Tim McIlrath

Tim McIlrath

Timothy "Tim" James McIlrath (born November 3, 1979) is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, songwriter and co-founder for the American punk rock band Rise Against. McIlrath is known to support animal rights and actively promotes PETA with his band. He follows the straight edge lifestyle, along with Rise Against bassist Joe Principe and guitarist Zach Blair.

Biography

Personal life

Tim McIlrath was born November 3, 1979 in Indianapolis, IN. At a young age he read dystopia books such as Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, which would influence his later work. As a child he went to Our Lady of the Wayside, where he was taunted for having one brown eye and one blue eye, known as heterochromia. As a teenager, McIlrath's friends were interested in snowboarding, so he saved his money for a snowboard. But, as his interests swayed and he got into music more, he instead decided to spend the money he had saved on a Gibson SG guitar.

Education

In college (Northeastern Illinois University), McIlrath majored in English and Sociology. In his junior year, he met Joe Principe at a Sick of It All concert. Principe asked McIlrath to sing over a few tracks that he and Mr. Precision had recorded. It was at this time that Rise Against was formed, and McIlrath left college.

Current

McIlrath is now married and he and his wife Erin have two daughters, Blythe and Scarlet. They live with him in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He is a strict vegetarian, edging into a vegan lifestyle, and raises his children the same way.

McIlrath has been featured on many songs and albums outside of his main group Rise Against.

Music career

Baxter (1995–1997)

McIlrath began his musical career in his teenage years; he was very active in the Chicago local alternative rock/punk scene. His first band was the post-hardcore band Baxter, formed in 1995 along with future The Lawrence Arms drummer Neil Hennessy and future Killing Tree and Holy Roman Empire bassist Geoff Reu. Their first release was a full length, self released, cassette, Troy's Bucket, which was released in 1996. Troy's Bucket was met with warm reception from the scene, and Baxter became a popular band in the Chicago underground scene.

In 1997 they released a 7" EP Lost Voices on Static Station Records. After some local touring, the band split up.

McIlrath played bass and sang backup in the first incarnation of The Honor System. He sang on their demo and on some songs on their debut album Single File. He and drummer Neil Hennesy could also be found in a brief lineup of the grind band Yellow Road Priest, whose members went on to form Pelican. The band broke up in 1997.

Arma Angelus (1998–1999)

McIlrath joined the band Arma Angelus, Chicago metalcore band fronted by Pete Wentz, who was to become bassist in mainstream pop punk/emo band Fall Out Boy. McIlrath played bass with the band until 1999 when he quit to form Transistor Revolt, which would eventually become Rise Against.

Rise Against (1999–present)

In 1999 McIlrath formed the band that would become Rise Against with former 88 Fingers Louie bassist, Joe Principe, guitarist Dan Precision (A.K.A. Mr. Precision), and drummer Toni Tintari under the name 'Transistor Revolt'. Drummer Brandon Barnes did not join until 2001; it was at the same time the band was renamed Rise Against. They officially recorded their debut album The Unraveling on Fat Wreck Chords in 2001.

In 2003 guitarist Mr. Precison left due to arguments with the band, and Todd Mohney filled his role. Later that year they released their second album Revolutions per Minute which was greeted with warm success . They toured the U.S. steadily that year, though by the end of it, Mohney left. In order to replace him, former Reach the Sky guitarist Chris Chasse joined in 2004 and they released their Geffen debut Siren Song of the Counter Culture.

With the release of the singles "Give It All", "Swing Life Away", and "Life Less Frightening", Rise Against became more popular with mainstream fans, but still kept their underground sensibility. After more touring (including a European tour and spots on the Vans Warped tour), the band went back to the studio and recorded their fourth album The Sufferer & the Witness, which included eight singles ("Ready to Fall, "Prayer of the Refugee", "The Good Left Undone", "Behind Closed Doors", "Drones", "Survive", "Injection", and "Under the Knife".)

They had ended their tour and were back in the studio in the process of making their next album, when Chris Chasse left the band to pursue family life.

In 2008, Rise Against recorded their fifth album Appeal to Reason with the help of guitarist Zach Blair, who is now a permanent member and has known the band for many years. Appeal to Reason was released on October 7, 2008. The band recorded it at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado with Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore, who produced Revolutions Per Minute and The Sufferer & the Witness.

Rise Against's sixth album, Endgame, contains singles "Help Is On The Way" and "Architects" and was released on March 15, 2011.

The Killing Tree (1999–2004)

McIlrath has played in his metalcore side project The Killing Tree along with Rise Against old guitarist Todd Mohney during the early years of the band, though all members used pseudonyms out of concern for it. The Killing Tree has not produced any music or toured since 2003, but contributed their previously unreleased song "Dressed to Fuck" on the 2006 Thick Records complation album Hair: Chicago Punk Cuts, featuring Emily Schambra of the alternative rock band Holy Roman Empire.

Discography

See also: Rise Against discography

With Rise Against

• Transistor Revolt (2000)
• The Unraveling (2001)
• Revolutions per Minute (2003)
• Siren Song of the Counter Culture (2004)
• The Sufferer & the Witness (2006)
• This Is Noise (2007)
• Appeal to Reason (2008)
• Rise Against / Anti-Flag (2009)
• Rise Against 7" (2009)
• Endgame (2011)

With The Killing Tree

• Bury Me At Make-Out Creek (2000)
• The Romance of Helen Trent (2002)
• We Sing Sin (2003)
• Hair: Chicago Punk Cuts (2006)

With Baxter

• Troy's Bucket full-length cassette (1996)
• Lost Voices... 7" (Static Station Recordings, 1997)
• Baxter two-disc CD compilation (Will Not Clear Man, 2002)

With Arma Angelus

• Things We Don't Like We Destroy (compilation) (2002)
• The Grave End of the Shovel

With The Honor System

• Single File (four song cassette demo only).

Guest appearances

• Tim provided vocals for the song "The Gre(A)t Depression" by Anti-Flag.
• Tim is featured on the song "Denak ez du balio" by Basque alternative rock band Berri Txarrak from their album Libre ©.
• Tim was also in "Lords of Dogtown" a film in which he performs the song "Nervous Breakdown".
• Tim sang on the song "Let Them Eat War" in Bad Religion's Live at the Palladium DVD
• Tim sings vocals in the Cancer Bats song, "Harem of Scorpions". From their 2008 album Hail Destroyer.
• Tim is featured on the song "Resuscitation of a Dead Man" by Thursday from their album Common Existence.
• Tim sang vocals on the Bullet Treatment 7" on Fat Wreck Chords in 2009.
• Tim provided vocals for the song "Mute Hearts" by Holy Roman Empire.
• Tim was featured at the end of the NOFX music video for "Cokie the Clown".
• Tim is featured on the Flobots song, "White Flag Warrior" on their album, Survival Story.
• Tim is featured in "The Sims 3 - Ambitions". He sings the song called "Savior" in Simlish.
• Tim sang vocals on Stephen Egerton's song "South for the Winter" from his album, The Seven Degrees of Stephen Egerton.
• Tim is featured on the song "Achtung" by Basque alternative rock band Berri Txarrak from their album Payola.

Straight Edge

Tim and his bandmates, except for Barnes, are straight edge; a lifestyle that eliminates drugs, alcohol and promiscuous sex.

PETA work

Tim is vegan, as are his fellow band members (except for drummer Brandon Barnes). They are active with the animal rights group PETA. Tim often takes part in PETA protests and gives out PETA books and flyers at shows. Rise Against's fifth album, Appeal to Reason, even included a PETA sticker, encouraging people to stand up for the rights of animals. He has given many interviews on the matter along with other bands.

He has appeared in many videos made and distributed by PETA expressing their beliefs on vegetarianism as well as issues and the meat industry and fast food industry, fur and fashion use of animal skins and animal testing and dissection.

External links

• Tim McIlrath at IMDb
• The Killing Tree's Website (Hasn't been updated since 2003)
• Rise Against's Official Website
• Rise Against's Fansite
• The Killing Tree's Website (archived)
• Tim Mcllrath Interview