Joe Principe
Joe Principe | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | November 14, 1974 Chicago, Illinois, US |
| Genres | Punk rock, hardcore punk, melodic hardcore |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, bassist, activist |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, bass, guitar |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Labels | Fat Wreck Chords (2001-2003) Geffen (2003-2007) DGC/Interscope (since 2007) |
Joe Principe (born November 14, 1974) is an American musician. He is the bass guitarist, backing vocalist and co-founder of the American punk rock band Rise Against. He primarily uses Fender basses, Mesa amps and cabinets, and he uses pick-playing exclusively.
He is also a strict vegetarian, an animal rights advocate and actively promotes PETA with his band.[1]
Biography
Joe Principe began his musical career at age 15, learning to play by ear and influenced during his formative years by Bad Religion, Minor Threat, Bad Brains, the Descendents and other like minded bands. In the spring and summer of 1994, he worked for a few months at Rotz Records, in the infamous basement warehouse. He was fired for incorrectly packaging CDs for The Offspring's third album Smash. Principe attended Holy Cross High School in River Grove, Illinois
Music career
88 Fingers Louie (1993-1999)
In 1993 Principe formed the Chicago punk band 88 Fingers Louie with Dom Vallone, Mr. Precision, and Denis Buckley. The band were together for six years of touring and releasing records (Go Away, Wanted, Totin' 40's & Fuckin' Shit Up, Behind Bars, 88 Fingers Up Your Ass, The Dom Years, The Teacher Gets It, Back On The Streets, 88 Fingers Louie/Kid Dynamite) In 1999 tensions formed within the band, and members decide to break up and go their separate ways.
Rise Against (1999-present)
Shortly after the break up with "88 Fingers Louie" Principe meet future bandmate and friend Tim McIlrath at a Sick of It All concert. Principe asked McIlrath to sing over a few tracks that he and former 88 Fingers Louie guitarist Mr. Precision had recorded. It was then Mcilrath agreed to form the band. They later met up with drummer Toni Tintari and formed the band as "Transistor Revolt", the band's original name before changing it to "Rise Against".
In 2000 they released the self-titled demo, Transistor Revolt. Tintari left the band in the fall of that year before the recording of their full-length album. He was later replaced by Brandon Barnes of "Pinhead Circus". The band then signed with independent record label Fat Wreck Chords in 2001. They then released their debut album The Unraveling and spent the rest of the year touring. In 2002, Mr. Precision left and was replaced by Todd Mohney. The band returned to the studio in December 2002 to work on their second full-length, Revolutions Per Minute in 2003 and toured for the 2003 Warped Tour, which gained the band some success. Rise Against then signed to Dreamworks Records in late 2003 to began the recording of their third record, but Dreamworks was shortly absorbed by the Universal Music Group, and Rise Against found itself with Major label Geffen Records. Todd Mohney, the band's guitarist at the time left and was replaced by Chris Chasse and began the recording of their new album Siren Song of the Counter Culture. Siren Song of the Counter Culture was released on August 10, 2004 peaking at number 136 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album charts, gaining the band major critical and commercial success with the singles "Give It All, "Swing Life Away", and "Life Less Frightening"
The band re-entered the studio in January 2006, after touring in support of Siren Song of the Counter Culture, and recorded their fourth studio album at the Blasting Room studio in Fort Collins, Colorado with producers Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore. The Sufferer & the Witness was released on July 4, 2006 peaking at number 10 on Billboard 200 and received generally positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success along with their singles "Ready to Fall", "Prayer of the Refugee" and "The Good Left Undone". Rise Against toured in support of The Sufferer & the Witness throughout the second half of 2006 and all of 2007. The band was a headliner in the 2006 Warped Tour as part of the The Sufferer & the Witness Tour. In late 2006, the band co-headlined a tour with Thursday that included the bands Circa Survive and Billy Talent. The Sufferer & the Witness has less of the hardcore punk feel from the band's previous album. In 2007 Chasse decided to leave the band and was replaced by longtime friend Zach Blair from Only Crime. During this tour, on July 3, 2007, Rise Against released an EP in Canada titled This Is Noise, which was subsequently released in the United States on January 15, 2008.
Rise Against's fifth studio album Appeal to Reason was released on October 4 in Australia, October 6 across Europe, and October 7 in the United States through DGC/Interscope. The album sold 64,700 copies in its first week and peaked at number 3 on the U.S. Billboard 200, making it Rise Against's highest-charting album to date at the time. Appeal to Reason was met with generally positive reviews, with its singles Re-Education (Through Labor), Audience of One, and Savior. Rise Against embarked on a North American tour with bands Rancid, Billy Talent, Killswitch Engage, and Riverboat Gamblers in June and July 2009.
After touring for almost two years Rise Against had begun recording their sixth studio album for a 2011 release, at the Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado. Rise Against has announced two South American shows in Brazil and Argentina and a run of European shows in late February and March 2011 respectively. Endgame was released on March 11, 2011 in the United States peaking at number 2 on The Billboard 200, receiving positive reviews from critics and commercial success. Rise Against have since earn several gold and platinum records in the United States and Canada throughout their career.
Personal life
Joe currently resides in suburban Chicago with his wife, Elana and their daughter. He had also stated his favorite food is pizza. In fact his fellow bandmembers confirmed the fact that it was common for Joe to eat pizza every day. He even has a 'Pizza' tattoo, as seen on the Generation Lost DVD documentary.
Details
With the follow-up The Sufferer & the Witness poised to sustain Rise Against’s momentum, Principe has continued his own steady improvement as a musician. Previously a busier player, Joe focused on refining his interactions with the other instruments. “I made a conscious effort to let the guitars shine and to keep the rhythm with the drums. I didn’t want to do anything too flashy.” For most of the album’s tracks, Principe extended this no-frills approach to his tone. A pick and a touch of distortion were his building blocks, with a handful of studio rigs allowing him to find the right tone for each song: “I recorded with around five different setups, so we were able to blend whatever we wanted.” However, Principe did allow himself to try something radically different on The Good Left Undone, which features a mellow break led by a layered bass-chord dirge. “Yeah,” he laughs. “That was four tracks of bass using an EBow. I imagined something where there wouldn’t be any attack from the bass—just sound. The engineer, Jason, said, ‘We’ve got to get an EBow.’ So we did.”
Though he took more of a supporting role on Sufferer & the Witness, Joe still added a tasteful selection of his trademark fills and runs. “I did more low-register bass fills this time. Usually I go to the upper octave on a fill, but this time I stayed low.” Principe credits this move to years of playing along with his favorite recordings. “I spent hours and hours sitting next to a boombox, pressing play, rewind, play, rewind, and trying to learn other peoples’ parts.” In addition to training his melodic sensibilities by ’shredding with albums by Rancid and The Descendents, he also sweated along with NOFX and thrash metal bands such as Anthrax to develop his speed and stamina.
Principe is as humble discussing his own playing as he is discussing his influences, and the sincerity of his approach to both shows in his bass lines. “They’re probably not much for anyone else to listen to, but the melodies I play remind me of the Descendents. That influence came out on this album more than any other, which is one thing I’m pretty proud of.”
Gear
- Bass Fender American Vintage '57 Precision (tuned EbAbDbGb)
- Joe Principe Signature Specimen Aluminum Bass Guitar [2]
- Ernie Ball Regular Slinky strings
- Dunlop Nylon .88mm picks
- EBow (in studio)
- Seymour Duncan Basslines Pickups (Quarter Pound)
Discography
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References
- ^ "PETA2 // Out There // Top 10 Reasons PETA2 Loves Rise Against". Peta2.com. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
- ^ "SPECIMEN - Custom Aluminum Bass Guitars". Specimenproducts.com. Retrieved 2011-07-20.
- http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/basslines/progressive-1/sjb3_quarterpou/
- http://www.punknews.org/article/21180
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