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This Chicago, Illinois, USA-based punk band was formed in 1996 by Matt Skiba (b. Matthew Thomas Skiba; guitar/vocals), Glenn Porter (drums) and Rob Doran (bass/vocals). This line-up recorded a demo CD and the "Sundials' 7-inch single, released on Johann's Face Records, prior to Doran's departure. He was replaced by Dan Andriano, who debuted on 1997"s For Your Lungs Only EP, featuring the live favorite "Snake Oil Tanker'. The trio's debut long-player, Goddamnit, was the band's second release on the independent label Asian Man Records. Porter helped record the band's second long-player Maybe I'll Catch Fire, but left prior to its release in February 2000 He was replaced by Mike Felumlee, who made his recording debut on March 2001"s "Hell Yes!" single. The band's growing status necessitated a switch to major label status with Vagrant Records for the release of their third album. From Here To Infirmary proved to be the band's mainstream breakthrough, although many critics lazily associated their intense, melodic punk with the in vogue "emo" movement. Further personnel changes Felumlee replaced by Derek Grant (b. 24 April 1977). The new drummer made his recording debut on a split EP with Hot Water Music, released in January 2002.
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About Alkaline Trio
"There’s definitely a reason we play the kind of music that we do," says Skiba. "We offer kids a little darker slice of punk rock. Hopefully it separates us from bands that sing about going to the mall and chewing bubblegum." Two albums, both recorded on a shoestring for indie label Asian Man, delivered on the promise of Alkaline Trio’s early live shows: As fucked-up as they are wonderful, both 1998’s Goddamnit and 1999’s Maybe I’ll Catch Fire breathed new life into a music world rife with second-stringers and gonna-bes that thought (and continue to think) that looks and guitar tones were more important than feelings and smarts. The audience-band connection was both immediate and binding.
More and more kids started showing up, and watching them all simultaneously sing "I'd love to rub your back" along with Matt was pure magic every time. Vagrant Records showed up, too, in time to plunk the band into Minnesota’s semi-legendary Pachyderm Studios and release 2001’s set, From Here To Infirmary, produced by longtime Trio associate Matt Allison and expertly mixed by Jerry Finn, a man who’s made similarly minded bands (Jawbreaker, Green Day, and Blink 182, among others) sound extra fine. Then came 18 months of non-stop action: Warped Tour, Plea For Peace Tour, Vagrant America Tour, Blink-182 Tour. Is your city on the map? Alkaline Trio played there once or twice. A great looking video (for "Stupid Kid") hit the airwaves. Somewhere in there, drummer Mike Felumlee departed, and in stepped Derek Grant, an old friend of Andriano’s. The two met at legendary Chicago punk palace the Fireside Bowl. Grant was a perfect fit, and the new Trio started writing songs together almost immediately after he arrived. Says Skiba: "I feel like there’s three members of the band again for the first time in a while." Grant concurs, "The minute I sat down behind the drums with these guys, it felt right. There was no doubt that this was where I wanted to be." he says. Which leads us to where these record company bios always do: The New Album. Everything the Alkaline Trio has done has been gut-punchingly great and Good Mourning can sit proudly next to those other albums without having to hover above them. Let's talk about the songs, shall we? That’s why we’re all here.
