Rise was founded in 1991 by Craig Ericson in Nevada City, California. He released a small number of 7" records before putting the label on hiatus to attend college. Ericson didn't release anything further until 1999, after moving to Portland, Oregon. He began issuing small-print 7" records, and his first CD release came in 2000, from the group One Last Thing. The label gave a strong foundation to bands Anatomy of a Ghost, Ever We Fall who later signed with Hopeless Records and Fear Before the March of Flames who signed to Equal Vision Records. Later signees, including Drop Dead, Gorgeous, Breathe Carolina and The Devil Wears Prada gained considerable popularity while with Rise, and moved on to what were larger labels at the time, such as Interscope Records, Fearless Records and Ferret Records, respectively. Rise has also signed some veteran bands like Hot Water Music, Bouncing Souls, The Bled, Bleeding Through, The Acacia Strain and From First To Last. Rise Records' releases are currently distributed nationwide by ADA. The label is currently made up of 34 bands.