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Biography
BLP sources|date=June 2006Infobox musical artist| name = Matt Skiba| image = MattSkibaWarpedTour2010.JPG| caption = Skiba performing on the 2010 Warped Tour | image_size =| background = solo_singer| birth_name = Matthew Thomas Skiba| birth_date = birth date and age|1976|02|24| origin = McHenry, Illinois (born in Chicago )| genre = Punk rock , alternative rock | occupation = Musician , songwriter | years_active = 1996& ndash;present| instrument = Singing|vocals , guitar , Drum kit|drums , piano , bass guitar | label = Epic Records Asian Man Records Vagrant Records Epitaph Records Heart and Skull| associated_acts = Alkaline Trio Heavens (band)|Heavens Matt Skiba and the Sekrets theHELL | website = Matthew Thomas Skiba (born February 24, 1976 in Chicago , Illinois ) is the lead singer and guitarist of Alkaline Trio .
Early life and family
Matt Skiba was born in Chicago and moved to nearby McHenry, Illinois|McHenry at the age of three. He began playing piano and drums at an early age. His first concert was Public Image Ltd .cite web|url= http://decapolis.com/musicreviews/interviews/alkaline.shtml |title=Alkaline Trio - Matt Skiba |publisher=Decapolis.com |year=2001 |accessdate=2010-12-01 In 1996, while working as a bike messenger , he decided to switch from drums to guitar . Prior to that he played in bands including Blunt, Jerkwater, and the Traitors.
His mother Joan Skiba is a fourth and fifth grade teacher at Woods Creek Elementary School in Crystal Lake, Illinois|Crystal Lake , Illinois. His father Thomas Skiba is an oral surgeon in Crystal Lake . He has two younger twin sisters.
Alkaline Trio
Skiba studied design at Chicago's Columbia College Chicago|Columbia College but left in 1996 to form Alkaline Trio with drummer Glenn Porter and bassist Rob Doran .
After the group recorded their demo and the single " Sundials (song)|Sundials ," they recorded the For Your Lungs Only EP, during which Doran left the group. Dan Andriano joined and played bass on the EP. The band released their debut full-length Goddamnit on Asian Man Records in 1998, followed by '' Maybe I'll Catch Fire and the compilation Alkaline Trio (album)|Alkaline Trio in 2000.
The group's lineup changed again in 2000 when Porter left and ex- Smoking Popes drummer Mike Felumlee joined, making the band a trio again. From Here to Infirmary , released by Vagrant Records in the spring of 2001. In 2002 Jade Tree Records released a Hot Water Music /Alkaline Trio split EP which was well received. Both bands contributed original tracks and covers of each other's songs. Good Mourning followed in 2003, marking the band's first album with drummer Derek Grant (drummer)|Derek Grant , formerly of Suicide Machines and Thoughts of Ionesco. While recording Good Mourning , Skiba had a problem with acid reflux because of his diet, lack of vocal warm-up and his earlier troubles with alcohol and drugs.
The band followed up with Crimson (Alkaline Trio album)|Crimson in 2005 in music|2005 and Remains (Alkaline Trio album)|Remains in 2007. Agony & Irony , their first record on Epic Records , was released in July 2008. In January 2010 they released This Addiction on their own Heart & Skull label in partnership with Epitaph Records . In July 2011, they released an unplugged album called Damnesia to commemorate 15 years as a band.
Side Projects and Solo
In 2001 he began his first full solo tour with The Plea For Peace Tour, consisting mostly of acoustic versions of Alkaline Trio songs with backing drums and bass in a few shows.
His first solo release came in 2002 in the form of a split with Kevin Seconds of 7 Seconds (band)|7 Seconds fame. The songs were mostly acoustic with drums, bass, and piano played by Skiba. Alkaline Trio still occasionally performs the song "Good Fucking Bye."
In 2005 Skiba contributed the song "Demons Away" to the Fat Wreck Chords ' compilation Protect: A Benefit for the National Association to Protect Children .
In 2006 Skiba launched the band Heavens (band)|Heavens with F-Minus bassist Josiah Steinbrick . The group released Patent Pending (album)|Patent Pending on September 12, 2006.cite web|url= http://www.moture.net/modules.php? name=News& file=article& sid=54 |title=moture.net |publisher=moture.net |date= |accessdate=2010-11-29dead link|date=November 2010
Also in 2006 Skiba contributed to the track " Rock 'n' Roll High School (song)|Rock 'n' Roll High School " featured on Brats on the Beat: Ramones for Kids , a tribute album released on Go-Kart Records .
In May 2007 Skiba performed five shows with Chuck Ragan of Hot Water Music.
In late December 2008 Steinbrick announced on Heavens' MySpace page, "This is no longer a Heavens page. Sorry, that's just the way it's going down. Matt will still be doing Trio stuff and last I heard he might be working on a wonderful solo record. I'm not really positive actually but I'm sure it will be great." A falling out between Skiba and Steinbrick led to the breakup.
On August 18, 2009, Skiba, Grant and Greg Corner and Jonny Radtke of Kill Hannah debuted the Supergroup (music)|supergroup cover band Them Krocked Vulvas (and occasionally played under the name A Perfect Circus).
On August 10, 2010, he released a solo album titled Demos (Matt Skiba album)|Demos on Asian Man Records . The album is said to be a precursor to a future Alkaline Trio album .cite web|url= http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php? t=1651422 |title=Matt's Solo Details |publisher=AbsolutePunk.net |date= |accessdate=2010-11-29cite web|last=Bhamra |first=Satvir |url= http://amplified.tv/2010/04/23/alkaline-trio-frontman-to-release-solo-album/ |title=Alkaline Trio frontman to release solo album |publisher=Amplified.tv |date=2010-04-23 |accessdate=2010-11-29
In January 2012, Skiba released an EP along with former Angels and Airwaves drummer Atom Willard under the moniker theHELL. theHELL's debut EP is entitled "Sauve Les Requins".
Skiba's second full length solo album, Babylon , will be released May 8, 2012. The album feature's Skiba leading a band called Matt Skiba And The Sekrets, the backing band includes AFI bassist Hunter Burgan, and current touring drummer for My Chemical Romance Jarrod Alexander. http://www.punknews.org/article/45794
Personal life
Matt is a vegetarian and also practices transcendental meditation according to an interview with AOL Interface. He said that the clear and calm state of mind it provides has greatly helped his creative process, though initially he believed the "tortured soul" mindset was more beneficial. The book Catching the Big Fish by David Lynch caused him to change his mind and he now believes a calm state is more artistically helpful.
Skiba moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2001, though he currently lives in Los Angeles .cite web|url= http://www.spin.com/articles/tough-questions-alkaline-trios-matt-skiba |title=Tough Questions for Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba |publisher=spin.com |date=2010-02-24 |accessdate=2010-12-01 He has "Love Song" tattooed on his knuckles. He is a "big The Cure|Cure fan," a "huge The Damned (band)|Damned fan," "an enormous David Lynch fan" and a "really big Nirvana (band)|Nirvana fan." Skiba is no longer married.cite web|last=Suicide |first=Auren |url= http://suicidegirls.com/interviews/Matt%20Skiba:%20Alkaline%20Trio/ |title=Matt Skiba: Alkaline Trio |publisher=Suicidegirls.com |date=2010-01-25 |accessdate=2010-11-29
Notable guest appearances
New Found Glory - "Forget My Name" off the album Sticks and Stones (New Found Glory album)|Sticks and Stones
Avoid One Thing - "Pop Bunk Band"
Atari Star - "Winter Birthmark"
Say Anything (band)|Say Anything - "About Falling" on the double album In Defense of the Genre
H2O (American band)|H2O - "What Happened? " on the album Nothing to Prove (H2O album)|Nothing to Prove
Common Rider - backup vocals on the album This is Unity Music
Chuck Ragan - "The Boat" on Feast or Famine (Chuck Ragan album)|Feast or Famine
Chuck Ragan - "Do What You Do" on Feast or Famine (Chuck Ragan album)|Feast or Famine
Ashes Divide - "The Prey" on '' Keep Telling Myself It's Alright
Rise Against - "Hairline Fracture" on Appeal to Reason (album)|Appeal to Reason
Rise Against - "Midnight Hands" on Endgame (Rise Against album)|Endgame
Tom Gabel - "Amputations" on Heart Burns
Jeffree Star - "Louis Vuitton Body Bag" on Beauty Killer
William Control - "Deathclub" on Underworld: Rise of The Lycans
Kill Hannah - "Promise Me" on Wake Up The Sleepers
The Bouncing Souls - "Hybrid Moments" on Complete Control Recording Sessions
Alkaline Trio Persondata | NAME = Skiba, Matt | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = February 24, 1976 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Skiba, Matt Category:Living people Category:1976 births Category:Columbia College Chicago alumni Category:American agnostics Category:American male singers Category:American punk rock singers Category:American punk rock guitarists Category:American vegetarians Category:American people of Polish descent Category:Musicians from Chicago, Illinois Category:Alkaline Trio members
