Rise Against

Here we have one of the most liked and most popular punk band today. Everybody has hear of these guys. You can turn on the radio and hear them on most new music stations. They were formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1999. If you haven't gotten it yet, and i would hope that you have considering the answer is in the title, I'm talking about none other than Rise Against.

Rise Against has released 5 major albums so far. Some of their most well known songs are off of their album Sufferer & the Witness. It contained hits such as Swing Life Away, The Good Left Undone, and Prayer of the Refugee. Some of their influences for their music are amazing bands like Nirvana, Bad Religion, and Pennywise, all of which i highly recommend you check out if you haven't already.

All the members of Rise Against are stick vegetarians, which makes them even higher on my personal heroes chart as i have also been a vegetarian for a few years now. The band are highly supportive of the animal rights group, PETA. According to Rise Against, the video for ready to fall was one of the most important ones they have ever made due to the fact that it deals with the subjects of animal cruelty in hunting, factories and farming. The band has also endorsed a 100% vegan friendly shoe like with Vans.

The current band members are Tim Mcllrath, Joe Principe, Brandon Barnes, and Zach Blair. After their previous bands, 88 Fingers Louie and Baxter broke up, Tim Mcllrath, Joe Principe, Toni Tintari, and Mr. Precision joined together to make Rise Against. The four never preformed a live show together but did record a few songs. After a few lineup changes, Rise Against settled their current lineup.

So far, Rise Against has released: the Unravelling, Revolutions Per Minute, Siren Song of the Counter Culture, The Sufferer and the Witness, and Appeal to Reason. My personal favorite album by Rise Against would probably have to be Siren Song of the Counter Culture or The Sufferer and the Witness. The vocals and guitar are impressive in both albums, and the songs get stuck in your head. It's good times.

Even if you aren't really into punk music, check out Rise Against. I'm sure you'll find at least a few song you will enjoy. Pick some up and Play It!

Bad Religion

Bad Religion was formed in Southern California in 1980. The original four members consisted of Jay Bently, Jay Ziskrout, Brett Gurewitz, and Greg Griffin. The band itself has been around for almost 30 years and has had many lineup changes with the exception of Greg Griffin who has remained as the vocalist the whole time. Although all three of the other band members have left at one point, both Brett Gurewitz and Jay Bently aremembers today. The other current members of Bad Religion are Greg Hetson, Brian Baker, and Brooks Wackerman.

Their first album, How Could Hell be Any Worse?, was released in 1982, and their most recent album, New Maps of Hell was released in 2007. In total, Bad religion has 14 full albums out, soon to be 15 when they release their next album in 2010.

Bad Religion is known for having very sophisticated lyrics as well as for their vocal harmonies. Despite their name, many of the songs do not touch upon the actual theme of religion, rather using religion as a metaphor for anything that does not allow individual freedom in expression and thought. The songs are more about anti- conformity than they are about anti-religion. Some of the band members themselves do have spiritual beliefs.

Bad Religion does not have the hard sounds of a lot of punk bands. Instead they are very harmonized but sill lots of fun to listen to. Their lyrics can really get you thinking. It's defiantly worth the listen. So my verdict on Bad Religion is PLAY IT!

Against Me!

The little punk band from Naples, Florida has made quite a name for themselves over the past few years. Against Me! has come a long ways since their humble beginnings as an acoustic solo project.

At the age of 16, Tom Gamble began playing shows by himself with the occasional backup bass or drum player. He went on to record a demo which he called Against Me! Later on, Tom formed a very small band called Vivida Vis!, with his friend Kevin Mahon on drums. They played a few shows but never really became popular.

Later, Kevin left the band and was replaced by Warren Oakes on drums and James bowmen joined as second guitarist. The four soon relesed their first full album which also happens to be my personal favorite, Reinventing of Axl Rose. It was the first album where electric guitar was used. After the album was released, Dustin Fridkin left the band. They soon got a new bass player named Andrew Seward. The band's lineup still remains the same today.

The Eternal Cowboy was the next Album released by Against Me! It was followed by Searching for a Former Clarity, and then New Wave. In my opinion, all four albums are very well done. The songs stick with you for a very long time and you find yourself singing them in the back of your head all day... and enjoying it!

If you haven't already listened to Against Me! I have no idea what you're waiting for. If you need an invitation here it is... GO GET SOME AGAINST ME! I'm sure you'll like it, so enjoy! and PLAY IT!

Anti-Flag

Anti-Flag is one of the more popular bands in American punk. They are personally one of my favorite bands. Their lyrics and message are very clear. Anti-Flag is a band that can get your adrenaline pumping.

The band was formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1988 by Justin Sane and Patt Thetic. While the band was just getting started, they went through many guitarists and bass players, one of which was Justin's own sister Lucy Fester. After their first show the band broke up. In 1993 bass player, Andy Flag joined Justin and Patt and Anti-Flag was reborn.
After some time, Andy left the band due to some disagreements with Justin. Later on, the band's replacement bassist introduced them to his friend Chris Head, who eventually filled in on bass until the arrival of Jamie Cock took over on bass, allowing Chris to play second guitar. in 1999, Jamie was later replaced on bass by Chris Baker (Chris #2) which has remained the same.
After being invited to play in Van's Warped Tour, the band met up with NOFX and soon became good friends.

Anti-Flag's lyrics cover a range of topics from the United States' foreign policies, wars, the media, capitalism, Monsanto, and encouraging people to take a stand for what they believe by voting. Many people considered Anti-Flag's lyrics to be "Anti-American" and some of their albums were taken off shelves in the United States. This did not stop them from spreading their message.

There have been eight albums released so far by Anti-Flag. Die for the Government, Their System Doesn't Work for You, A New Kind of Army, Underground Network, Mobilize, the Terror State, For Blood and Empire, and their newest album, the Bright Lights of America.

I personally think that if you like punk music, Anti-Flag is a MUST HAVE! Pick it up, have a listen. PLAY IT!

Rancid (my first love)

The first punk CD i ever listened to as a child, was none other than Rancid's CD - And Out Come the Wolves. Ever since my brother first introduced me to Rancid, my love of punk rock has only grown stronger.

Rancid was one of the bands that started punk in North America. Along with Green Day, they helped to shape and form modern day punk music. The band was formed back in 1991 by Matt Freeman, Tim Armstrong and Brett Reed. Brett later left the band and was replaced by Branden Steineckert in 2006. Greenday's Billie Joe played with the band for a while but later left which is when lead vocalist and second guitar player, Lars Frederiksen joined up. Due to the e

fforts and passion for their music and way of life, these California boys helped to spread punk all over North America throughout the 90's. The band has released 6 actual albums plus many other recordings.

Their mix of roots reggae, rockabilly and funk make for a very fun listen. Some of their best known songs are Ruby Soho, Roots Radicals, Time Bomb, and Salvation. The guys are still playing shows and selling albums. If you haven't heard Rancid yet i highly recommend picking up some of their stuff. So Play It!