Dan Andriano is done with the darkness. For years, the singer-songwriter and co-vocalist/bassist of Alkaline Trio pursued vices and villainies of all destructive sorts, eventually leading him to a place where could see the damage he was doing. It’s this shift in heart that energized Andriano’s new project, Dan Andriano & The Bygones and their debut album, Dear Darkness, coming out on February 11 through Epitaph Records. 
“The [title] is sort of about actively deciding to not seek out that darkness … I kind of did that for so long through whatever it is … drugs, or drinking, or various, other dark activities—pick one,” Andriano says from his Chicago home via Zoom. “But a lot of it just comes along with being on tour, a lot of it feeds into depression that’s already there and existing. You’re going to deal with dark things whether you like it or not, so actively seeking them out and bringing them upon myself…that’s not for me anymore.”
Andriano is buzzing as he talks about the new project and its new songs which radiate a more playful and upbeat energy than his past work on the melancholic, severely underrated Emergency Room. While known for his signature vocals and witty writing with Alkaline Trio, Dear Darkness displays Andriano’s undeniable gifts as a different, more introspective songwriter who found chemistry and complementary creative energy with Bay Area brothers and musicians Randy and Dylan Moore as well as Nick Kenrick. This album is Dan Andriano unbridled and optimistic on a vinyl plate, 10 candid, heart-and-skull-on-your-sleeve songs that sum up his current state of mind – and soul – in the way he knows best.
So why not the Emergency Room and now the Bygones?
I feel like it was time to start something different. When I initially went to San Jose to make the record, I wasn’t sure what it was going to be. There was talk of me going out there to meet Randy and Dylan and hopefully make an EP and if we had time, do some covers; I had a few covers picked out. But we started working on the original material first to see where it would go, and it started to go really well … almost immediately. When I realized what I had—Randy and Dylan, the great studio—I was like, “Alright, let’s make as much as we can.” So we just kept writing and writing, and all of a sudden, we had a bunch of tunes.
The ideas were flowing …
Yeah, I was having so much fun, and it was so positive, and what we ended up creating, to me, felt different from the Emergency Room … to have this great rock band bound to this new idea. Honestly, I don’t love playing shows by myself—it makes me riddled with anxiety. So it’s harder to work, for me, for some reason, harder work than it seems like it should be. I like being with a band, and the band we put together for the tour is pretty mind-blowing, and I just want to get out there and play and jam.
What will the band be like for the tour?
It’ll be a five-piece band, on tour, with keys … it’s going to be pretty special. I want everything that was on the record to be live.
Nothing will be left out.
Right … part of it is just making a new thing, a new band and just stick with it.
You mentioned that positivity which, when I first listened to the album, could kind of feel right away. What do you attribute that to? The chemistry with the other guys?
Right off the bat, I could tell that Randy and Dylan, even though they were so much younger than me, they come from a very similar place in terms of musical influences and a very broad spectrum of musical influences. With Alkaline Trio, for example, I don’t necessarily listen to bands that sound like us or that we could categorize with us or whatever. People always seem surprised by that or want to … I don’t want to get into that. (Laughs) For me, there’s so much music out there to experience, and if you just listen to one thing, you’re missing out.
Anyway, when we first got together, we were playing, just kind of jamming, and then we played a song to see how that goes. One of us started playing something that sounded like “American Girl,” and within a few bars, I kind of looked at Randy , and we just started playing “American Girl.” Like, he was singing; I was doing back-ups, and Dylan was there, and it sounded killer. I was like, “Holy shit, y’all know ‘American Girl?’” (Laughs) And then we played some songs by the Beatles, and I was like, “Alright, you know a lot of stuff.’” And they giggled because they know a lot of stuff.
They come from a very similar place of classic rock influences, alternative music from the 80s and 90s … they’re very well-versed. So was like yeah, let’s fucking get into it. Like, play this guitar solo like Jimmy Page or this time, play it more like Prince. And (Randy) would know what I was talking about and the exact little nuances. And he could pull it off. I was like, “Oh my god, you actually did it.” (Laughs) It was a lot of fun, and that definitely drove the energy … the positivity on this album.
Is that chemistry difficult to find with other musicians?
I’ve been very lucky because I’ve been with the same band for 20-plus years, not to age myself too much. The chemistry that Matt (Skiba) and I have happened right away when we asked me to join the band—it was pretty great. So I’ve been pretty lucky. For me, getting together with bands and musicians has always been about the fun you have first and what that leads to. Like bands in high school like Slapstick and Tuesday and even Alkaline Trio.
Our goals were always based around how we are going to have the most fun on tour, who we’re going to see in the Bay Area, or do we know anyone new in Gainesville … it’s all about making connections and getting back into that van and heading to next city. That’s what helps build the chemistry in the band.
So I’m not sure how easy it is to find that. I know you have to be open to it … be open to going out there and playing with two people I’ve never met because my heart told me it’s a good idea. I was nervous about it but I’m glad I did it.
After all the songwriting you’ve done with Matt over the years, do you find it a little intimidating doing it on your own?
I wouldn’t say it’s ever easy for me. It can be a struggle to finish a song. For Alkaline Trio, I’ll write a song, or Matt will write a song, and it’s pretty minimal. When we get together and start playing through our ideas, I might have a verse or a chorus, and then the three of us usually finish it—Derek (Grant) usually has a lot of ideas about structure and how the song can be produced and where we should take certain parts or how everything should be treated.
Doing this by myself—I wrote and produced the record—it was a little bit terrifying. (Laughs) But it’s liberating, too. I tried really hard not to obsess. I’m here, and I know I Iike these songs … I can’t obsess about this one lyric, or I don’t want to overthink this drum part. “Just go with your first instinct,” is what they used to tell me.
So, try not to overthink things.
Yeah. And not to say that Alkaline Trio does that … it’s just more of a group effort. So when you put forth something, you’ll have to be ready for one of the guys to be like, “No, I don’t like that” or “Let’s try a different way.” Even though I might have it constructed in my head, I have to be ready and open to some criticism and feedback. So, with my own stuff, I don’t really have to do any of that. Like, Ryan, the engineer, would have ideas, or Andy would have ideas, and a lot of them were great. But overall, I had to say no or yes.
You might have kind of answered this already, but what do you get out of this project that you don’t with Alkaline Trio?
Part of it is being able to do whatever I want, whether it’s an acoustic record or a just a rock ‘n’ roll record, and make a record and change the name … I can do all of that. (Laughs) I can be my slightly manic self and go with it. Like, not pull in the reigns if I’m excited about a guitar solo going for two minutes and fade out. I don’t have to worry about it not being a traditionally Alkaline Trio thing. For me, it’s about doing whatever I want to do. There’s no expectation for myself, so therefore, I don’t care about expectations from anybody else. (Laughs)
So this album is authentic Dan Andriano, totally real and no filter.
Yeah, basically, and it’s just the result of all of the ideas I’ve had … that I think are good. (Laughs) We wrote and recorded this record in kind of a short amount of time and it … just kept feeling like the right thing to do. So that part is definitely of big value for me—it’s another creative outlet.
What me and Matt and Derek have is pretty special. As Alkaline Trio, we like to do whatever we’re feeling at the time, and I feel like we’ve made some pretty different records over the years—different from each other. But we also realize the band can’t go out and write an album that sounds like Willie Nelson. It’s just not going to work.
I actually would probably still listen to Alkaline Trio do Willie Nelson songs …
(Laughs) A lot of people might listen to it, but it would only be once. Never again. But I’ve basically decided that if I ever wanted to make a record that sounded like that, I will.
You’ve said that the album title and song Dear Darkness is about restraining yourself from chasing the harmful, darker things in life. How’s life now?
I don’t mind being in the light, and I don’t mean from a religious standpoint … in any way. Just to be clear, I mean it purely from an energy standpoint. Where I want to be is bright right now, and there’s lots of colors, and there’s lots of ideas and musical notes flying around. It’s different from when you’re just sitting in the darkness waiting for the next whatever else it’ll be.
When I’ve been through hard times, I found that the darkness could be weirdly addicting.
Exactly. It becomes like a security blanket because the longer you spend there, it becomes what you know and what you expect. It’s just not necessary.
I have to ask, are you working on a new Trio record?
We, Alkaline Trio, were actually messing with some ideas on this last tour. We’re definitely writing … we’re not, not trying to get pregnant. (Laughs) We’re not, not trying to write a record. We’re going to see what happens in the next year—I think we’re probably going to try to get together in a studio setting.
Do you think that light and those colors you mentioned will influence the new record?
It will, but not in the way I think you mean, necessarily. It’s definitely affecting how I approach songs. I’m way more open to trying different musical things now, and that’s something Matt and I were talking about. And honestly, just being more clear-headed and a little more optimistic about things makes it easier for Matt and I and Derek to actually communicate properly without getting our feelings hurt or without being weird about ideas. We’ve never really been the guys that get precious about songs or ideas that we bring. But even saying that, I know I’ve brought ideas that I might have wanted a certain way or didn’t go a certain way … it’s not like it’s never happened.
Being able to communicate about the songs in a more normal, adult way makes the songwriting process a lot better. I’m not going to turn my back on things that I know have happened in my life or may still happen. That’s where content arrives from, but it’s going to be different in how I approach it. (Shrugs) In a brighter, more positive way.
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Check out the video for “Dear Darkness” here:
For more from Dan Andriano & The Bygones, find them on Facebook, Twitter, and their official website.
Photo courtesy of Dan Adriano & The Bygones
