Tom Morello
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Thomas Baptist Morello (born May 30, 1964) is the guitarist of the band Audioslave, and formerly of Rage Against The Machine. He is acclaimed for his unique guitar style--he was named by Rolling Stone as one of the 100 greatest guitarists in rock history [link]--and noted for his outspoken radical politics.
Early years
Morello was born in Harlem, New York. His mother, Mary Morello, is a founder of Parents For Rock And Rap, an anti-censorship group. She was also a teacher at Libertyville High School. His father, Ngethe Njoroge, was a Mau Mau guerrilla and revolutionary. Morello's great-uncle, Jomo Kenyatta, was the first elected president in Kenya.
Morello grew up in Libertyville, Illinois, at the time a virtually all-white town. There he attended Libertyville High School, where he sang in the chorus and was active in speech and drama club. (One prominent role was Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream.)
He showed his political leanings early; in the 1980 mock elections at LHS, he campaigned for a fictitious anarchist "candidate" named Hubie Maxwell, who almost beat out Jimmy Carter for third place at the overwhelmingly Republican school. He also wrote a piece headlined "South Africa: Racist Fascism That We Support" for the school's alternative paper, The Student Pulse.
Around 1980, Morello first started studying the guitar seriously. He had formed a band in 1980 called the Electric Sheep with future Tool guitarist Adam Jones. Few if any of the Sheep could really play an instrument at first, but the band was an impetus to start honing his skills. At the time Morello's musical tastes lay in the direction of heavy metal, particularly Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix.
Morello graduated in 1982 and began attending Harvard University. There he made a point of practicing every day for 8 hours without fail, no matter how much studying he had to do. He graduated with honors in 1986 with a degree in political science. He moved to L.A., where he briefly worked as an aide to Sen. Alan Cranston as he set about trying to join or start a band. (Adam Jones moved to L.A. as well; Morello introduced Jones to some of his future bandmates.)
Bands and Projects
Lock Up
In 1988 Morello joined Lock Up, a glam rock band that released one album through Geffen Records before splitting up. This record was called Something Bitchin' This Way Comes, which enjoyed only slight success.Rage Against The Machine
Afterward, Morello approached Brad Wilk, who had auditioned for Lock Up, about forming a band. They met with Zack de la Rocha at an LA club where he was rapping, and he introduced Morello to his friend Tim Commerford. The four formed a new band, Rage Against The Machine.Rage had great success, especially in North America and England. Their first, self-titled album, was recognized by fans for Morello's innovative guitar as well as its originality (being one of the first records to combine rock and hip-hop).
After four years of silence and rumors of break-ups, the band released its second album, Evil Empire. This record demonstrated Morello's ability to use the guitar in strange ways, showcasing his abilities with the "kill switch". In 1999, the band released The Battle of Los Angeles, one of their most commercially successful records. In late 2000, they released another album entitled "Renegades". Shortly before the release, de la Rocha left Rage, and the band's instrumentalists said they wanted to continue making music together.
Weatherman
In August 1995 Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine contacted former Articles of Faith frontman Vic Bondi and asked him if he wanted to work on a Rage side project. Tentatively titled Weatherman, the short-lived group featured Bondi on vocals, Tom Morello on guitar, Matt Johnson on bass, and Abe Van Eyck on drums. The recorded demos in September 1995. Bondi wrote all the lyrics, while Morello wrote all the music. One track called "Enola Gay" was recorded by Brett Eliason in fall 1996. Tom re-used the main riff of the song for the Audioslave single "Cochise."Audioslave
After de la Rocha left, the remaining bandmates started jamming with former Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell at the suggestion of producer Rick Rubin. The new group was first called Civilian, but changed their name to Audioslave before their first album dropped.Both their self-titled debut and sophomore Out of Exile have done rather well both critically and commercially. In 2005, Audioslave released a DVD documenting their trip as the first American rock band to play a show in Cuba. Morello recently stated he has made a commitment to Audioslave and is "in it for the long haul." A third album is due in the fall.
- Morello has also appeared, playing lead guitar, on 3 tracks of Primus's 1999 studio album "Antipop"
Guitar style
Morello is famed for his guitar style, which consists of punk/funk hybrid riffs and hip hop-inspired sounds. His guitar playing is also characterized by heavy use of guitar effects, such as delay, modulation, harmonizers, distortion, feedback, and others in unique ways and combinations. Critically acclaimed, he is said to use the guitar in a unique and imaginative way; rather than just plucking the strings, he pulls off maneuvers such as toggling between two pickups - one on and one off - while fretting notes to mimic the sound of a DJ's crossfader, using feedback from the amp and the Digitech Whammy to create a solo, and creating sounds in the strings using innovative techniques such as the guitar's jack and a phillips wrench. But he is still a very accomplished traditional metal guitarist, as heard on some of his earlier recordings such as "Know Your Enemy" and "Take the Power Back", which both have very fast fret work.Despite his otherworldly guitar sounds, Morello has a very limited supply of effects to choose from. During his days in RATM, he used a Dunlop Cry Baby, a Digitech WH-1 Whammy, a Boss DD-2 Digital Delay, a DOD EQ pedal (used to boost the volume during guitar solos), and an Ibanez DFL Flanger. For his work with Audioslave, Morello added a Boss TR-2 Tremolo pedal (which can be heard on "Like a Stone") and replaced the flanger with an MXR Phase 90 (heard on "Getaway Car"). His amplifier of choice has always been a 50-watt Marshall JCM800 2205 and a beat-up Peavey 4x12 cabinet. While the amplifier has two channels, he only uses the overdrive channel, and simply turns down the volume on his guitar to get cleaner sounds.
In the studio, Tom uses the same setup for the bulk of the guitar tracks, but also has a Pignose practice amplifier and an old Music Man combo amplifier that he used as his main amp when he was younger that have made their way onto several tracks as overdubs. The Music Man amp appears in the "Show Me How To Live" video.
Morello has used several guitars throughout his career including:
- Arm the Homeless: A blue custom-built guitar by Morello that contains an EMG 81 in the bridge position and an EMG 85 in the Neck, Ibanez Edge Tremolo, killswitch, and a locking nut on a 22-fret Hammer neck. It was his main guitar in RATM, and is used occasionally in Audioslave. Tuned to Standard E.
- Soul Power: A modified Fender Designer Series American Stratocaster. Has an Ibanez Tremelo, locking nut, kill switch and Hotrails pickup in the bridge. It is his main guitar in Audioslave. Tuned to Standard E.
- Sendero Luminoso: A black stock Mexican built Telecaster. Tuned to Drop D. Decorated with stickers. Swapped with a roommate for a spare amp head.
- James Trussart Steelcaster: Used live sparingly as a backup to his Fender Telecaster.
- Goya Rangemaster style guitar(build by Greco): Modified with a Seymour Duncan pickup in the bridge position. Also, a toggle switch was added and is dead in the middle position, resulting in a "hummingbird chirp" when toggled. It is better known as "Creamy". It was purchased for $60 at a Canadian pawnshop and is tuned to Drop B.
- Ibanez Roadstar: Fitted with EMG pickups (used as backup to the Arm the Homeless).
- Ibanez Talman: Contains a defunct pickup that produces odd noises when toggled. Has a paintjob that evokes the flag of Kenya, with green, orange and black stripes and a shield and spear decal. Has three single coil pickups, the same Ibanez Edge Tremolo as Soul Power and Arm the Homeless, and a kill switch. This guitar has only been used live.
- Ibanez Custom Artstar: Modeled after a Vox Ultrasonic and contains several onboard effects. Used in "Guerilla Radio".
- Ovation Breadwinner: A rare Ovation Solidbody from the 1970s.
- Fender Telecaster: Modified with Seymour Duncan humbucker in the bridge and a kill switch.
- Gibson Les Paul (Cherry Sunburst): Tuned to Drop B.
- Gibson Les Paul (Cherry Red): Used for covers of Soundgarden songs that are tuned to Drop D.
- Gibson EDS-1275: Tuned to Drop D. Used in live performances of "The Ghost of Tom Joad".
Kill switch
Tom Morello's Arm The Homeless guitar is fitted with two pick ups, each of which has its own volume knob. The guitar also has a toggle switch that turns one pick up on and the other off. By turning one pickup to 0 and the other to 10 and toggling between the switches' two settings, Morello creates what he calls a "kill switch."Morello uses the kill switch for some of his most memorable work, such as the scratching solo on "Bulls on Parade" and the verse riff on "Calm Like a Bomb". In his more recent Audioslave music, he has coupled the technique with pentatonic soloing on tracks like "Your Time Has Come".
The kill switch creates an interesting effect when coupled with hammer-ons, which sounds like a delay mixed with a harmonizer. During "Bulls on Parade", Morello slides his hand along the strings rapidly while hitting the switch. This creates a sound resembling a DJ scratching records.
Another interesting use of the kill switch is during "Guerrilla Radio", where Morello manages to make his guitar sound like a harmonica. This was done by using the switch with hammer-ons and a Talkbox. However, in concert, Morello uses a Wah-wah pedal to achieve this sound.
Discography
Lock UpSomething Bitchin' This Way Comes (1989)
Rage Against The Machine
Rage Against The Machine (1992)
Evil Empire (1996)
The Battle of Los Angeles, (1999)
Renegades (2000)
Audioslave
Audioslave (2002)
Out of Exile (2005)
Revelations (2006)
The Nightwatchman
Morello is less known for his folk music, which he plays under the alias "The Nightwatchman". He has explained:
- The Nightwatchman is my political folk alter ego. I've been writing these songs and playing them at open mic nights with friends for some time. This is the first time I've toured with it. When I play open mic nights, it's announced as The Nightwatchman. There will be kids there who are fans of my electric guitar playing, and you see them there scratching their heads.
- But it's something that I enjoy doing. I look at it more as an extension of my politics. Then again, some of the songs are not explicitly political. It really helped me grow as an artist and songwriter. Once you prick the vein you never know what is going to come out. You could aim for all union songs and you find yourself in other territory.
During his time with Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave, Morello has also become known for his many baseball caps which sport mainly (though not exclusively, for instance he frequently wore his hometown Chicago Cubs hat) political messages. A cap he wore which read "commie" and another reading "UNITE!" (a reference to the textile union) became unofficial trademarks of his stage performance.
Axis Of Justice
Morello and Serj Tankian of System of a Down are the co-founders of Axis of Justice, a political group whose declared purpose is "to bring together musicians, fans of music, and grassroots political organizations to fight for social justice together. We aim to build a bridge between fans of music around the world and local political organizations to effectively organize around issues of peace, human rights, and economic justice." [link] The group has worked for such causes as immigrant rights and death-penalty abolition. Its recommended book list includes such authors as Noam Chomsky, Che Guevara, George Orwell, Mumia Abu-Jamal and Grant Morrison. [link]On April 6 2006 Tom Morello was honoured with the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award for his support of worker's rights and for his AOJ work. Tom has worked on numerous labor campaigns: the Guess sweatshop boycott, the LA janitors strike, the Taco Bell Boycott, the southern California grocery workers strike and lockout, and others.
Most recently Tom was a large support of the Immigrants Reform Rally and protest around the US. Morello played as The Nightwatchman at Macarthur Park in Los Angeles and has featured many articles on AOJ.
Trivia
- Morello is a vegetarian.
- His favorite movie is Babe[[Citing sources citation needed]].
- He's a Star Trek fan, having appeared twice in its various forms. (He played Crewman Mitchell in an episode of ', and a Son'a warrior in the ninth feature film '.)
- He has a minor role in the film Made.
External links
- [The Nightwatchman]
- [The Tom Morello Project]
- [Weatherman Discography]
- [Bio and Pictures]
- [Tom's gear (Rage era, relatively unchanged)]
- ["The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time"], Rolling Stone, August 27, 2003.
- article at Memory Alpha, the Star Trek wiki
| Audioslave |
| Chris Cornell | Tom Morello | Tim Commerford | Brad Wilk |
| Discography |
|---|
| Studio albums: Audioslave | Out of Exile | Revelations |
| Live and Compilations: Live in Cuba |
| Singles: "Cochise" | "Like a Stone" | "Show Me How To Live" | "I Am The Highway" | "What You Are" | "Be Yourself" | "Your Time Has Come" | "Doesn't Remind Me" | "Out of Exile" | "Original Fire" |
| Related articles |
| Rage Against the Machine | Soundgarden | Interscope Records | Epic Records | Axis of Justice |
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