20 July 2011
Over a decade ago, Tim McIlrath founded four-strong band Rise Against: they’re now veterans of the Chicago hardcore scene who have been using their music as a weapon against oppressive governmental injustice ever since.
“I think punk and politics have always been synonymous,” says McIlrath, 32. “Hardcore punk and hardcore music were politics to me and that’s what really attracted me to it. That’s what triggered my angst and made me want to be a part of it; more than just ticket sales, I saw it as a vehicle for change.”
Following in the footsteps of hardcore trailblazers Minor Threat and Black Flag, Rise Against started as a reaction to sex symbols like New York Dolls and The Sex Pistols, who glamorised drugs and destructive debauchery. The band are still very much a part of that black sheep culture but maintain a straightedge (bar drummer Brandon Barnes), vegetarian lifestyle complemented by regular activist campaigns.
After dominating the underground with 2001’s guiding debut The Unraveling and follow-up Revolutions Per Minute in 2003 (released on Fat Wreck Chords) Rise Against took a risk to reach a wider audience and signed to Universal sub-label, Geffen Records.
“Myself and my friends were always very critical when we saw the bands we liked sign to major labels,” he remembers. “I think our fans went through that but I don’t hold anything against them because that’s how they felt.”
Signing to Universal was ideal for Rise Against; through an ironic happy marriage between underground rock and major label, the band rose to commercial fame on their four subsequent albums. This success overcame their initial hesitation of whether they could use the wider forum for combative sermons without succumbing to capitalist pitfalls.
“Instead of demanding that we make this multi-platinum, gigantic, worldwide phenomenon, they allowed us to be the band we are, at the size we’re at,” he says, “but it is kind of an anomaly, I will admit, you don’t have a lot of bands like us that have a comfortable relationship with their label. It’s sort of unheard of.”
In March this year, Rise Against released album number six, and with protests addressing the corruption surrounding Hurricane Katrina, homophobia, global warming and the cowardice of war, Endgame is their greatest proclamation to date. Always the intellect, McIllrath says because of the world we live in, he needed to blazon the fans with his standpoint.
“We live in a generation where you need to grab people right away. There were a lot of things that I wanted to get across on this record and I put them all unapologetically on top of each other in the hope something would trigger a reaction from the audience.”
Surpassing a reaction, Endgame’s second single - an attack on homophobic bullies Make It Stop (September’s Children) - is part of global movement It Gets Better, a non- profit support organisation for LGBT teenagers.
“I think punk and politics have always been synonymous,” says McIlrath, 32. “Hardcore punk and hardcore music were politics to me and that’s what really attracted me to it. That’s what triggered my angst and made me want to be a part of it; more than just ticket sales, I saw it as a vehicle for change.”
Following in the footsteps of hardcore trailblazers Minor Threat and Black Flag, Rise Against started as a reaction to sex symbols like New York Dolls and The Sex Pistols, who glamorised drugs and destructive debauchery. The band are still very much a part of that black sheep culture but maintain a straightedge (bar drummer Brandon Barnes), vegetarian lifestyle complemented by regular activist campaigns.
After dominating the underground with 2001’s guiding debut The Unraveling and follow-up Revolutions Per Minute in 2003 (released on Fat Wreck Chords) Rise Against took a risk to reach a wider audience and signed to Universal sub-label, Geffen Records.
“Myself and my friends were always very critical when we saw the bands we liked sign to major labels,” he remembers. “I think our fans went through that but I don’t hold anything against them because that’s how they felt.”
Signing to Universal was ideal for Rise Against; through an ironic happy marriage between underground rock and major label, the band rose to commercial fame on their four subsequent albums. This success overcame their initial hesitation of whether they could use the wider forum for combative sermons without succumbing to capitalist pitfalls.
“Instead of demanding that we make this multi-platinum, gigantic, worldwide phenomenon, they allowed us to be the band we are, at the size we’re at,” he says, “but it is kind of an anomaly, I will admit, you don’t have a lot of bands like us that have a comfortable relationship with their label. It’s sort of unheard of.”
In March this year, Rise Against released album number six, and with protests addressing the corruption surrounding Hurricane Katrina, homophobia, global warming and the cowardice of war, Endgame is their greatest proclamation to date. Always the intellect, McIllrath says because of the world we live in, he needed to blazon the fans with his standpoint.
“We live in a generation where you need to grab people right away. There were a lot of things that I wanted to get across on this record and I put them all unapologetically on top of each other in the hope something would trigger a reaction from the audience.”
Surpassing a reaction, Endgame’s second single - an attack on homophobic bullies Make It Stop (September’s Children) - is part of global movement It Gets Better, a non- profit support organisation for LGBT teenagers.
With Rise Against shaking their white-knuckled fists and sharp tongues in every deserved direction, the obvious question is whether their blistering riffs and music will dim underneath the political push. However, the fact that Endgame peaked at #2 on the ARIA Album Chart and in the top six in five other countries, proves McIlrath was careful not to mess with the trademark.
“I want to be a new voice and a fresh voice,” he tells TMN. “I want to talk about things that maybe for the person that’s listening, it’s the first time they’ve heard these things talked about. But at the same time I have to think ‘What music is going to do these lyrics justice?’ Because if it’s a shit song, nobody’s going to care about the messages.”
Luckily, justifying poignant lyrics with immediate music has been Rise Against’s gateway drug for 12 years now. “It’s the sugar coating on the bitter pill,” McIlrath explains. “We can hook you with the guitars, we can hook you with the chorus and bring you into the hold; once you’re in then maybe you’ll really engage in thought and peel back the layers to see the lyrics.”
Rise Against may have taken on the gargantuan task of sparking a revolution through song, but as their career thus far has proven, fighting the good fight against tyrannical atrocities is a humble and never-ending war.
“I want to be a new voice and a fresh voice,” he tells TMN. “I want to talk about things that maybe for the person that’s listening, it’s the first time they’ve heard these things talked about. But at the same time I have to think ‘What music is going to do these lyrics justice?’ Because if it’s a shit song, nobody’s going to care about the messages.”
Luckily, justifying poignant lyrics with immediate music has been Rise Against’s gateway drug for 12 years now. “It’s the sugar coating on the bitter pill,” McIlrath explains. “We can hook you with the guitars, we can hook you with the chorus and bring you into the hold; once you’re in then maybe you’ll really engage in thought and peel back the layers to see the lyrics.”
Rise Against may have taken on the gargantuan task of sparking a revolution through song, but as their career thus far has proven, fighting the good fight against tyrannical atrocities is a humble and never-ending war.
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