Maybe a political punk band can’t necessarily change the world. But Rise Against members believe they can still make a difference.
Guitarist Zach Blair says, “Even though we’re saying music can’t cause mass change or major change, maybe music will get one person to register to vote that day.” spoke. “It’s a small role for us, but it’s definitely worth it. Given that we all grew up under the influence of early hardcore and thrash bands, politics were always of the essence. Being deprived kids, we were going to talk about what was important to us if we had the chance to make something. So whether it makes a difference or not, our band is the same. I don’t think it’s real that we talk about parties.”
Thanks to Tim McIlrath’s resonant songwriting and Blair’s guitar heroics, Rise Against maintained their punk credentials while racking up platinum albums and hit singles like “Savior” and “Satellite.” There is. But their current tour is a little different. They return to clubs (albeit at bigger clubs like the Roadrunner, where they play on Thursdays) with setlists from their exhaustive catalogue. “We’re at a crossroads right now. We’re recording our next album, but it won’t be released for a while. So we’re going to do an off-cycle tour and play some deep songs and songs we’ve never played live. We thought it would be fun to do it. We have three setlists, and we alternate between them, and “Savior” is the only song on them all. ”
The new album will surprise you. Instead of their usual producer (punk veteran Bill Stevenson), they worked with Catherine Marks of Boisinius and Manchester Orchestra fame. She played with great bands and won numerous Grammy Awards. While we were recording, we referenced things that were completely new to her, like naming Black Flag songs, and she didn’t know that. In other words, through a slightly distorted lens, Rise Against was completed. I mean, we can’t really sell this as a huge departure because we still know it’s us the moment Tim opens his mouth. We’re lucky in that we have an identifiable sound, and I think that’s all that everyone is looking for and what makes them unique. ”
Although he was into punk and thrash, Blair’s musical roots go back a little further. His father was a classic rock DJ and an avid music fan. ”I can’t overstate the impact it had on me. My parents were a DJ and a florist, so we didn’t have much money, so we lived in the same apartment all the time. But he had to bring the records home and that’s what we used to do every Sunday and we would listen together and he would quiz me and my brother on our knowledge of these useless facts. I put it out. I grew up knowing that the original bass player for the Eagles was in Poco. ”
And the influence runs even deeper, as Blair’s parents named him after the obscure rock cult film Zacharias. “Well, my parents were pot-smoking, drug-using hippies, so I got my name from a hippie B-movie western, and I still collect different versions of it. Don’t you just love that first scene with Joe Walsh and James Gang playing in the desert? I got a little carried away with that movie, and I think I should.”
