The Church of Satan was something, aesthetically, that we were always really fascinated with and wanted to emulate. I think it's a good look.
I've been to the Bahamas before, and it's so crass. You land in Nassau, and the whole island is replete with beauty and culture, but there's a lot of poverty. It is a largely black population; then they build these places like Atlantis and The Cove that are walled off.
It feels really good to be doing Blink justice. Stepping on stage for the first show was pretty crazy. I've been skydiving several times, and that's the closest thing I can compare it to. Such a beautiful rush.
The really smart conspiracies are the ones that explain, 'This is why this is plausible,' not, 'This is what happened.' If it makes sense and if it's possible, I'd investigate it.
I was a bicycle messenger when Alkaline Trio was formed as a way to make ends meet before the band became a career, and I've just always been a cyclist - I BMX'd, and then I got really into - through messengering - I got really into road bikes and fixed gears, which I still have.
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.
Being a drummer definitely influences how I play guitar. And then piano influences drumming and vice versa.
As a kid, I took piano lessons, and I didn't like it. It wasn't cool. I was into Duran Duran and rock music. I didn't have any interest in piano. I did it for three years, and because of piano, I learned percussion. I learned scales. I learned how to sing. Piano gives you all of the basics of those things.
I grew up on Edgar Allen Poe, and I loved Alfred Hitchcock's movies.
The Sekrets record is very much me, and Dan's Emergency Room is very much him. And then Alkaline Trio is very much ours.
I see kids in Cradle of Filth shirts at our shows, which is awesome.
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.
I dropped out of arts school because I didn't wanna stare at a computer all day - I get headaches.
I first heard of Ulver reading the 'Lords of Chaos' book.
Pennywise are legends and gentlemen and maniacs.
I collect motorcycles and art.
Orange County encompasses a large area that has a lot of Alkaline Trio fans.
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.
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.
I consider myself a pagan and a witch.
