Neverlife

Rise Against is an American melodic punk band from Chicago, Illinois that was formed in 1999. Their current line-up consists of four members, Tim McIlrath (vocals, guitar), Joe Principe (bass guitar), BrandonBarnes (drums), and Zach Blair (guitar). As of right now they have released four albums.

Rise Against rose to fame with their first two major label releases, Siren Song of the Counter Culture (2004) and The Sufferer and the Witness (2006), with hits such as "Give It All", "Swing Life Away", "Ready to Fall", "Prayer of the Refugee" and "The Good Left Undone". Each member of the band has mentioned in interviews that there will be a new Rise Against album, which is expected to be released in the summer of 2008.

History

Early years (1999-2003)

Rise Against was formed in 1999 by former members of the bands 88 Fingers Louie and Baxter. The first lineup consisted of Tim McIlrath (vocals), Joe Principe (bass and vocals), Tony Tintari (drums), and Mr. Precision (guitar and vocals). Though the band never performed live with this lineup, it released a self-produced demo/EP entitled Transistor Revolt in 2000, a year before signing with Fat Wreck Chords to release its first two albums, The Unraveling (produced by veteran punk producer Mass Giorgini), and Revolutions Per Minute (produced by Bill Stevenson at The Blasting Room) in 2001 and 2003. A re-issued version of The Unraveling was also released on August 23, 2005 through Fat Wreck Chords with bonus tracks.

Tony Tintari left after recording the original Transistor Revolt Demo, and Mr. Precision also left the band in 2001. Mr. Precision was replaced by Kevin White during The Unraveling touring cycle, but he also left and was then replaced by Todd Mohney to complete the cycle and begin writing Revolutions Per Minute. The band toured extensively on these two records, accepting invitations from the likes of Sick Of It All, NOFX, Agnostic Front, No Use for a Name, AFI, Strung Out and the Mad Caddies.

Siren Song of the Counter Culture (2004-2005)

Rise Against switched to Dreamworks Records and recorded their third album Siren Song of the Counter Culture. However, Dreamworks Records was absorbed by the Universal Music Group and Rise Against finally found themselves on Geffen Records, a Universal Music Group subsidiary, releasing Siren Song of the Counter Culture in August 2004. Shortly after the band signed with Geffen, Mohney left and was replaced by Chris Chasse.

Rise Against toured the US, Europe, Australia and Japan in support of Siren Song of the Counter Culture. Some of the most notable mentions include performances with Taste of Chaos 2005 in the UK and Germany (with Funeral for a Friend, Story of the Year, the Used and Killswitch Engage), Give It a Name 05 in the UK, Reading Festival and Festival in the UK, US tour with Alkaline Trio and Warped Tour in the US.

The Sufferer and the Witness (2006-2007)

Their fourth album, The Sufferer and the Witness, was released on July 4, 2006, reaching #10 on the Billboard 200 and has since gone Platinum in Canada. A DVD titled Generation Lost containing a documentary on the band members as well as live footage of the band was released on December 5, 2006. "Generation Lost" went Gold in Canada in its first week of sales.

In early 2007, the band supported My Chemical Romance on the first half of their arena tour. When in Canada they backed up Billy Talent on their arena tour. In their tour in support of The Sufferer and the Witness, they played the song "Ohio" by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young live. Rise Against later announced they would be heading their own tour through North America throughout the summer of 2007. They have also announced their participation in this year's International Taste Of Chaos in the Fall of 07.

On 23 February 2007, Rise Against announced the departure of guitarist Chris Chasse on the band's official website on the same day as the beginning of their tour with My Chemical Romance. In the announcement Chasse cited "an overwhelming tour schedule stacked on growing pressures and demands", and thanked fans for their support. Chasse, would be replaced by "longtime friend Zach Blair from Only Crime, who had also been the touring second guitarist for The Loved Ones." Zach is also a former member of the band GWAR. Chris Chasse went on to form Last Of The Believers shortly after his departure.

On July 3, 2007, Rise Against also released an EP entitled "This Is Noise" in Canada, now available in the United States as of January 15 2008. It contains 5 tracks: Boys No Good, Fix Me, Obstructed View, But Tonight We Dance, and Nervous Breakdown.

Next album (2008-present)

In May 2007, it was reported that Rise Against was planning to return to the studio after The Sufferer and the Witness tour to begin work on their next album.

When asked in July about the band's plans for a new album, Blair told The Punk Site that Rise Against would "start writing and recording the record" after touring and be "writing for a few months" before returning to the studio. He also predicted a summer 2008 release date for the album, In an interview with Principe, he stated recording would likely begin around early 2008, although he said "everything could change", but that was "the plan right now".

On January 7, 2008, Rise Against posted the current status of the new album on their website. The band writes: “After wrapping up a busy year of touring with the Taste of Chaos, a handful of radio shows and two holiday shows in Canada, we were spent and glad to get home. Presently we are writing and demo-ing for what will become our next record. Don't expect it too soon, we're just getting started early. We will bring the details as they come, we just wanted to check in and say thanks to everyone for another awesome year. ”

Politics of Rise Against

According to their website, Rise Against endorses liberal political philosophies, as they are "big fans of Fat Mike's political views." Fat Mike is the lead singer and songwriter of the band NOFX which is known for left leaning politics. Moreover, they endorse the Punkvoter website, which is a liberal site for punks.

All of the group's members are vegetarians (as stated in an online interview that also talks about Joe's love of pizza) and active supporters of PETA. Their video for the single "Ready to Fall" addresses environmental degradation and its effect on animals, as well as animal cruelty inherent to factory farming and sport hunting. The group has called the video the most important video Rise Against has ever made. The Director's Cut of the video was first made available to a PETA website.

Line-ups

Rise Against has had a number of line-up changes, and Tim McIlrath and Joe Principe have been the only constant members.

(1999-2000)

* Tim McIlrath – lead vocals
* Mr. Precision – guitars and vocals
* Joe Principe – bass and vocals
* Tony Tintari – drums, percussion


(2000-2002)

* Tim McIlrath – lead-vocals
* Mr. Precision – guitar
* Joe Principe – bass, vocals
* Brandon Barnes – drums

(2002-2004)

* Tim McIlrath – lead-vocals, guitar
* Todd Mohney – guitar, vocals
* Joe Principe – bass, vocals
* Brandon Barnes – drums

(2004-2007)

* Tim McIlrath – lead-vocals, guitar
* Chris Chasse – guitar, vocals
* Joe Principe – bass, vocals
* Brandon Barnes – drums

(2007-present)

* Tim McIlrath – lead-vocals, guitar
* Zach Blair – guitar, vocals
* Joe Principe – bass, vocals
* Brandon Barnes – drums

Discography

The Unraveling

* Released: April 24, 2001 (original), August 23, 2005 (re-release)
* Label: Fat Wreck Chords
* Chart positions: Did not chart
* U.S. sales: Unknown
* RIAA certification: None
* WW sales: Unknown


Revolutions Per Minute

* Released: April 8, 2003
* Label: Fat Wreck Chords
* Chart positions: Did not chart
* U.S. sales: Unknown
* RIAA certification: None
* WW sales: Unknown


Siren Song of the Counter Culture

* Released: August 10, 2004
* Label: Geffen Records
* Chart positions: #136 (U.S.)
* U.S. sales: Unknown
* RIAA certification: None
* WW sales: Unknown

The Sufferer & the Witness

* Released: July 4, 2006
* Label: Geffen Records
* Chart positions: #10 (U.S.)
* U.S. sales: 235,909; as of January 2007[10]
* RIAA certification: None
* WW sales: Unknown



Singles
2003 "Like The Angel"
2003 "Heaven Knows"
2004 "Give It All"
2005 "Swing Life Away"
2005 "Life Less Frightening"
2006 "Ready to Fall"
2005 "Prayer of the Refugee
2006 "The Good Left Undone"
2007 "Behind Closed Doors"

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t.marlene

Rise Against is one of my favorite bands. I went to see them recently in Orlando, and the show was amazing. Swing Life Away was one of my wedding songs.

Neverlife

Awesome!

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drlinux

Really very hard music )

RickenbackerBassPlayer

Awsome, thanks for the info.

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"Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy." - Ludwig Van Beethoven