An Open Book

"The good thing about being old, is you don't have to worry about dying young,” Stephen King writes in Doctor Sleep, the follow-up to The Shining. It's a line that could easily wrap itself around a melody spun by Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba, whose work often assumes a similar style. He's spending the evening at his LA home with said King novel when his phone rings, forcing him to bookmark the page.

“I'm always reading,” Skiba tells. “I was writing lyrics for another project I'm doing and someone asked how lyrics came so easily to me and I said it's because I read all the time, and I think that keeping that part of your brain healthy and constantly working helps a lot with the creative process in music.”

The project in question is Matt Skiba & The Sekrets, borne of inspiration stemming from Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry's novel on the Manson Murders, Helter Skelter. “The way that we're approaching this thing is a little different to the way we did the last time, but it's moving along smoothly. We're about halfway with some pretty strong demos, a lot of which will be used as tracks for the actual album, so we're creeping along,” he says on the new Sekrets' new record.

But, his side project will have to take a backseat for a few weeks, as Derek Grant (drums) and Dan Andriano (bass/vocals) are on route for Vermont and Florida to California to prepare for Soundwave. Originally slated to open stage five, they've been moved to a later time, which simply gives Skiba more time to hit the surf. Where in the past he may have spent the day partying, he now takes it a little easier on tour, a decision no doubt influenced by The Sekrets' debut show in 2012 where he “hijacked himself with booze and drugs” and couldn't get through the opening song. There's no chance of that happening this time around, as he wants to be “present” when delivering material from the latest and ninth Alkaline Trio record, My Shame Is True.

“A big part of it has to do that the three of us are all such good friends, and we all really love what we do. There are only three of us in the band and there are not a whole lot of egos flying around. Everyone plays their part and collectively we have fun doing what we do, and we have what I like to say the best 'job' in the world.”

While Skiba loves what he does and is always writing – hence The Sekrets and another project titled theHell - it'll still be another couple of years before the next Alkaline Trio record. “It takes so long to get a record together and there are so many different stops in the process, so it's a little too early to start thinking about. We've recorded nothing, but there are definitely ideas – I know Dan's been writing, Derek has a wealth of great ideas. We'll get back to it when the time feels right.”