movies do you guys have on the tour bus?
DG: Right now Ive got too many DVDs. Its my biggest problem on tour. Right now we have Land of the Dead, the directors cut of Saw, Todd Solondz's last film Palindromes, the original Psycho and the DVD sets of Arrested Development.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
VIEW 5 of 5 COMMENTS
here's my trio pants. <3
*sigh*