RM: How do you guys like the Gorge?
Tim: It’s beautiful. It’s a really pretty place to play the show, for sure. Prettier than anywhere else we’ve ever played.
RM: When I saw you guys last year, not a lot of people knew about you guys. And this year I was like, "Wow, there’s so many people." You guys are getting out there.
Joe: It’s a good feeling.
RM: In five words, describe your type of music.
Joe: Melodic...
Tim: Rock.
Joe: Energetic... pure. How many words is that?
Tim: Four.
Joe: And heartfelt.
RM: You guys have a new record coming out… are you guys going more political on that one, or are you staying around where you are right now?
Tim: Probably about where we are. We have probably our most political song yet on this record, but that doesn’t mean the whole record is political, know what I mean? I’d say it’s pretty much where we are; it’s very much a Rise Against record.
RM: What's your favorite song off of all your CD’s? Personal favorites?
Tim: Off of all of them?
Joe: Just one? Including the new one we just did?
RM: Just the ones the public knows.
Joe: It kind of changes, for me. I like "Torches" a lot. "Revolution." I like "Blood-Red, White, and Blue" too.
Tim: I think songs like "Last Chance Blueprint" and songs like "Voices Off Camera" would probably be my favorite. "Heaven Knows" is one of my favorite to play live.
RM: Yeah, that was intense. What's your favorite song?
Joe: It's tough because I think I have favorite songs from certain genres of music. I don't think I have an all-time favorite one song.
Tim: I think it would either be something off of Pegboy's Strong Reaction or something off Refused, Fan The Flames.
RM: Who’s your favorite band to tour with?
Tim: We did our most shows ever with the Mad Caddies. Totally opposite genre of music. I mean, it's a ska band and us, but we got along great with them. Great guys. We had a really fun time. We just saw those guys last week and it was such a reunion. But I think there are different reasons why some of the bands are our favorites. With bands like NoFX, it’s such an honor to tour with such legends of punk rock. While bands like the Mad Kaddies, Poison The Well, and Tsunami Bomb are just good friends of ours.
RM: You guys are kinda like a family here, right?
Joe: Yeah, I definitely think that within punk rock there is a family that I definitely feel like we’re a part of.
Tim: It’s a select few bands, it’s people who buy our records, it’s people who do our t-shirts. People who work with us. It goes way beyond a business relationship. It’s like if we only wanted business-relationship people, it’s all work and no fun, you know what I mean? If we wanted a business relationship, we’d be in a 9 to 5 world right now. But we’re a band; we do it for music. We do it for fun. When you can be friends with the guy who prints your shirts and the girl who books the shows. Being friends with the promoters that you work with and the other bands and all their crew makes a family relationship.
RM: What’s the most random question you guys have ever been asked? Just something completely off the wall?
Tim: We were once asked, if you could be any condiment, what would you be?
RM: What was your answer to that?
Tim: I don’t think I answered it. I think I claimed the Fifth. It’s questions like that where you're just like...
Joe: There's no point to it.
Tim: Right, right.
Joe: He’s like, okay, "Scratch that question. Ooh! Moving on!"
RM: Yes, moving on! Where’s your favorite place to play?
Joe: I like playing Toronto. San Diego's awesome. Actually, we’ve always had really fun shows in Seattle: super energetic shows at the Graceland.
RM: How do you guys like Chicago. How was it growing up for you guys in Chicago?
Tim: It's a great city with a strong and ever-changing music scene. Chicago’s notorious for its indie rock scene and there’s so many clubs and bars. Every night of the week there’s shows going on with somebody playing. A lot of low-key shows, and you can go whenever.
RM: Since there are so many punk bands and such in Chicago, was it really hard for you guys to get yourselves out there?
Tim: I think when we first started it was hard, but I mean we never focused only on Chicago. We’re always touring all over. We wanted to get the word out just as much as we wanted to get it out in Seattle, in California. We don’t spend a lot of time in Chicago, you know. We’re on the road more than half the year. So, yes, it’s hard because there’s so many bands there, but people will recognize what you’re doing and hopefully appreciate it.
RM: If you were in my shoes, what questions would you guys ask yourselves?
Joe: Uh... I’ve never thought about it. I don't know.
Tim: It’s hard because as a member of the band, you’re the last person that sees you how the rest of the world sees you. It’s really hard to gauge what the world thinks about bands. We hear the kids who say, "Hey, great show," but we’re not going to hear the ones who say, "Hey, that show sucked." So I think it’s really hard to gauge. I think I have a better idea of what punk bands are than as a listener and as an audience member. All we can do is put everything we have and do everything that we do and wait until someone gets it. I don’t get why some record people would categorize it and some people will say they listen to this type of music or whatever. So I don’t know if I would really qualify as those people or that anyone in this band will be ask those kinds of questions. We’re too close to what we do.
RM: Our magazine has a different color oriented with each month, and this month the color is orange. What does it remind you think of?
Tim: Mad Caddie t-shirts.
Joe: Or the Chicago Bears.
Tim: The Mad Kaddies had these orange t-shirts that we made fun of so bad. We’d be like, "Those shirts are so dumb." And they’d be like, "These shirts are cool. Screw you. These shirts are awesome." They ended up selling so many of those shirts, because everyone wanted an orange shirt. So the very last show of our European tour, we all put those shirts on and cut the sleeves off and played our show in the orange Mad Katty t-shirts. It was awesome.
RM: How did you guys like Europe?
Joe: They have a very supportive punk rock scene there. Very loyal fans there.
Tim: I think that in America, kids jump from one scene to the next scene, whatever’s cool... whereas people in Europe still appreciate bands like Sick Of It All which is one of the best hardcore bands out there and probably ever will be. People appreciate good music.
RM: Are you eyes naturally different colors?
Tim: Yeah, I was born like that.
RM: It looks cool.
Tim: Freak of nature.
RM: Good luck in Portland tomorrow.
Tim: Thanks to all our fans in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest who have been supportive all the way out here.
RM: No problem man. Catch your show in September.
- zachary semerikov
Have a comment? Visit the forum.