SCENEzine: Firstly, it’s a huge honour to talk to talk to you, thanks for your time. How has your recent American tour with Deftones been?

Brandon Barnes: Thank you so much, yea man tour was great, it went for six weeks, we did a little bit of Canada and most of the U.S. The Deftones are really good guys, good band, we have been trying to get that tour together for quite some time and we finally made it happen which was great and really fun.

SCENEzine: Congrats on your newest album, Wolves. It’s exceeded all our expectations and is fast becoming our favourite album of the year. You must be proud of how it all tuned out?

Brandon Barnes: Yea, very proud! We have been a band for 18 years and we have been doing this a long time and so when we finally get a new record together and put it out, it is always a proud moment. We ended up going to a different producer this time, Nick Raskulinecz down in Nashville Tennessee, and I think this took us out of our comfort zone and changed things up a little bit and maybe the record has a little bit of a different sound to it because of that but in a good way and I am really proud of it.

SCENEzine: I wanted to ask, how was the experience of recording in Nashville while the election was happening?

Brandon Barnes: It was definitely interesting. I am from Colorado and two of the other guys are from Chicago and those are more democratic areas. Our guitar player Zach is from Texas so he is most probably more used to it. You see a lot of lawn signs and billboards for Trump and we’re in the middle of the record and there in Nashville when Trump won the election, so that was a shocker for everybody. I don’t even think Trumps’ people thought he was going to win and it was a total shocker. We went to the studio the next day and we just decide to go home, we were pretty bummed out but I think it gave us a little inspiration and maybe Tim more so lyrically, to write some more political type lyrics and created some angst on the record that gives it a kind of edge.

SCENEzine: Yea definitely, it comes through full of aggression and the whole political themes just shine right through it, I really love it actually.  

Brandon Barnes: Thank you so much. 

SCENEzine: Do you feel the importance of bands like Rise Against has grown in the current political environment to provide a voice?

Brandon Barnes: I think so. Right now, you need people talking about what is going on in American politics whether it is politicians, musicians, actors or whomever wants to get involved, I don’t think that is ever a bad thing to create dialogue. A lot of American bands don’t touch politics and I totally respect that as well but I think it is good to keep the conversation going and just try to make sure we don’t elect a tabloid buffoon-like real-estate buffoon to President again, and I think more than half of America are really confused about how this happened. It is embarrassing and it scared them as well, so yea, just try and keep the conversation going and try to prevent this from happening ever again. 

SCENEzine: Being that Wolves is now your 8th studio album, with that much material does that make it harder to put together a set list that will please all the fans?

Brandon Barnes: It is, it’s nice to have new songs to play for the band because we have to go out and play them every night so for me it is really exciting to have new material and new stuff, but yea, when you are building a set list it is really funny because you put out a new record and a lot of people are like ‘play the old stuff’ (laughs). There is always a balance of putting on some new songs in the set list and then playing some of the old songs that people really like but after 18 years we are pros at it. I am sure we will mix it up and come up with something good. 

SCENEzine: One of our favourite songs from the album is ‘Miracle’, can you tell us about it, about that song?

Brandon Barnes: Oh yea! Interestingly that is one of my favourite songs on the record, I love that song. It was actually one of the last songs that we were working on and it came together really nicely. It’s kind of got a different sound to it and it ended up at the end of the record which I think works really well as an outro to the record. I am hoping we can start playing that one live, as for we have not played that one live.

SCENEzine: Let’s hope we get to hear it on your Australian Tour which you recently announced for February 2018. Did you guys time the tour so you’ll be in Australia for the summer and escape the cold of the northern winter?

Brandon Barnes: (laughter) That is always the bonus for us. It is so cold where I live in the mountains of Colorado so it’s always beautiful to come down there and have half the summer. We love Australia we always have, you guys have always been really good to us, we have always had really good shows down there, so yea it is one of the more favourite place for us to tour, so excited.

SCENEzine: Rise Against are no strangers to Australian shores. Doing many headline tours, playing Big Day Out and even touring the country with Foo Fighters. Do you have a favourite Australian tour memory?

Brandon Barnes: Ya know that Foo Fighter’s tour was epic because some of those shows were just absolutely enormous and that was really fun, but that Big Day Out was with Beastie Boys and System of a Down, that was crazy. They used to call that tour Big Day Out for a reason but it was like a vacation. Everything was so well organised and the crowds were so huge and we were down there with the Beastie Boys who I watched every day and that to me will always be a memory. For all touring in general I will always remember that Big Day Out as one of the best things I have ever done, just being on tour with The Beastie Boys, just huge and crazy.

SCENEzine: Yea, it was sad to see that festival go to be honest.

Brandon Barnes: Yea that was a real shocker. I couldn’t believe that festival went away ya know, because when we did it  back in 2005 it was the best festival around, I was surprised that it stopped. 

SCENEzine: So many bands we talk to share the same great memories and sentiments of the festival, it is sorely missed that is for sure.

On this tour, you will be bringing along SWMRS featuring Billie Joe from Green Day’s son Joey. Have you had a chance to play with them before?

Brandon Barnes:  Yea we have, we did a tour with them a couple years back, they are really good kids and their music is real interesting. They are nice people and good friends and we thought they would be a good fit and they were available, so it should be a good tour.

SCENEzine: We are still saddened and shocked by the passing of Chester Bennington. Back in May, Rise Against did some dates with Linkin Park. Can you share any memories from that tour?

Brandon Barnes: Yea that was a shocker, we were just on tour in South America with them, we did a number of shows, and it is total shock. I really don’t know what to say about it, he just seemed so up-beat and happy, he was a really good person and good father and it’s just really shocking so I don’t know what to say about it, it is just so heart breaking.

SCENEzine: I was lucky enough to witness Linkin Park play the Hurricane Festival in Germany this year in June, and at the time Chester just looked so happy on stage and amongst the people in the crowd, then a month later I hear the news and was shocked.

Brandon Barnes: It is so shocking when some take it that far, and it is an illness that I just don’t understand and I can’t ever imagine doing that, but obviously he was in a really bad place, it is really sad. 

SCENEzine: A lot of Rise Against songs resonate with people because of their messages of hope and self-empowerment. Is it surreal to think how many people you’ve helped through hard times world-wide with your music?

Brandon Barnes: Yea it is amazing, that is one thing about this whole band experience, just how many people you reach lyrically. And yet some people don’t even pay attention to the lyrics they just love the music, which is great too. But yea, it is always impressive every night in a different city and you see all those people show up and have a great time and it is just amazing how many people we reach. Eighteen years and we are still doing this, it is really special. 

SCENEzine: There are so many huge crowd favourites of Rise Against songs, like ‘Ready to Fall’, ‘Swing Life Away’, ‘Prayer for the Refugee’ and ‘Saviour. Is there a particular song that you love to play live to see the crowd’s reaction?

Brandon Barnes: Yea there is a bunch, it depends on the tour and the city really. Certain cities love certain songs, some cities love heavy music and others love the pop punk stuff. My favourite songs to play live still are always these three ‘Heaven Knows, ‘Broken English’ and ‘Survive’. Those are older songs, but those ones are fast and sound like old-school Rise Against and are always crowd pleasers. I will always like those three and fight to get them on the set list, and I usually get one of them (laughs). 

SCENEzine: Lastly, can give you leave us with a message for all your Aussie fans stoked for the tour?

Brandon Barnes: Thank you so much for all the support, you guys embraced us a long time ago and have always been so good to us and we are just really excited to come down there and put on a good show and have a good time.

Interview – Chad