I was a bicycle messenger when Alkaline Trio was formed as a way to make ends meet and I've just always been a cyclist and then I got really into - through messengering - I got really into road bikes and fixed gears. Matt Skiba More Quotes by Matt Skiba More Quotes From Matt Skiba With Alkaline Trio, we are who we are. We never really feel too confined, but when we get together, there is an Alkaline Trio sound, and when I go off and do something on my own, there is an element of freedom that I don't have with the Trio. Matt Skiba feel get-together freedom together We were fans of Green Day and Nirvana or whatever, but the bands we really loved were Chicago bands that didn't really sound anything like Alkaline Trio. Matt Skiba loved day green sound Pennywise are legends and gentlemen and maniacs. Matt Skiba gentlemen legends maniacs To worship the devil, you have to believe in it first. Matt Skiba you devil worship believe I think for us - and for a lot of people in the Church of Satan - we definitely like ruffling people's feathers and poking fun at organized religion a little bit. Matt Skiba think church people religion I don't think we're any more preoccupied by life and death or heaven and hell than anyone else, but it's fun to write about the inevitable - you're alive, and you're going to die. Matt Skiba die you life death I miss the videos that are short films, back when MTV played videos all day. Matt Skiba short miss day back There was some real bad alternative - 'alternative' - stuff that came out in the '90s that's completely cringe-worthy. Matt Skiba out some bad real They're great players. I'm not a Blues Traveler fan, though. I get it, but it's not for me. Matt Skiba blues players great me Jesus was not born on December 25th. There's carbon evidence of it. That freaks people out. Matt Skiba out december born people The Ramones all hate each other, and they did it for decades. I wouldn't be able to do that. That would be like working at the bank or something. Matt Skiba bank something like hate I think people hear the words 'transcendental meditation' and 'paganism,' and that's almost worse because it's real. Those are real things. Those are absolute energies. Satanism is like Halloween. Transcendental meditation and having a realization of how we really are - whether we want to be or not - we live in a pagan culture. Matt Skiba words think culture people I go with what I know and what I see, and I believe in reality. Matt Skiba see know believe reality The very first show I ever saw was The Judds, and that influenced me to not play country music. Matt Skiba me music play country A cousin of mine was a graphic designer, and he took me as a kid to see Flesh for Lulu and Social Distortion in 1988 in Chicago. Matt Skiba mine kid see me They are one of my favorite bands and one of my first musical loves: Devo. Matt Skiba loves favorite bands first For me, it's about eating a bunch of fruit and exercising, which opens up the creativity, makes it easier to give ideas a chance and bubble to the surface. I'm no angel, but it helps me, as does hiking, heading to the ocean to catch some waves - for me, sweating it out is definitely good for the creative process. Matt Skiba good me ocean angel We definitely like to write songs about darker things, but we like to think of it as a celebration of the evil ideas that run through everybody's head. Matt Skiba things think evil ideas While I was in Chicago, I rode my bike everywhere. Matt Skiba everywhere while bike chicago I've written songs about love or about a relationship, but never just, 'I love you.' Matt Skiba you i-love-you love relationship
