Santa Monica, CA (Universal
Music Australia) - The Warped Tour has announced the first band for the 2006 iteration of the punk festival - Chicago's Rise Against. The announcement that
Rise Against will be one of the headliners on the Warped Tour comes as more good news for the band in what continues to be a very successful 2005.
Before the year concludes, Rise Against is currently scheduled to play select radio X-mas festivals and two hometown Vic Theatre performances. While on the road, the group continues to write material for the upcoming follow-up to their Geffen debut 'Siren Song Of The Counterculture.' In February, the band will head to Fort Collins, CO's famed 'Blasting Room' studio to record with producer Bill Stevenson (Descendents, Black Flag, Rise Against's 'Revolutions Per Minute') for a projected summer '06 release.
"Siren Song Of The Counter-Culture" hit No 1 on Billboard's New Artist chart during the summer and remained there for a month. Their perch at the top of the charts was largely due to the continued radio success of their single "Swing Life Away," which spent more than twenty weeks on the Billboard Modern Rock singles chart. In addition to the success of current single, Rise Against's debut single, "Give It All" emerged as a national radio hit earlier this year. Championed by rock tastemaker Mike Davies at BBC Radio One in the UK, the band performed on the Lock Up stage at Reading and Leeds this past summer, and recently recorded an in-studio session for his 'Lock Up' show.
"Siren Song Of The Counter-Culture" has drawn rave reviews from key publications. Rolling Stone praised the band's "rousing, intelligent fury," while Alternative Press said "the band's engrossing hardcore is an urgent siren song that's appropriate for these angst-ridden, uncertain times."
Fans continue to be drawn to the band for their driving sound, honest lyrics, socio-political awareness and rousing live shows. In addition to extensive US touring, the band showed their commitment to reaching fans overseas by performing the huge Big Day Out Festival in Australia and New Zealand, supporting System of a Down in Australia, doing the Give It A Name festival in the UK, the Taste of Chaos tour of Australia, Japan, UK and Germany, and the Punk 123 cross country tour of Canada. Sales of "Siren Song Of The Counter-Culture" now exceed 300,000 copies in the US and has achieved gold status in Canada.
Rise Against is comprised of vocalist Tim McIlrath, bassist Joe Principe, drummer Brandon Barnes and guitarist Chris Chasse. In spring 2001, the quartet released their debut CD "The Unraveling" on Fat Wreck Chords. After two years of touring, Rise Against recorded "Revolutions Per Minute" (2002). "Siren Song Of The Counter-Culture" was produced by Gggarth Richardson (Rage Against The Machine, Chevelle, Sick Of It All) at his Vancouver studio.
Rise Against previously appeared on the Warped Tour in 2004.
