Rise Against

Good Vibrations
Rise Against fights to keep political punk alive

By Andy Argyrakis

The winter months aren’t exactly the ideal time to tour considering a solid chunk of America is entrapped by below zero temperatures and buried in mounds of snow. But in keeping with the punk rock ethos of Rise Against, the Chicago-based band is braving the icy roads and loading up the bus with its latest record, last year’s Endgame on display.

“It’s cold and people aren’t out doing things, so it’s great get to those cities and give people a reason to come out,” explains drummer Brandon Barnes, phoning in from the road. “We’ve always toured in the winter, even Canada, and we’re not scared. We used to tour with a van and trailer, which was definitely interesting in the winter, but we’re always careful.”

Now that the band’s been together for over a decade with a half-dozen studio albums under its belt, it’s only fitting to find the venues spanning large clubs to college arenas. With school just getting back in session, Rise Against’s timing couldn’t be more ideal, especially since students seem to be the band’s primary audience.

“We play colleges quite a bit and a lot of our fans are in that age group,” confirms Barnes. “If a college has a decent venue, we work it out and it’s always fun to play for the kids. We play all different types of venues and our fair share of arenas, so this is nothing new. We’ll bring it wherever we are.”

Though the guys promise plenty from their back catalogue, Endgame is its primary priority, which finds Rise Against retaining its aggressive edge, but also evolving with a full-throttled melodic backbone. Barnes credits the noticeable growth to a completely organic studio experience free of computerized corrections and excessive production effects.

“We didn’t want to sound like a lot of the bands you hear on the radio,” he asserts. “In the age of Pro Tools and all these things, a lot of guitar and drum tones seem fake sounding to me. We went to the Blasting Room in Fort Collins and wanted it to have a natural sound with real drums and guitars. We’re not writing the same record over and over, but it’s still a true Rise Against record, a natural progression if you will.”

The album also boasts a somewhat spontaneous feel, perhaps gleaned from roving writing sessions on the road, rather than being confined to a single rehearsal room with a tight deadline. “We try to write a lot on the road and constantly worked on stuff over a two year period so we didn’t have to cram it all in during a few weeks,” he continues. “We’re still going strong for 11 years now, and I don’t know how others do it, but somehow we’re still doing it.”

As for the Endgame title, it continues in the group’s tradition of having a politically-conscious connection. Not only are all the guys either vegan or vegetarian and serve as staunch supporters of various human and animal rights, but they’ve also been vocal about voting and environmental concerns.

“I think the idea behind it had to do with the lyrical content on the record, which deals with things we’re doing to our environment, wars and how countries are going about treating their citizens and economies,” says Barnes. “If we continue to live this way, maybe it will be an Endgame for the way we live as humans on this planet. We’ve been going down a negative path for the last few years, but maybe we’ll reach a point where we’ll rethink energy and go down a more positive path. We may be facing an Endgame to the way we’re living, but that could bring a positive new way of life.”

The band’s commitment to activism dates back to growing up in the late ’80s and ’90s listening to luminaries like Fugazi and Black Flag, whose concerts often had literature tables about global and local community issues. That experience of entertaining and informing carries over to Rise Against today, who often have information available at shows about current hot button issues.

“It feels good to use the spotlight in a positive way,” adds Barnes. “I don’t think music always has to be political, but in the punk world, bands we listened to when we were younger seemed more political. Half is playing the music and the other half is trying to use the spotlight do some good. We’re always trying to align with people to do things and lend a hand.”

Tour Dates

1/17 Austin, TX Austin Music Hall
1/18 San Antonio, TX Alamodome
1/19 New Orleans, LA House of Blues
1/21 Orlando, FL UCF Arena
1/22 Columbia, SC Township Auditorium
1/24 Norfolk, VA Ted Constant Convocation Center
1/26 Kent, OH Kent State Auditorium
1/27 Chicago, IL UIC Pavilion
1/29 University Park, PA Bryce Jordan Center
1/30 Poughkeepsie, NY Mid-Hudson Civic Center
2/1 Lowell, MA Tsongas Arena
2/3 Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum
2/4 Camden, NY Susquehanna Bank Center
2/5 Fairfax, VA Patriot Center

Second leg dates on sale to the general public January 13th featuring A Day To Remember and Title Fight:

4/15 San Diego, CA Viejas Arena ** currently on sale
4/16 Bakersfield, CA Rabobank Theater
4/17 San Jose, CA Event Center at SJSU
4/19 Kent, WA ShoWare Center
4/20 Boise, ID Century Link Arena
4/21 Salt Lake City, UT Saltair
4/23 Rio Rancho, NM Santa Ana Star Center
4/26 Birmingham, AL Verizon Wireless Music Center
4/27 St. Augustine, FL St. Augustine Amphitheatre
4/28 Boca Raton, FL Sunset Cove
4/30 Tampa, FL Stadium Green Iguana
5/1 Atlanta, GA Masquerade Music Park
5/2 Charlotte, NC Time Warner Cable Uptown
5/4 Indianapolis, IN The Lawn at White River State Park
5/5 Cincinnati, OH PNC Pavilion at Riverbend Music
5/6 Pittsburgh, PA Trib Total Media Amphitheatre **currently on sale
5/8 Syracuse, NY New York State Fairgrounds
5/10 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre