By request, Alkaline Trio churns out unique shows

By John Benson

The band’s incessant touring has built up a following.

As music fans, we’re a fickle bunch.

How often have you attended your favorite band’s show and complained about the set list?

One group that takes its audience’s opinion seriously is Alkaline Trio, which allows diehard fans to choose which songs get played in concert.

“You can go to our MySpace site [myspace.com/alkalinetrio] and look through our whole catalog to pick what your ideal set would be,” said drummer Derek Grant, calling from Minneapolis. “The site tallies up the choices according to how many people are going to be at that show that night and then every day we try to build a set around that.”

Now that’s band-fan interaction taken to the nth degree. Also, Grant pointed out that the Chicago-based trio — Grant, Matt Skiba (guitar, vocals) and Dan Andriano (bass, vocals) — is open to requests made during its shows.

It was one off-the-wall suggestion recently that found the punk-based outfit kicking out a raucous version of Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You’ve Been Gone.” Your chance to get involved takes place tonight when Alkaline Trio plays the House of Blues.

It’s been a long haul for the band, which began a decade ago as a pop-punk/emo act. Over the years, the group has found an audience through incessant touring, including the 2002, 2004 and 2007 Vans Warped Tours, as well as an opening slot for My Chemical Romance.

On top of that, Alkaline Trio has achieved major-label status with its recently released CD and Epic Records debut, “Agony and Irony.” Considering the music industry is, well, tanking of late, it may seem like an odd time to jump to a major, but Grant points out Epic has been extremely open to the band’s creativity.

More so, one modern concern is that of a new album leaking. For the group’s previous effort “Crimson,” which was released in 2005 on Vagrant Records, the new material found its way onto the Internet two-and-a-half months before the album’s release.

This time, “Agony and Irony” was leaked two-and-a-half weeks before its release date. Grant commented on this familiar and controversial occurrence.

“There seems to be a certain sense of entitlement when it comes to music in particular,” Grant said. “We’re dealing with a generation of people who have grown up with access to the Internet and instant access to anything they want. But from a record label and artist standpoint, it’s an investment. You hope to get something out of it or at least break even.”

He quickly added, “But I do appreciate the enthusiasm that people want to hear the music as soon as possible, and there’s always the argument that without the free trading of MP3s, that X amount of people would not have heard your music. So strong cases can be made from either side.”

Grant said he’s more comfortable focusing on the music. While there’s no denying Alkaline Trio’s roots may be based in punk rock, in recent years the trio has actively pursued other musical avenues in hopes of spreading its creative wings. The drummer describes “Agony and Irony” as being a stripped-down affair, but in reality perhaps a better description is being an all-inclusive record to the band’s history.

While new track “Love, Love, Kiss, Kiss” sounds like old-school Alkaline Trio, a song like “Lost & Rendered” includes industrial rock elements reminiscent of something heard on “Crimson.”

“The band is always trying to refine our abilities in whatever manner, so I think while the process is a little bit more in line with that punk ethic, the music is just really easily digestible,” Grant said. “We were stripping things back and trying to write songs for the three instruments – drums, bass and guitar.

“I feel like we put a lot of energy into making songs as strong as they can be, and I think it’s a better record for it, and it’s a superior album from certainly the previous few records.”