craveonline

By Jeremy Azevedo

Going into this interview with Rise Against I had certain preconceptions that I assumed would be the thesis of this piece. According to OG rock Critic Robert Christgau, punk rock originated as a “subculture that scornfully rejected the political idealism and Californian flower-power silliness of hippie myth.”

I believe this to be true to a certain extent. Some would say that this would place punk rock ten years ahead of it’s accepted genesis, and that it was more of a rebellion against big, blustery mainstream 70s rock. I could see why people would think that, but things often exist for many years before they receive their “official genre name and title”, so I’m afraid I’m with Robert C. on this one. At it’s inception, punk rock was aggressive, angry, sneering and self-aware, all of the things that hippies and their folksy psychedelia were not. Rise Against are aggressive, angry, maybe not “sneering” but definitely self-aware. But they are also hippies. What does this mean for punk rock today? Where is the line between the fashion and the philosophy?

CraveOnline: So what can we expect from “Appeal To Reason”? Any big surprises, or exciting experiments to look forward to?

Joe Principe (bassist and original founding member of Rise Against): Well I think it’s just the natural progression of the band. It sounds like Rise Against where you still have your more aggressive punk rock songs and then you have like mid tempo stuff… But I just think that there’s, I don’t know, a certain maturity in the songwriting. I just think on each and every record our songwriting gets better. I think that shows on the record. There’s a couple things that are a little bit different than what we’ve done before, but the core sound is definitely still there.

CraveOnline: How has your music evolved along with your new-found mainstream popularity?

Joe Principe: I think how our music evolves has more to do with the music that we actually listen to… I mean, whatever influences us at the time. We kinda write throughout the year and then we’ll get together as a band and work on those ideas. Tim (McIlrath, lead singer/guitarist and fellow original founding member) and I write most of the music. So like I have my songs, he has his songs we’ll meet up at practice and show ‘em to the band. As far as musical influences, we get older and I guess you just get exposed to new music. Even older stuff, I mean Elvis Costello is a big influence for me, although it’s not like we sound like Elvis Costello or anything. But I appreciate his songwriting, he’s an all-time favorite of mine.

CraveOnline: So it’s mostly you and Tim doing the songwriting and not so much the newer guys then?

Joe Principe: Well, it’s just always worked that way since the inception of the band, where Tim and I just wrote all the music. I guess its just how we work. But these songs obviously wouldn’t be songs without the rest of the guys. But yeah I guess as far as songwriting goes, it’s Tim and myself.

CraveOnline: What are some of the differences that come along with being on a major label vs. being on Fat Wreck Chords?

Joe Principe: It’s just more involved, all around. I mean, if you want anything done, whether you want a poster made or whatever, you have to go through the proper channels if you’re on a major label. But that’s just par for the course though, we knew that going into it. Luckily everyone at our label “gets us” and they don’t want to, like, fuck with us too much. So they don’t really try to get us to do anything too ridiculous, like try to get us to tour with Limp Bizkit or something, you know what I mean?

CraveOnline: Oh my god, do they even still tour?

Joe Principe: Uh, no I doubt it! But the point is that they kind of leave us be. We’ve never had to demo songs for the label. Whatever record is on Geffen, it would have been the same record if we were on Fat (Wreck Chords) or Epitaph or wherever. So we’re really lucky, because not every band has that situation, where they kind of have free rein over their music and how they want to be marketed and all of that stuff.

CraveOnline: How is it touring with Alkaline Trio, Thrice and The Gaslight Anthem? Do you guys share a lot of the same political sensibilities and all of that?

Joe Principe: I don’t know yet… I don’t know anyone in Gaslight, although I like their band a lot. Thrice, I believe they’re Republican (I’m not so sue about this, I interviewed Dustin Kensrue of Thrice about a year ago and I seem to recall there being a lot of hippie charity talk going on there… -Ed.). Alkaline Trio, we share similar views for sure. But yeah, I guess it’s too early to really answer that, we haven’t really started yet.

CraveOnline: I was not aware that there even were Republican punk rock bands. Although I suppose Thrice aren’t really considered “punk rock” are they?

Joe Principe: Yeah well you know what, there’s a lot of Republicans, um, even like um… uh…

CraveOnline: Maybe Dexter form Offspring. He owns a jet.

Joe Principe: I know Dave Smalley. He was in Dag Nasty and Down By Law. He’s Republican. It’s crazy to listen back, and you know, you’d think Dag Nasty, they’d stand for something… I guess I wasn’t expecting him to be as conservative as he is, I don’t know.