X96 Meet the Bands: Rise Against

Rise Against

Tim McIlrath, Lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist from Rise Against discuses old bands, new songs and their life on tour. Most of us know who Rise Against is, but what came before? Baxter was a Chicago post-hardcore band consisting of Tim Mcilrath, Neil Hennessy, Anthony Fiore, Timothy Remis and a bassist known as J. Wood. Created in 1995 the band began playing beginner shows to build up a fan base and in 96’ they were signed to an independent label but soon after in 1999 they split up but still remained in the hardcore scene.

Later when Rise Against took off they created a song unlike most of their others, Swing Life Away. An acoustic song with a deep meaning behind it. “We pulled a bait and switch with a lot of people with Swing Life Away. It was a long story on how it go on the record but it eventually, you know, got on the record and it’s what we were really proud of.” Tim talks about Swing Life Away and the difference of that song and his other music.

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