INTERVIEW: Rise Against Is Back And Better Than Ever

By Katie Karpowicz in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 23, 2014 4:00PM

After taking a year off from Rise Against, practically a lifetime compared to the non-stop pace the band has kept since its formation in 1999, the band members returned more refreshed than ever for its seventh studio LP The Black Market. The renewed energy shines through on the album's crisp new songs including standouts like the title track and the first single ">"I Don't Want To Be Here Anymore."

The hometown band will make a sure-to-be triumphant return to Chicago this fall headline the 10th anniversary of Riot Fest in Humboldt Park.

On the day of The Black Market's release, we caught up with Rise Against founding member, bassist and lifelong Chicagoan Joe Principe to talk about it.

CHICAGOIST: So, the new album is out today. Congratulations! It's only 3 p.m. here in Chicago so it hasn't been out long but have you been happy with the feedback so far?

JOE PRINCIPE: Oh yeah. From my friends who heard the record right after we recorded it to right now with everyone that's bought it so far, they're noticing what I like about the record which is this super upbeat energetic vibe. It's hard to explain. It just reminds of when we first started as a band. I don't know if it's because we were young and angry so we played all of our songs a little bit faster but this record kind of has that urgency and this energy behind it that I'm really proud of.

C: Absolutely. My next question was actually going to be about the optimistic feel that it has, not even specifically in the lyrics, but in the music itself.

JOE PRINCIPE: That's exactly how music speaks to me. There's the lyrics doing their thing and then there's the music doing its thing. The mood of the music always caught me before the lyrics did and that's why I'm so into this record. It has that vibe.

C: It sounds like you're really happy with it which is great to hear. How does the songwriting work with Rise Against? Does Tim do his own thing while the rest of the band works on the music?

JOE PRINCIPE: Yeah, we've always done it to where we'll work on our music separately at home while we have some off time or whatever. We'll take like a month to get together and start working on a record and then Tim will grab a feel for the song by how it's coming together and then write lyrics based off that vibe. So usually it's music first, then lyrics.

C: I've been reading a few interviews in light of the new album coming out and Tim was saying in one that he did this album a little bit differently in that he went more inward with his subject matter as opposed to speaking to social or political things happening in world. Did the band switch up its writing style at all the match that?

JOE PRINCIPE: As far as music song structure, we just did what we normally do but we had about a year off [prior to making The Black Market]. We went 15 years straight—tour for two years, new record, tour two years, new record—so when you distance yourself from it a little bit like we have in the past year, when he got in that frame of mind to write lyrics he realized wasn't feeling anything and didn't want to force it. So he looked inward for inspiration on this record. I was always drawn to more personal lyrics myself growing up and I realized that on this record.

I didn't realize what Tim goes through to put himself in the headspace to write lyrics with such serious content. I know what I go through writing a song. It's a form of self expression but to put yourself in that headspace, writing something so personal, so close to you. It's a tough thing.

C: Sure. And I understand that's kind of what the title The Black Market is all about. Is that right?

JOE PRINCIPE: Yeah, absolutely. That definitely birthed the title of the album. It occurred to him that he wasn't feeling certain things lyrically on this record. Then it was like those were the expectations set by us over the years and that's what our fans have come to expect. So he felt like it was this thing where we were putting a record out and selling it to the masses. It's something very dark by nature, [writing about] all those issues of the world. So that's where the title came from and that's what the song "The Black Market" is about.

C: Interesting. Tim has spoken about a number of issues and Rise Against in the past has made a number of certain statement through your music. Does he always come to the band first before he writes an especially politically charged song or do you and the other members give him complete creative control in that aspect?

JOE PRINCIPE: We've always given him creative control with that. We just know each other so well. There's nothing he would write that would raise an eyebrow. So luckily in that regard we're always on the same page.

C: That's good. I can imagine that after nearly 20 years that starts to happen. So let's switch gears a little bit here and talk about Riot Fest. What does it mean to you to be headlining the 10th anniversary of the festival here in your hometown?

JOE PRINCIPE: It's a great feeling. Mike [Petryshyn], who started Riot Fest, is a friend of mine. Just watching it grow, [I know] a lot of it has to do with his work ethic and that's what I always associate with Chicago: a hardworking, blue collar city. He grew and grew and grew and it's still growing. He never slowed down. I love seeing that. I love seeing someone's efforts pay off and he's in it for the right reasons. He really cares about who's on that fest. It's not about the biggest money maker. It's whoever makes the most sense. I'm really proud of what it's become and I'm proud to be a headliner on it, especially to be in the same ranks as The Cure and Slayer. That blows my mind.

C: Absolutely. I couldn't believe that Rise Against had never played Riot Fest before that first year it was in Humboldt Park in 2012.

JOE PRINCIPE: We were asked every year probably for the last six or seven years and either we were on tour or it didn't fit into our schedule. The stars weren't aligned. It really was just a scheduling thing and then finally it just worked out and it was so much fun. That's definitely going to be the highlight of this year for me. I can already tell.

C: And you're doing a show the night before Riot Fest kicks off at the Aragon Ballroom, right?

JOE PRINCIPE: Yeah, we play the Aragon on September 11 and then the 13th we play Riot Fest. I grew up seeing shows at the Aragon and the Riviera and the Vic so to headline that place is so special. There's so much history behind the Aragon. It's something we're very excited to do and have our families be there to celebrate with us.

C: Don't give anything away if you don't want to but is there going to be any difference between those two shows since they're so close together? Are you going to switch up the sets?

JOE PRINCIPE: Oh yeah. We'll most definitely have a different setlist and something special for the people that come to the Aragon. To be honest we haven't figured out exactly what [laughs] but we have every intention of doing something different.

C: Awesome. Switching gears again, I know you're also in the hardcore band Dead Ending. I talked to your bandmate Jeff when your new EP came out and I've talked to several local rock musicians lately about how Chicago's music scene has changed since the early 2000s. Do you feel like it's still a good scene for everything from punk to hardcore to pop punk?

JOE PRINCIPE: You know, I do. It's interesting because I was so submerged in the scene for years and years and now we tour so much that I feel a little detached. I still go see bands play in local clubs around the area. It's definitely going strong. There's so many hardworking bands here. It's good to see because with my old band 88 Fingers Louie we came up with so many cool bands like Slapstick and the Bollweevils and even Pegboy and it felt like in the mid or late '90s it kind of died out a bit. That's right when 88 broke up and it was before Rise Against formed. It seemed a little weird but it seemed like things took a turn towards the goth themed stuff that was happening around that time but now there's this new wave of hardcore bands and cool pop punk bands—I love pop punk.

C: Who doesn't? Who are you listening to right now as far as local bands?

JOE PRINCIPE: I do like some of that new Orwells record. Someone just turned me onto them. A lot of it reminds me of The Replacements, a little bit dirtier rock sound.

C: I've heard a few people make that comparison, which is a pretty nice compliment for them. So, your seventh full length is out today. Is the excitement level still the same or is it kind of old hat by now?

JOE PRINCIPE: No, we're excited every time. It's like kids in a candy store. It's like we're allowing somebody to open up a Christmas gift we got them. It's that same excited feeling. We can't wait for people to hear what we've been working on. It's a good feeling to finally hear feedback.

C: Very cool. I have one last kind of silly question. Riot Fest was running a contest asking fans to Photoshop pizza somewhere onto classic punk rock album covers. I'm pretty sure I've read somewhere that you're a huge pizza fan so if you could give one of your favorite album covers a pizza makeover, what would it be?

JOE PRINCIPE: I would say...It would have to be the first Damned record where they're covered in whip cream or lard or whatever. You could make them covered in pizza.

Rise Against's new album The Black Market is out now. Buy tickets to see them Saturday at Riot Fest and the Aragon Ballroom on September 11 here.