Alkaline Trio: Honesty is Their Policy

Creating their own brand of hardcore punk music for over a decade, Alkaline Trio is still going strong.

With Matt Skiba on guitar and vocals, Dan Adriano on bass and vocals, and Derek Grant on drums, Alkaline Trio's music unquestionably falls into the punk category, complete with angsty, toxic lyrics.

I had the chance to connect with Dan Adriano by phone to discuss the band's sixth and most recent album, Agony and Irony. The album is pure and raw, filled with fast-paced, pop-punk melodies. "We took a different approach from the past. I'm not sure if this [album] is better but I like what we did," says Adriano. "We've put a lot more emphasis on the songwriting. We just tried to keep it a little more simple this time. We spent most of the time just focusing on the writing, and once we got into the studio, we wanted to keep things feeling loud and natural."

Agony and Irony's radio-friendly, pop-punk tunes absorb the edginess of their earlier material, though their simple song structures, chord progressions, raw tempos and songs relating to life's havoc prove that Alkaline Trio is still essentially the same band it was 10 years ago. "We all have an understanding of what we want to do with this band and that's just to write songs that mean something to us - and to have a good time doing it and play shows," states Adriano. "It feels good that we all like the kind of music we like and have fun doing it. We have the same kind of passion that gets us wanting to play."

What also keeps Alkaline Trio wanting to play is their faithful fanbase, which Adriano attributes to the band's success. "The fans are great," he says, "We have a lot of fans that have been coming to our shows for years now, and they keep coming back so that feels good to see a lot of them."

Throughout the years, Alkaline Trio has certainly sustained success in the music business, even though Dan Adriano frankly admits, "I still don't know much about the music industry. I'll be honest with you."

The band has cultivated a genuine honesty in their music, and that is just what Adriano wants the band to be remembered for: "To be remembered as this band that was always honest. And always wrote songs that we cared about."

With Agony and Irony, it is apparent that although the band has evolved, Alkaline Trio has stayed true to themselves, reaffirming their policy of honesty through their music.