Blink-182′s Mark Hoppus was joined by a very special guest on the latest episode of his ‘After School Radio’ show on Apple Music – his former bandmate and Alkaline Trio member Matt Skiba.
Skiba appeared on the 2016 album ‘California’ and 2019’s ‘NINE’ alongside Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker. The former became their first record to hit No.1 on the UK album chart.
During the new interview, the guys looked back on their time working together and the transition into Blink’s current lineup of Hoppus, Barker and returning guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge.
Hoppus said “I hope that in Alkaline Trio, you guys are having the same healing, amazing conversations about your band that we have in Blink. First of all, I want to say that you are so classy in how you have handled Tom coming back and you stepping back into Alkaline Trio and all the love that you’ve shown us and all the love that we return to you. It’s been a really nice process and I hope you feel the same way.”
Skiba responded “That’s exactly how I feel. Everything is where it should be. I had an incredible time with Blink. I’m honoured to have been a part of the band. I’m proud of the work we did together. I had such a blast touring with you guys and I feel like the time came where Tom came back and it couldn’t have worked out more perfectly or more amicably. When I do interviews, people always want this dirt that doesn’t exist. It’s all love man. We really had a great time. These guys found their way back to each other and it’s what fans want, it is what the band needs. As far as Alkaline Trio is concerned, that’s my home and my family and when I was with Blink that was my home and my family. But the time came and I feel like all is right in our respective and collective worlds.”
Elsewhere, Skiba spoke about how the recording process for the new Alkaline Trio album ‘Blood, Hair, And Eyeballs’ was similar to how Blink made ‘California’.
He told Hoppus “We had a bunch of demos and we scrapped all of them, put them on the back burner anyway, and started fresh all in the same room the way we used to do things and the way Blink did things. Our studio time definitely influenced how we approached this record. We made ‘California’, all of us there – the unity of purpose that you spoke of, I love that phrase. It definitely makes such a huge difference when you are all there, everybody has input. In the same way with Blink, we can tell each other if we like something or if we don’t like something, you don’t have to worry about hurting anyone’s feelings. We’re kind about it, we’re productive about it, we just want what’s best for the record. So it was really cool for the first time in Alkaline Trio’s adult life to do it the way we did it with Blink. If you have the time and you can afford it, I think it is the best way to make a record.”
You can listen to the full interview here via Apple Music.
Skiba and Dan Andriano recently sat down with Rock Sound for our digital cover series The Album Story, talking us through the whole journey behind ‘Blood, Hair, And Eyeballs’. Read that interview right here.
Plus, we teamed up with the band to bring you this world exclusive t-shirt design, available now only at SHOP.ROCKSOUND.TV.
