This type of dichotomy between darkness and hope is best illustrated in the band’s easily recognizable heart and skull logo, which was created by the Alkaline Trio’s longtime merch designer (and Against Me! frontman Tom Gabel’s wife), Heather Gabel. The image is inked on all three of the band members as well as on tons of fans. “I love it [when fans get tattoos of our logo] and I always take pictures of them,” Skiba says. “It really means something to me when people say that they dig what you do, and I take that to heart. But [fans with Alkaline Trio tattoos] are taking that to the grave and wearing it proudly on their flesh and it never gets old seeing that. It’s like we’re all one big friendly gang.”

Speaking of gangs, Andriano recently made his tattooing debut when he inked the initials “NWA” on the left wrist of one of his bandmates while they were in the South. “We were in Texas recently, and Oliver Peck came out with his mobile tattoo studio and met us at a show and tattooed a bunch of stuff. Then we gave him some money and he gave us a machine and clean needles and Dan tattooed me,” Skiba recounts, adding that Peck said Andriano had a heavy but steady hand. “I was really intoxicated so they didn’t let me tattoo them at all, but Dan did my tattoo freehand—and he did a really good job, actually.”

Skiba himself got the tattoo bug early, inking himself with a sewing needle when he was just 12. “The first tattoo I gave to myself was a Youth of Today tattoo, which is funny because it was when I was very, very young and wasn’t clear what straight edge meant,” he explains, speaking of the iconic fist with a giant X stenciled on it. “I thought it was a really cool design, but I didn’t realize it stood for the straight edge movement. At the time I was already taking a lot of LSD and drinking and doing all kinds of stuff, so it was a little bit silly.” Thankfully Skiba only got as far as the fist before abandoning the tattoo, although he maintains that he doesn’t regret his decision.

“I did a lot of things when I was a kid without thinking, tattooing myself being one of them,” he admits. “I still have some tattoos from that era that look like complete shit but I’m very proud of them.” These days Skiba’s forearms, legs, and ribs are covered in ink, most of which was done by Peck and Thomas Yosenick, who currently works at Fine Line Tattoo in Dallas. Skiba says the most meaningful pieces are the pair of scissors on his leg—a tribute to his seamstress grandmother—and the phrase “Love Song,” which graces his knuckles.

“There’s a Cure song titled ‘Lovesong,’ which is a beautiful song, and then there’s also a song by The Damned called ‘Love Song,’ which is all about punching somebody out,” Skiba says about the two-pronged significance of this tattoo. “It has a dual purpose, having that on my knuckles. Not that I go around duking people who are looking for a fight or anything,” he says. “I’m not a violent person, but, no pun intended, the knuckles come in handy when it’s necessary.”

Despite Skiba’s wiry frame, there’s no question that his knuckle ink is more intimidating than Andriano’s first tattoo: the Walt Disney character Tinker Bell. “I got that tattoo when I was 17 and it related to the whole idea of never getting old, but as I grew up I started to realize that I wasn’t a kid anymore so I finally got it covered up,” Andriano says, explaining that he had Peck ink over it last year with an image of the state of Illinois surrounded by leaves of the white oak tree. “I was born and raised in Chicago and lived there for years, but now I live on the beach in Florida so it’s kind of a dedication to my roots.”

One of the main reasons Andriano decided to relocate was the birth of his daughter, whose name he has inked on his chest alongside his wife’s. “I think those are the most meaningful tattoos I have, so if I have some more kids I’ll probably add to that one,” says Andriano, who also sports a bonsai tree on his left biceps that represents perseverance, and the heart and skull logo on his heart. And despite his recent experience inking his bandmate, he insists that he’s probably not going to embark on a tattooing career anytime soon. “I’m not going to go dipping any needles into ink and doing any prison-style stuff. But if I was in the right, clean environment I would do whatever anybody wanted,” he says. “It’s not on me, you know what I mean?”

Even if Andriano wanted to switch careers, it would be impossible for Alkaline Trio to slow down—especially now that they’re about to embark on another seemingly endless tour. And though the band now travels in a luxurious bus instead of a sweat-soaked van, they’re still that same group of guys who made a name for themselves by working hard on the road when there was no payoff in sight. “We started out playing in basements, coffee shops, and bars for five people and just trying to do everything we could to stay on the road. We started to develop this connection with people, and it was magical to us that they were interested in what we were doing,” he remembers.

“I never thought we’d have a fresh start after this much time together, but I can say that I honestly don’t feel like we’ve been in a band for well over a decade,” Andriano says. “We just want to keep doing this and we hope that all of the people that have followed us for this long continue to do so and come hang out with us. … That never gets old.”