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“We’ve always stuck out,” says Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath. “We don’t have a lot in common with the music world—and the further we dive into the mainstream, the less we find we have in common.”
It’s no idle boast. The Chicago-based punk band, touring behind the new album “Appeal to Reason,” has somehow landed several fast ‘n’ furious, politically fueled anthems on rock radio. This includes the group’s latest single, “Re-education (Through Labor),” which is probably the first top 10 modern rock hit to be named after a Chinese detention system.
We spoke with McIlrath about the group’s convictions, their politically charged fan base, and why band friend Pete Wentz is a “slut.”
You’re big on rock radio. Is it odd to have radio hits next to Nickelback and Kid Rock?
It’s actually more surreal to hear us next to a Nirvana song. Hearing us back-to-back to one of their songs…it reminds me of the radio for me growing up, finding new music and all that.
Is it hard to be a politically oriented punk band on a major label?
When it comes to majors and indies, there’s no real blanket statement. There are super cool labels, and indies run by the shittiest people in the world, worse than any corporation. Sure, some majors out are out for a buck and censor their artists, but some want to develop bands, and respect musical integrity. We’ve been really lucky in all of our situations, in having labels let us be ourselves. Our label, Geffen/DGC…it sounds like it would faceless, but they’re really like family to us.
Every Chicago band seems to have played at one time or another with every other Chicago band. You had a band with Pete Wentz once.
It’s a real incestuous scene. The guys in Fall Out Boy would come to our shows, and we grew up in the same neighborhood. Pete and I were into the hardcore scene, and we ended up playing a lot of the same co-ops, Krishna temples and makeshift venues in the area. Also, it’s a fun scene—we weren’t serious, and if we liked someone, we’d jam with them. And Pete was the musical slut of Chicago—he was the rotating bass player for everyone. But he made shows better—he’d jump around and get everyone into the music.
It seems that most punk, especially the Chicago stuff, is quite pop-oriented nowadays.
Well, Rise Against were actually an anomaly to even our local scene, which was either faster punk/hardcore, chugging metal riffs or pure pop. Or our infamous indie rock scene. We were part of all of that, but it was frustrating; indie rockers were too snobby and didn’t move around, and the hardcore scene was too serious and violent. Rise Against was a response to all that—have a positive message, not make things too gloomy, make it fun. And a lot of people responded to that.
I have to ask: I hear your new guitarist Zach Blair used to be in the horror-metal band GWAR.
Yeah, Zach was “Flattus Maximus”…he did a four-year stint. He’s a talented guitar player. I think after four years, he couldn’t take it anymore. He didn’t want to wear a tail when he played.
When you guys released out a Rise Against “vegan” (non-leather) shoe through Vans, you still got flack from your fans for the corporate tie-in. I don’t see that happening to Britney Spears.
Our fans have integrity. Everything we do can and will create a dialog, even it’s about a pair of shoes. They’re vigilant. But Britney Spears fans probably don’t care if a sweatshop is making her clothing. It’s a blessing to have fans that care, and who hold us to a high standard.
Your first single, “Re-education (Through Labor)”—is that about the Chinese detention system for political prisoners?
I first heard that term during a news story about how practitioners of Falun Gong [a form of Buddhism] in China were being persecuted. They were sent to “re-education through labor” camps—that’s so out there, it hit me hard. The song, though, is about labor in general—how we all do what we can to get by, pay our mortgages, make ends meet, and that nine-to-five lifestyle distracts us from bigger questions, or from just living.
You released it during the Olympics. Coincidence?
Completely. I’m not that good of a strategist.
Do you have problems touring with bands that may not share your political opinions?
We don’t usually tour with people who are too different, but that’s not for any reason. We’re not opposed to it. And we have plenty of friends who disagree with us—I have a close friend who says it makes no sense to vote, for example. We also have Republican fans. They’re as moved by the irony as I am. I think it’s all about the conversation and dialogue we’re creating.
Outside of the shoe incident, your names never come up in gossip columns. Are you hiding anything?
We’re not crazy people. We’re more Descendants and Jawbreaker, not Guns 'N Roses or AC/DC…both bands we love, by the way. We’re not party guys. I write songs, people like them. I’m a family man from the Midwest who goes to bed by 11. It’s about the music. We’re certainly not in it for the coke parties and hookers.
