Photo by Katie Hovland

Last month, Alkaline Trio drummer Derek Grant released his debut solo album via Red Scare Industries, called Breakdown. We caught up with Grant just before his recent show at Beat Kitchen to discuss the details of the record. We talked about what inspired him to start writing songs, the personal nature of his lyrics and the various musical influences found on the album. We also spoke about how Breakdown was recorded, the fact that Grant played all the instruments on the recording, his partnership with Red Scare and more. What’s apparent after listening to the LP is that Grant is not only an especially talented musician, but also an engaging lyricist who just began a very promising solo career.

Bill – When did you begin writing the songs on Breakdown and what were some of your initial motivations when you started?

Derek – It was around 2008 and I had just reached a pretty unhappy point in my life. It was just a situation where I felt sort of desperate for change. I couldn’t really comprehend everything that was going on around me, I just knew that I was unhappy and I kind of needed to get out of the situation I was in. So I grabbed a guitar and I started travelling around the country. I had friends in Portland, Los Angeles, New York and in the Detroit area where I grew up, I had friends and family there. So I just went and I was crashing on people’s couches for weeks at a time or staying in hotels, and trying to write a song a day. It didn’t matter what I was writing about, it could be a stupid song like a commercial for a product or something like that, but it was just an exercise that I was trying to do. Out of that exercise came maybe dozen or so songs that really sort of tapped into what I was going through emotionally at the time. It took me a long time to gain closure on those issues, the things that were going on in my life at that point in time, which is part of the reason that it’s taken so long for this stuff to actually see that light of day. But yeah, that was pretty much it. It was a very honest expression of my feelings at the time and I hadn’t written lyrics in a decade or so before that, so it was a big breakthrough for me to be able to write these songs and sort of put into words the way I was feeling.

Bill – Did you intend for the songwriting process to be a cathartic experience or was that something that just happened more on its own?

Derek – It just happened. To me, that’s one of the cool things about the process when I look back at it. Like I said, maybe five days in a row I’d write some stupid song, some little jingle or something, and then on the sixth day here comes something that I’d listen back to on these hastily-recorded versions of songs that I had and it would kind of hit a nerve. I’d be like, “I’m actually saying something there.” At the same time I wasn’t being very honest with myself and was also in a period of my life where I was numbing myself with a lot of different things. So, it took me a while to listen to those songs and those words and actually go, “Alright, that’s what I’m feeling. The honest emotion is there.” So, it was surprisingly cathartic for me. And for me, my songwriting idols, including Matt and Dan from Alkaline Trio, I love them and their lyrics and I hear them talk time and time again about the cathartic nature of writing music. I’ve always understood that to be true, but I’ve never really experienced it till this whole experience.

Bill – Were you at all apprehensive about sharing lyrics that were this personal with your audience?

Derek – Yeah, you feel pretty vulnerable. You’re in this moment of weakness or confusion or pain and you sort of speak these things. It almost got harder with time, again because these were written in 2008. I’ve been kind of back and forth with whether or not I want to share it with the world. There are other people involved in these songs, you know, and that’s something that I had to take into consideration too. I wanted reach a place of closure where I could sort of emotionally set these songs aside, understand fully what they meant to me and how they figure into other people’s lives that were part of that story. I finally got to a place where I felt comfortable with that. I moved on. I’m in an infinitely happier place now, healthier place now, and it just felt like I needed to get this stuff out. It was like this blockage or obstacle that until I put this stuff out and it had a proper release, it didn’t feel right to move on and release newer stuff that may be a little bit more relevant to what’s going on with me today.

Bill – The songs on Breakdown feature an array of influences, including ‘80s new wave, folk, indie rock and more. Did you intentionally want to include a variety of styles or did it just occur naturally?

Derek – That was another thing that surprised me, it just kind of happened. I’m sure if I looked back at the exact date when things were recorded you’d see I was probably listening to a lot of Replacements around that time or something like that. Some of the more folk, almost borderline country aspects of the record, there’s maybe like two or three songs that hinge on that, I was listening to nothing like that then. I don’t even know if I had anything like that in my music collection at that point in time. That stuff came out and it was probably just a product of writing a song about heartbreak or some sort of hardship on an acoustic guitar, which lends itself to maybe a certain type of folk music or something. It would come out and it would surprise me. That was another thing that I was hesitant about. It was like, “Is this who I am? Is this music me? Should I take this seed of this song and try and force it into this Alkaline Trio mold or a punk rock mold or something that seems more appropriate for the audience I’ve been playing to?” I just came to the realization that it’s going to come out however it comes out and I still continue to write like that. I might write a metal song one day and a punk song the next day and then a country song the next day. I love it and it’s constantly surprising me.

Bill – Where did you record the album and what was that experience like?

Derek – Well, most of it was recorded on a laptop while I was travelling around. The bones of the songs are all acoustic guitar and vocals. I really wanted to re-record the vocals, like over the years I’ve kind of struggled with it because some of them are technically not perfect, and I’m also trying to find my voice during that period. Some are sung in a very different way than others. I was experimenting with stuff. Anytime it would come down to me re-recording the vocals it just didn’t seem to capture the same feeling. Because again I was at a different place in my life, so I decided to keep it, as imperfect as it was, just kind of keep it as raw as it was originally. I supplemented the recordings over the years, adding little parts here and there, and then I finally sort of remixed it and tried to give it a little bit more of a cohesive sound. The majority of it was recorded on a laptop. Some of it was recorded at Atlas Studios here in Chicago when Alkaline Trio was doing the This Addiction record there. One of the songs, “Got a Feeling,” was actually written mostly in the studio there after the other guys would leave. So that was the only proper studio environment that I really worked in. Everything else was done in bedrooms and hotels.

Bill – Is there a song in particular that you’re most pleased with in terms of how it turned out?

Derek – The song “Good Long Look,” which I haven’t been playing on this trip, it kind of sticks out to me. There’s no technical prowess there, but it’s probably the most sort of stripped-down and raw. The vocals are kind of timid and my voice cracks. There’s something about it. That was the one that really stood out the most whenever I would try to re-cut the vocals, where I would say “I can’t recreate this.” The way my voice sounds, it’s indicative of what was going on at the time, the way I was feeling at that time, and I just couldn’t recreate that. So that’s the song that stands out the most to me on the record. And again, it’s not because I did anything particularly cool with it, I think it’s the most unique in that it was just the most raw, honest portrayal.

Bill – What was it like performing all the instruments on this recording?

Derek – It was fun. I got to stretch out a little bit as a guitar player. I’ve always had a huge appreciation for bass guitar, but I’ve always approached it a little bit more utilitarian, like just playing something in the pocket, something kind of basic. I started to really experiment with that and really appreciate what the bass guitar can accomplish within a song. So there were aspects like that, and also as a drummer to write drum parts that were stripped-down and just keep it simple, was also fun. It was fun to step back and not approach it as a drummer and it’s got to be this drum-heavy record or something like that. I tried to keep it as far from that as possible. Again, it kind of started as an exercise in songwriting and it’s a fairly basic record. It’s not breaking any ground in terms of song arrangements or chord structure or anything like that, but I’m really proud of it and I hope people enjoy it.

Bill – How did you go about teaming with Red Scare for the release of this record?

Derek – Toby, (Red Scare owner Toby Jeg) has been a longtime friend of mine and I’ve always respected his opinion on music. He’s always had great ideas and advice about stuff. I had finally figured out what songs from that time period sort of worked together and told a story. There’s a bit of an arc to the story and he listened to the record in sequence. I had finally reached a place where I was ready to put that period of my life behind me. I had already moved on and I wanted to give the stuff a proper release, but I didn’t have a lot of faith in my ability to do that. I was right on the verge of just throwing it out on the internet and just letting whatever happens happen. I sent it to Toby and he listened to it and he was just really into it and really encouraging. It helped to sort of motivate me to realize that this is something that I should maybe make a bit more of a thing and actually play shows to back it up. I definitely credit my wife; she was very supportive of me. My family was very supportive of me, as were my friends, Matt and Dan especially. Everybody was very encouraging, but Toby was the one that was like, “I would love to put this out and we can do something with this.” It really changed everything for me. I started to look at things a different way and started to think about maybe actually stepping out there. I’d done these sorts of online releases before, just kind of one-off projects, and this could have easily just fallen into that category of something that was just quietly put out there. Toby was like, “This could be the start of you stepping out and doing something under your own name and starting this new chapter of your career.” I’m so thankful that he said that.

Bill – Tell me about the band that you assembled to help perform these songs at your shows.

Derek – I could not have assembled a greater group of guys and a greater group of musicians, and I’m not just saying that because two of the guys are in the room right now, (laughs). The easiest thing for me to do would be to just go out and play solo acoustic, and that’s what I was thinking about doing, although it wouldn’t maybe be the best representation of the record since the record is done as a full band. Toby suggested that I think about putting a band together for at least the Chicago show that I’m playing tonight. The first person I thought of was Neil Hennessy, who I used to live with in Chicago. I’ve toured with him numerous times, but we’ve never really played music together despite all that history. He was the first person that came to mind and I knew he could help me sort of put a band together. I contacted Neil, got him onboard, Neil and Eli, (Eli Caterer) have played in bands together. They’ve been playing a lot together for the past however many years. Eli just kind of fell into place and I couldn’t be more excited about having Eli playing guitar. Then I went back to Michigan to visit family and I ran into my friend Matt who I had played in bands with a long time ago. I hadn’t spoken with him in a while and just had a chance encounter and we got to talking and I mentioned these shows. He just volunteered and was like “If you need a bass player I’m there.” He heard some of the songs and said he really enjoyed it. We kind of had all the pieces, but weren’t sure how it was going to pan out until we all got into a room together, which just happened last week. Sure enough, the first rehearsal I think everybody walked away from it being pretty amazed at how good it felt. For me, not only is it an honor to play with these guys, but to hear these songs through the filter of these other amazing musicians, it really breathes this new life into the songs. This will be the fourth and final show for this run, but it’s just gotten better and better every night.

Bill – Have you begun writing any new songs or thought about a future solo album?

Derek – Yeah, I’ve got a good portion of a new record written. Some of the songs that we’ll be playing tonight, because obviously the record is only eight songs and I needed to supplement it, so there’ll be a couple new songs and even an Alkaline Trio song tonight. I’m always writing and recording. I’m not doing quite the same exercise in terms of trying to write every day, I’m approaching it a little differently, but since I moved to Vermont we got an old farmhouse, we got a lot of property. It’s amazingly quiet and peaceful there and I just found it very reinvigorating in terms of the creative process and the inspiration. So when it hits it hits and I’ll obsess over a song for three days until I feel like I have a decent rendition of it and move one. Once I get enough of those together I’ll think about going into the studio, most likely with an actual band this time and do a proper recording.