 timothy james "tim" mcilrath (born november 3, 1978) is an american punk rock musician. he is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, songwriter and co-founder of the american punk rock band rise against. mcilrath is known to support animal rights and actively promotes peta with his band. he is also straight-edge. ==biography== ===personal life=== tim mcilrath was born on november 3, 1978 in indianapolis, indiana. at a young age he read dystopian novels such as nineteen eighty-four by george orwell and brave new world by aldous huxley, which would influence his later work. as a child he went to our lady of the wayside, where he was taunted for his left eye being blue and his right eye brown, known as heterochromia. as a teenager, mcilrath's friends were interested in snowboarding, so he saved his money for a snowboard. but, as his interest in music grew, he instead decided to spend the money he had saved on a gibson sg guitar. ==education== mcilrath attended rolling meadows high school in rolling meadows, il. this was also the set for the music video, "make it stop (september's children)." in college (northeastern illinois university), mcilrath majored in english and sociology. in his junior year, he met joe principe at a sick of it all concert. principe asked mcilr
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