Tim McIlrath
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- This article is about a musician. For other people named Tim McIlrath, see Tim McIlrath (disambiguation).
| Tim McIlrath | ||
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[[Image: |Expression error: unrecognised word "expression"px|Tim Mcilrath live at street Scene 2005]]Tim Mcilrath live at street Scene 2005
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| Background information | ||
| Born | 1980, Chicago, Illinois | |
| Occupation(s) | Vocalist, Songwriter, Musician | |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, Guitar, Bass | |
| Label(s) | Fat Wreck Chords (2001-2003) Geffen (2003-present) | |
| Associated acts |
Rise Against, The Killing Tree | |
Tim McIlrath (born 1980) is the lead singer for the American melodic hardcore band Rise Against. He is known for his versatile voice, and is able to sing softly, scratchy and frantic, or an all out scream. He is also a competent guitarist; during Rise Against's time without a second guitarist, McIlrath filled this role.
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[edit] Biography
Tim was born in 1980 in Indianapolis, Indiana. At a young age he read books such as 1984 by George Orwell, and A Brave New World. As a child in Catholic (Our Lady of the Wayside, the school that Mark Sansait went to) school in Arlington Heights, IL, he was taunted for having one brown eye and one blue eye[citation needed], known as heterochromia. Fellow classmates thought this a mark of the beast. In his teenage years, he was very active in his local alternative rock/punk scene. He was part of a post-hardcore band from Chicago called Baxter, a metalcore band called Arma Angelus with Pete Wentz (now in Fall Out Boy) and in a band called The Honor System. In 1999 Tim and former 88 Fingers Louie bassist Joe Principe and guitarist Mr. Precison formed Rise Against along with Brandon Barnes on drums, which has released four albums, the most recent The Sufferer and the Witness reaching #10 on the Billboard charts.
[edit] Role in Rise Against
Tim is known for his deep and melodic vocal style, which often sets them apart from other Hardcore bands. Tim also writes the lyrics for all Rise Against songs. His songs usually involve his liberal political stand point, and love songs. In his political songs he often portrays a group of people, but at times portrays only himself. He is also a competent guitarist but didn't start playing guitar for Rise Against until the "Revolutions Per Minute" writing sessions. This has been more evident in recent years.
[edit] Discography
[edit] 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)
[edit] Rise Against
[edit] The Killing Tree
- The Romance of Helen Trent (2002)
- We Sing Sin (EP) (2004)
- Arma Angelus:
- Things we Don't Like We Destroy (compilation) (2002)
- Where Sleeplessness brings Rest From Nightmares
- The Grave End of the Shovel
The Honor System:
- Single File
[edit] PETA work
Tim and his fellow bandmembers are vegetarian and are active with the animal rights group PETA. Tim often takes part in PETA protests and gives out PETA books and flyers at shows. He has given many interviews along with other bands.
[edit] Trivia
- He has one child, a daughter named Blythe.
- McIlrath's father is a right wing ex-military intelligence officer as was his grandfather{AP220}, although Tim himself is known for his left-wing political views as demonstrated in Rise Against songs such as "State of the Union", "Blood-Red, White and Blue", and others. In the booklet of Revolutions Per Minute and the inside case of The Sufferer and the Witness he lists several left-wing books, films, and websites to take a look at. They include Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States, George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, James Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me, as well as Michael Moore's website and the film The Corporation, amongst others.
