An Interview with Rise Against Frontman Tim McIlrath
This week I got to sit down with Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath, in preparation for their upcoming pre-Halloween gig at The National on the 30th of this month.
With 25 years under their belt, Rise Against has evolved from underground punk roots into a politically charged band known for their social activism and powerful lyrics. In our conversation, McIlrath reflects on his journey from a year-old guitarist to a leading voice in punk rock, the band’s creative process, and their enduring connection with fans, both new and old.
You got your first guitar when you’re 15 and started learning like Minor Threat covers and stuff like that. As you&#;ve gotten older, what do you think the relationship looks like with that young idealistic kid that was just playing his favorite songs?
That’s an interesting question. I never imagined I would be doing the same thing today as I did then. I wasn’t very careerist about it, you know, it was just something I picked up.
It would be interesting to go back and see that I was radically reshaping my life, you know, back then. When you compare me to that kid, doing what I
A couple of hours before their absolutely amazing show at the Pukkelpop festival, we talked to Rise Against vocalist Tim McIlrath about the band’s past trajectory, their upcoming new album and being a political punk band in today’s climate.
The band will be touring in the US October through November (click here for full list of dates) before winding down for the rest of the year.
PRT: I’d like to go back to the beginning… you signed to Fat Wreck off a demo, released two albums with them, and then you went with a major label. From the outside looking in, it seems like everything just went smoothly and built up gradually.
Tim: Yeah, we kind of put our heads down and we worked really hard and we were lucky in the sense that nobody really meddled with what we were doing. Not a lot of bands experienced that, but we were able to kind of do what we do and nobody got in the way of it. And that turned into a slow build. I'm not sure if slow builds are something that labels want, but it certainly worked out for us. There was no master plan, but it just so happened that we could really maintain and operate our band the way we wanted.
PRT: Do you think it would
So itâs really nice to be able to talk to you again, I guess we never had the chance to speak with you during the last album so itâs been a couple of years. Iâm not going to overturn the government this morning but I can decide to print all the Rise Against merchandise on sweatshop-free shirts and for six years- thatâs a lot of fucking clothes. In in relative terms of what most bands do itsâ been a pretty brief period of time. Iâm not sure why it happened exactly. Weâve been going as a band for six years now and there hasnât been a break in those six years and I think maybe we lacked the capacity to conceive of what a break really is. All we know is just to go, to just do it. We appreciate every second that we have in this band and I guess taking a break seems so pointless. Weâve been given this opportunity so we feel we should do something. We went straight from touring on the last record to writing for the new record. To be honest we left a tiny window of time, we left the month of January to pretty much write the whole record which most bands spend a whole lot more time than one month writing a record. And even in that month things got whittle
Rise Against, formed in in Chicago and fronted by vocalist Tim McIlrath, harked back to the "popcore" of the s on The Unraveling (), notably the power-ballad Six Ways to Sunday. The slabs of supercharged melodic hardcore of Revolutions Per Minute (), with Todd Mohney on guitar, were indeed a powerful reminder of the lost strength of hardcore punk-rock (Black Masks & Gasoline, To The Core). Siren Song of the Counter Culture (), with Chris Chasse on guitar, still boasted State of the Union, Paper Wings and Dancing For Rain. The songs of The Sufferer & the Witness () frequently sounded like leftovers that rarely (Ready To Fall) packed the punch of the previous albums: sure enough, this was the album that turned them into stars, thanks mainly to the anthemic singalong Swing Life Away. Appeal To Reason () was simply selling to the new generations the sound of hardcore of the s, grunge of the s and even a power-ballad in a s style. Tebogo thekisho biography of christopher Location: View Tebogo Christopher’s profile on LinkedIn, a professional community of 1 billion members. Nathan hale timeline for kids Nathan Hale of the 19th Regiment of the Continental Army stepped forward and become one of the first known American spies of the Revolutionary War. After getting caught he was hung. . Kim bendix petersen biotechnology King Diamond, mit bürgerlichem Namen Kim Bendix Petersen, ist ein dänischer Musiker. Bekanntheit erlangte er durch die Band Mercyful Fate und sein Soloprojekt King g: biotechnology. Yoav talmi biography of michael jackson Known as the “King of Pop,” Michael Jackson was a best-selling American singer, songwriter, and dancer. As a child, Jackson became the lead singer of his family’s popular Missing: yoav talmi. Dien vien kim sang kyung biography Phim Đội Cầu Lông Thiếu Niên – Racket Boys () Vietsub Thuyết minh Kim Sang Kyung sinh ngày 1 tháng 6 năm , anh là một nam diễn viên Missing: biography. Akaliza keza gara biography Akaliza Keza Gara is the founder of a multimedia company called Shaking Sun, a member of Girls In ICT Rwanda, the Kigali Global Shapers hub and kLab, an ICT innovation hub. She loves . Roch voisine biography of mahatma Roch Voisine abordera sa carrière et sa vie de père dans un tout nouveau documentaire. Voyez les premières g: biography · mahatma. Michaels miro biography Susan Morrison had an exciting idea about a decade ago. Put together a pitch to publishers to write a definitive biography of one of the dominant forces in American .
Rise Against
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