On this episode of In Conversation, I had a lovely chat with Rise Against guitarist Zach Blair.
Starting in Chicago all the way back in 1999, Rise Against has steadily become one of the biggest names in punk rock, selling out huge venues all around the world.
In many ways, the band has carried the baton from groups like The Descendents and Bad Religion who introduced hardcore to wider audiences by incorporating elements of pop and folk. With the recent resurgence in popularity of hardcore, Blair and I had a great discussion on the importance of that music and how he sees it moving forward. As someone who has played in not only Rise Against, but with Hagfish, Only Crime, and GWAR, Blair had some amazing insights on the evolution of punk rock.
In this conversation we also discuss last year’s Rise Against album Nowhere Generation and it’s recently released companion EP Nowhere Generation II, his new podcast Anti-Heroes where he talks to some of his favorite guitarists, the insane talent of his mentor Bill Stevenson and so much more.