Dave Chamberlain

No other band from Chicago has come as far, as fast, as Rise Against has in the last six months.

Since releasing its third full-length record (and first on a major label), "Siren Song of the Counter Culture," the band's blend of melodic hardcore, aggro-political lyrics and energetic stage presence have helped it sell more than 70,000 copies according to Soundscan (including an amazing 16,000 between Christmas and January 16), become a staple on radio stations around the country and even take the boys to Australia. We caught up with lead singer Tim McIlrath and bassist Joe Principe as they drove from Los Angeles to San Diego, the last leg of their tour before they return to Chicago for two sold-out shows at the Metro.

Rise Against went from a strictly punk-rock label, Fat Wreck Chords, to a very mainstream label in Geffen Records. Has this affected the band?

TIM: We actually ended up going with Dreamworks, which melted into Geffen. But it was definitely scary for a while. We signed to Dreamworks, which was a really cool label with a lot of really cool people. They had been a part of bands like AFI and Sparta and Elliott Smith and Jimmy Eat World--a lot of bands that had sort of come from the punk scene. It was the label we were most comfortable with.

But the next thing we find out, Dreamworks gets sold. So we're pretty much waiting for the phone call that says, `Oh, by the way, you're dropped.' But lo and behold, that call never came. And instead, they were like, `Listen, we want to put you on Geffen.' They were like, `The nature of your deal has changed, and if you want to bail you can bail. But if you want to stay, we're pretty excited about it. `

What we found at Geffen--by pretty much sheer luck--was a whole bunch of people who really cared about the band. As well as a bunch of people who were really cool, who'd come out to see the band in the last six months, and really just put every thing behind us.

JOE: The biggest difference is that the record is everywhere. Fat was a little limited in their ability to put us in Target. But it's literally in every store we walk into anymore.

When punk-rock and hardcore bands make the jump to a major label, the clichéd backlash from fans inevitably follows them as well. Did Rise Against feel the backlash?

TIM: Oh yeah, we definitely have. Not so much now, but we did when we initially signed. People were nervous and really concerned about what would happen. And I think rightfully so, because so many punk bands have signed to major labels and subsequently alienated their fans. And that's bands in general. It's happened with a lot of my favorite bands too. So the kids were concerned, and I think they had a right to be. I was grateful that our fans emailed us, that they cared enough to really drop us a line and ask "What's gonna happen now?" And we answered by saying all you can do is trust us. Wait for the record, you need to wait for the next year of this band and see the decisions that we make, and then you'll know what we've done and then you'll know whether we compromised anything or not. But in the last year, I think we've proved to everybody that we're not changing. That we still do things as Rise Against the way we've always done them.

JOE: You get kids who think the next record is gonna be Blink 182. But I'd like to think the record speaks for itself--it's obviously not Blink 182 or some pop band. We only really know how to write the songs we write. We're not a pop band. I'd think we proved to our core audience that we're still the same band. We're still writing these songs, regardless of the label. I mean, Geffen had nothing to do with the writing process.

TIM: People get these drastic misconceptions about what being on a major label is. You sign to a major label and now we're Creed? The only thing that's really changed is that the label on the back of our CD has changed. Everything else is 100 percent Rise Against.

What's key to us is that we don't live in fear of being dropped by this label or any other label. The band is the band. It's the music and the fans. It's not who puts our music out. It's when you start caring about being dropped, about making the label or anybody else happy, that's when what you do is compromised.

The media often focuses on the political slant of Rise Against, and yet "Siren Song," beyond a couple tracks, isn't really that political of a record. Are you as political a band as the media would lead everyone to believe?

TIM: No, not at all. The media is so focused on very specific things. They don't understand bands like us, and they don't understand the punk-rock community. And they never will. They don't know what to do when music is mixed with politics. It doesn't usually happen. But anyone who's involved with the punk-rock community knows that punk rock has always been political.

The media doesn't get that. When they see us, they don't get it. Especially recently, there have been a lot of bands that skewed the public perception of what punk rock really is. So when some magazine says `punk rock is A Simple Plan or punk rock is Good Charlotte, or Story of the Year, and you guys aren't that--you must be political punk rock,' they still don't have an idea what punk rock is.

We're just an extension of bands like Black Flag or Minor Threat or The Dead Kennedys. We follow in their footsteps. We learned from all the punk shows we saw at the Fireside Bowl. And at one point in our lives we said, `That's what I want to do.' And much of what we sing about isn't even that radical in the punk-rock community.

JOE: We don't want to be pigeonholed as a Rage Against the Machine, straight-up political band. I think we're more a socially aware band. We have a certain perspective writing lyrics, and what plays into it--whether it's politics or a relationship--gets included. But it is tough, because in virtually every interview, they bring it up. I mean, we have political elements, but that's it.

Rise Against spent its early days playing basement parties and shows at the Fireside Bowl. Did that in any way prepare you for doing Australian and European tours, as well as becoming a headlining band on bigger stages?

TIM: In a way. We started playing Chicago, with our friends at the Fireside and basement parties. We got a lot of respect from Chicago and it was definitely appreciated.

JOE: For me, it's a completely different vibe. The thing about the bigger stages is that I almost don't know what to do with myself. When you're playing a stage like the Fireside, there's no room to move around. The stage we played last night [in Los Angeles], was bigger than the Metro, and when I saw it I was like, man, I better keep moving.

Thanks to "Siren Song," you've now toured both smaller cities as well as major cities. Which shows are better, those in small towns where there are fewer kids with more energy, or the bigger shows where there are more kids?

TIM: There's definitely a lot of energy in the small-town shows. Those kids don't see as many tours come through their towns, so they get really psyched and appreciate it. And to play for fans who really appreciate is awesome. Big towns can be jaded; they get so many bands coming through their town. But then again, there are exceptions to that rule. We played Los Angeles last night, and we had a crazy-ass show. Usually LA has a jaded audience, and that happens in Chicago too.

JOE: The smaller towns show their appreciation, because they're not spoiled. Places like LA, they're spoiled, and you almost have to prove yourself to them. But we have gotten really lucky there. We recently played Sacramento--and it was great. The kids were freaking out. It was a smaller club, and kids were stage diving, and it was definitely a little more energetic.

Rise Against has toured both Europe and Australia, but America isn't very popular on the world stage right now. Has anti-American sentiment found its way to the band?

[Both in sync, laughing]: We say we're Canadian.

TIM: People aren't big fans of America right now, and they have good reasons: the decisions that this country has made over the last five years. It's embarrassing. And it is downright dangerous at certain points. People have that much ill will, that when you're out on the streets, or you're out at a club, even getting in a cab--people ask you right away. And it's odd too; I mean, in no way would I ever defend the decisions we've made--I didn't make them. Am I gonna say: `Yeah, we should have go to war, and we should have lied to America about the reasons. That was good.'? No way. If I was like that, I'd be up there with my fist in the air saying `I'm American and I'm damn proud.' But I don't know how to be proud right now. In fact, I'm really sorry. I'm sorry that I come from the country causing disaster around the world.

JOE: You do get shit. But kids in Europe, I think, know our stance. I mean, we're definitely not Bush supporters, and it's pretty well documented. And kids are almost like, `God we feel sorry for you guys. You're stuck in a country run by an idiot.'

The members of Rise Against are all vegetarians. Is it difficult to remain so, touring around the country in a van and going overseas?

TIM: We've become pretty damn good at it. We know where to look for food now. We know which restaurants use lard; we know who makes their French fries in beef fat. And the world has become more vegetarian-friendly. Places like Burger King and McDonalds have veggie burgers. You can't walk into a restaurant in America without having some kind of vegetarian option. And obviously the industry reflects what the world wants, because they're just trying to make a buck, trying to cater to their clients.

JOE: It's not as hard as you may think. By now, 2005, most places have options. Europe is really vegetarian friendly. I think it's a lot harder if you're straight-up vegan.

TIM: At every expressway around the world, it's pretty much the same old shit with the same old truckstop, whether you're in Arkansas or Australia. Same gas station. Same products. And we've also become good at finding the exclusively vegetarian restaurant in every city. In Chicago we have Soul Vegetarian and Chicago Diner. Every city has those places. They were hard to find at first, but at this point we're getting to cities for like the seventh and eighth time. We know where they are.

Three-fourths of the band are also straight-edge, which the press often celebrates. Has constantly touring and being around other bands who aren't straight-edge softened your resolve?

JOE: When I was growing up, even before I called myself straight-edge, I had no real desire to drink. I was skating and listening to D.R.I. And I didn't really care. I think when I was like 15, I drank like three or four times, and it wasn't for me. But you know, it's something I just never really think about. It's just not in my wiring. I'm not bothered if people drink. My fiancée drinks once in a while--I could care less. Bands we tour with know I don't drink, and they don't care. I got an offer once from Fat Mike to drink a beer for money once. That was all in good fun.

TIM: Being on tour, you see the other people--it's so easy to fall into the drinking lifestyle--but it's rallied it a bit. You see the other guys, who are just waking up, and just completely fucked out of their minds. You look at them and say, "I don't want to be that person."

The old-school, Minor Threat version of straight-edge was often oppressive and linked to violence against those who weren't that way. You've no association with that extreme?

JOE: That's just something we can't relate to. We don't drink for our own reason. It's such a silly thing to force-feed anything to anybody, regardless of what you're doing. It may be right for somebody. What's right for me may not be right for someone else. That's just fine. I probably hang out in bars more than most people who drink.

TIM: Obviously the straight-edge culture can be a bad thing, like in Salt Lake City where they have gangs, or straight-edge violence. That's just sad and stupid. Stupid people are just stupid people, whether they're straight-edge or not. You'll find assholes everywhere. They really just changed the name of straight-edge for the worse everywhere, and the last thing I want is for someone to associate me with that scene. I'm definitely not knocking cigarettes out of people's mouths and causing shit. It's not my thing.

Has your recent success made you think about leaving Chicago in order to get closer to the country's various music centers?

TIM: Not really. We're not the kind of guys who would be frequenting the record-label offices. I mean, we love Chicago. We are really proud of the scene we come out of. It's not the West Coast, not the East Coast. It's just like a little pocket of culture in the middle of the Midwest. It feels like a private party sometimes.

JOE: Every once in a while you talk about it, only to get away from the winter. I don't think it matters where we're located as far as our music career, since we're always on tour anyway. We love Chicago, and it's such a big part of us. The whole music scene was such a huge influence on me: Pegboy, Naked Raygun, Screeching Weasel. Watching those bands as I grew up made me want to be in a band in the first place. I mean, we used to cover a Pegboy song in my first band--not very well, though.

Rise Against returns to Chicago, playing February 19-20 at the Metro.

(2005-02-15)

Also by Dave Chamberlain

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Raw Material
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