As Rise Against have gone from scruffy Chicago punks to chart-topping mainstream hitmakers over the last decade, they’ve run into no end of blowback from early fans who think they should still be putting out minute-long blasts of hardcore for Fat Mike.
But one thing no one would dare talk smack about is their cred as crusaders. Vegan? Check. Straight-edge? Check. Angry at the Internet? Okay, I made that one up. Still, with their history of supporting indie culture and criticizing corporate greed, it should be no surprise that on their current tour they’ll be stopping in to sign at some local record stores, including San Jose’s own Streetlight Records. They’ll drop in the afternoon before their show at the San Jose State Event Center on April 17.
Tim McIlrath and company got their start as Transistor Revolt in the much-celebrated/criticized Chicago DIY scene of the late ’90s, before changing their name and getting signed to Fat Wreck Chords for their debut album, 2001’s The Unraveling. By 2004, they’d signed to a major label, and two years later they had a gold-certified, top 10 record in The Sufferer and the Witness. Those who had been chanting “sell out” since practically the beginning of the band’s existence were no doubt confused by the fact that The Sufferer and the Witness was far and away their best album, both musically and lyrically. They’ve found more to complain about on the records since, which have pushed the band further into the mainstream, with mixed results.
Interestingly, the band’s message hasn’t changed much, even as their music has. As activists, they’re as hardcore as ever. And their commitment to heavy subject matter is once again affirmed in their most recent release, a cover of Boy Dylan’s “Ballas of Hollis Brown” with an accompanying video that’s more documentary than music clip, packed with facts and figures about American poverty, economic injustice and insanely dangerous farm equipment.
Rise Against sign at Streetlight Records on April 17 at 4:30pm. Their show at San Jose State Event Center starts at 7pm that night, with A Day to Remember and Title Fight opening.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At-YPyVW9R8[/youtube]
.Rise Against to Sign at Streetlight Before San Jose Event Center Show April 17
