Rise Against: Infiltrate, inform and rock
Joe Principe, cofounder of Rise Against – one of the most successful punk bands ever out of Chicago – had his now-I-can-die-with-a-smile moment recently. He and the band were on tour in Washington, D.C., and dropped in on the offices of Dischord Records, home to Minor Threat and Fugazi.
Ian MacKaye, the driving force in both bands, gave the awe-struck members of Rise Against a personal tour of the label’s modest offices. Then he said something that Principe will never forget.
“He was asking us, ‘How’d you guys do it? How’d you get away with it?’ ” Principe says. “He said we were on a major label yet we we’ve been able to merge punk values into the mainstream. That was a huge compliment coming from a guy we’ve taken so much inspiration from. I think one thing we’ve been able to do is stay the same band with the same values, whether we’re on (indie label) Fat Wreck Chords or Universal.”
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