THICK OIL, day thirteen - Alkaline Trio
"There is tons of talk about The Alkaline Trio on the internet, magazines, bars, coffee shops, etc..."are they punk?" ..."have they sold out...?" etc...etc...Being long time close friends with the band, I stay out of the trivial chatter, but tonight I am reassured that The Alkaline Trio remains in the same place as where they started-personality wise."
Thus begins the thirteenth in a series of journal entries by THICK Records kingpin Billy Spunke documenting his label's newest compilation, "OIL". To read the full entry, click on READ MORE, to see pictures from the sessions click here, and keep coming back here every day for the latest installment.
There is tons of talk about The Alkaline Trio on the internet, magazines, bars, coffee shops, etcâ¦"are they punk?" â¦"have they sold outâ¦?" etcâ¦etcâ¦Being long time close friends with the band, I stay out of the trivial chatter, but tonight I am reassured that The Alkaline Trio remains in the same place as where they started-personality wise.
The band chooses to use all the gear we have provided. Matt Skiba chooses the Marshall JCM 800 with Marshall cabinet. Danny plugs in the Ampeg rig, and Derek settles down on the Yamaha kit, using his own cymbals, and kick pedal. While Lance gets things set up, the band runs through the new song, which they wrote the day before. The intro to the song brings to mind "Clash City Rockers" and then moves ahead into the signature Trio sound. It would not be until we make it to the vocals that I realize this song will be sung by both Danny and Matt. Danny takes the choruses and Matt the verses. This is a first. I hear metaphors using alcohol, love, and death. All images that A3 loves to hit on. The band decides on the final take after a few whacks at it, and I am surprised that the band is so casual about everything. They leave in the minor mistakes, instead of cutting up the song like some surgeon. They like the feel, the rawness, the immediacy of the entire project. At one point, Matt says, "I donât even feel like I am in the studio." Which reminds me of the night before when Josh Caterer said, "Are you going to leave the windows openâ¦?" These comments and questions make me feel good, because it is obvious that the bands feel comfortable in the factory. There is no feeling of the usual studio sterility. I believe this is key to the success of all the songs we have tracked thus far.
We finish tracking in 3 hours, not beating The Matics record, but still very impressive. Afterwards, everyone sits around and chats each other up. This is the first time a band has not immediately packed up and left at the outset of the recording. Again I am impressed with The Triosâ character. Sell outs? No. Punk Rock? Who cares. Good people? Absolutely.
Tomorrow things get really strange when The Owls record for OIL.