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Tom Morello

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Tom Morello
200px
Born May 30, 1964</br>New York, USA
Alias(es) The Nightwatchman
Genre(s) Rock
Rapcore
Funk metal
Funkcore
Affiliation(s) Rage Against The Machine</br>Audioslave
Notable guitars "Arm the Homeless"
"Sendero Luminoso"
"Soul Power"
Years active 1980 - Present
Official site The Tom Morello Project

Thomas Baptist Morello or Tom Morello (born May 30, 1964) is an American guitarist.

He plays guitar with the band Audioslave, and formerly with Rage Against The Machine. He is acclaimed for his unique guitar style and is noted for his outspoken Marxist politics.

Morello was ranked #26 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".[1]

Contents

[edit] 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 came in fourth place, after Jimmy Carter at the overwhelmingly Republican school. Ronald Reagan won the mock election. 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 which featured future Tool guitarist Adam Jones on bass. Few if any of the Sheep could really play an instrument at first, but the band was an impetus for Morello to start honing his skills. At the time Morello's musical tastes lay in the direction of heavy metal, particularly KISS, Alice Cooper, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. Morello developed his own unique sound through the electric guitar. He is also considered a pioneer of the wah-wah pedal.[2] Later his music--and musical politics--were greatly influenced by punk rock bands like The Clash, the Sex Pistols and Devo.[3]

Morello graduated in 1982 and began attending Harvard University. There he made a point of practicing every day for up to eight hours without fail, no matter how much studying he had to do. [4] He graduated 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.)

[edit] Bands and projects

[edit] Lock Up

Main article: Lock Up (US band)

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.

[edit] Rage Against the Machine

Main article: 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 Europe. 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. Image:Morello.jpg

[edit] Audioslave

Main article: Audioslave

After de la Rocha left Rage Against The Machine, 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 was released.

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 free show in Cuba. Morello recently stated he has made a commitment to Audioslave and is "in it for the long haul." The band's third album, Revelations, was released this fall.

[edit] 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.

One of his folk songs, "No One Left," which compares the aftermath of September 11 to that of a U.S. attack on Iraq, appears on the album Songs and Artists that Inspired Fahrenheit 9/11.

[edit] Other side projects

Morello and Wilk joined with Maynard James Keenan of Tool and Billy Gould of Faith No More to record the song "Calling Dr Love" for the 1994 KISS tribute album Kiss My Ass. The lineup was billed as Shandi's Addiction.

In August 1995 Morello 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, 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, "Enola Gay", was recorded by Brett Eliason in fall 1996. Tom re-used the main riff of the song for the Audioslave single "Cochise."

Morello also played lead guitar on three tracks of Primus' 1999 studio album Antipop.

Morello worked with The Crystal Method on their 2001 album Tweekend. He co-produced and played guitars on the smash single "Name of the Game" and "Wild, Sweet and Cool".

Morello played guitar in the score for Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006).

Morello played guitar in the single "No Man Army" by The Prodigy.

On 07/07/06 it was revealed by TheNewsTribune.com that front man of The Coup, Boots Riley, who had performed along side Tom Morello's alter ego The Night Watchman on many occasions, will be collaborating on a project titled Street Sweepers. Tom Morello had also produced and performed on a few tracks for The Coup's 2006 release "Pick A Bigger Weapon"

[edit] 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, pitch shifters, 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 alien guitar sounds, Morello chooses from a very limited supply of effects. During his tenure 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 "Gasoline") 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. For The Battle of Los Angeles, he also used a few other amps, such as a Line 6, hard on the clean, spacey intro of "Mic Check," plus a Pignose mini-amp and a MusicMan "Twin" style amp. The MusicMan has a built-in phaser and has made its way onto several tracks as overdubs. It also appears in the "Show Me How To Live" video. In an interview with Guitar World Magazine Morello stated that he occasionally used a Vox amp that was in the studio for the making of Out of Exile.

[edit] Guitars

Tom Morello has used several guitars throughout his career, including:

  • Arm the Homeless: Morello's signature mongrel guitar, covered with cartoon hippopotami with the words "Arm the Homeless" written on it. Originally a Performance Guitar custom, he had everything modified; the only original part he left, was the body. It contains an EMG 81 in the bridge and an EMG 85 in the neck position, Ibanez Edge Floyd Rose Tremolo, toggle switch, and a locking nut on a 22-fret Hamer neck. It was his main guitar in Rage Against The Machine, and is used occasionally in Audioslave. Tuned to Standard E.Picture
  • Soul Power: A modified Fender Designer Series American Stratocaster that is tuned to Standard E(standard 440 tuning). Has an Ibanez Edge Floyd Rose Tremelo, locking nut, toggle switch, a Hotrails pickup in the bridge and Fender Noiseless pickups in the middle and neck positions. Morello mainly uses the neck pickup on this guitar unless he needs a hotter tone, then he switches to the Hotrails pickup. Soul Power is his main guitar for songs in Standard E tuning.Picture
  • Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path): A black stock Mexican-built Fender Telecaster. Tuned to Drop D. Decorated with stickers. Swapped with a roommate for a spare amp head. Morello almost exclusively uses the neck pickup with this guitar.Picture
  • James Trussart Steelcaster: Used live sparingly as a backup to his Fender Telecaster. Picture
  • Creamy: A Goya Rangemaster-style guitar (build by Greco). Modified with a Seymour Duncan pickup in the bridge position. A toggle switch was also added that is dead in the middle position, resulting in a "hummingbird chirp" when toggled. It was purchased for $60 at a Canadian pawnshop, and is tuned to Drop B. In Rage it was used in "Calm Like a Bomb", "Tire Me", and "War Within a Breath". More recently, it was used in the studio version of Audioslave's "Shadow on the Sun". Picture
  • Ibanez Roadstar: Fitted with EMG pickups and a toggle switch (used as a backup guitar to Arm the Homeless). Picture
  • Ibanez Talman: Contains a defunct pickup that produces odd noises when toggled (heard in the intro of "Revolver"). The paintjob 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 Floyd Rose Tremolo as Soul Power and Arm the Homeless, and a toggle switch. In the December 2006 issue of Guitar World, Morello reveals he used a series of different effects and a Leslie Rotary speaker to get the sound heard in the intro to "Revolver", so he approached Ibanez to make him a guitar pickup that could emulate the Rotary effect using a combination of a built-in wah unit and special winding. Also used on "How I Could Just Kill a Man". Picture
  • Ovation Breadwinner: A rare Ovation Solidbody from the 1970s. Used in "Ashes in the Fall". Picture
  • Gibson Les Paul (Cherry Sunburst): Tom Morello's current Drop-B tuned guitar, used for Drop-B songs that do not require the hummingbird toggle switch as seen on his Creamy guitar. Used in "Gasoline".Picture
  • Gibson Les Paul (Cherry Red): Used for covers of Soundgarden songs that are tuned to Drop D. This guitar was purchased for the 2005 Out of Exile Tour. Picture
  • Gibson EDS-1275: Tuned to Drop D. Used in live performances of "The Ghost of Tom Joad". Picture
  • The Budweiser Les Paul: A Gibson Les Paul Budweiser promo guitar. Morello revealed in a Guitar World article that he hated the sound of the guitar, and thus decided to burn the Budweiser decal off using a lighter. He liked the new appearance and he asked his guitar technician to modify the guitar, incorporating the new pattern as part of the design. Morello was so happy with the new sound that he made it his main guitar on Revelations. Picture

[edit] Toggle Switch

The majority of Tom Morello's guitars contain a toggle switch, the use of which is an unofficial trademark of his. For example, Morello's Arm The Homeless guitar is fitted with two pickups, each of which has its own volume knob. The guitar also has a toggle switch that acts as a pickup selector. 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."

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. This technique has been used more recently in Audioslave during live performances of the Funkadelic song "Super Stupid".

Morello used 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". He also used it in the intro of "Know Your Enemy".

In his more recent Audioslave music, he has experimented with turning both the pickup volumes at 10. Toggling with both pickup volumes at 10 would create an extra noise in-between, coupled with hammer-ons and pentatonic soloing on tracks like "Your Time Has Come".

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. He also used the kill switch/Wah-wah pedal combo throughout Rage's cover of the Cypress Hill classic "How I Could Just Kill a Man".

[edit] 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." [5] 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. [6]

Morello and Tankian, together with a handful of other artists, including Maynard James Keenan, Wayne Kramer of the MC5, the hip hop group Jurassic 5, and Michael "Flea" Balzary of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, released a live recording of covers and original songs, titled The Axis of Justice Concert Series Volume 1.

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.

Morello was a strong supporter 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. On September 28, 2006, Morello was one of 400 protesters arrested protesting in support of immigrant hotel workers' rights, in what organizers called "the largest act of civil disobedience in the history of the Los Angeles". Morello knew he was going to be arrested; he wore a bright yellow shirt, and gave the LAPD his driver's license number a few days before the march. Morello told MTV:

In these political dark ages, it's important for us to stand up for one another. These hotel workers by the airport make 20% less wages than the hotel workers around the rest of Los Angeles. We are here to express our solidarity with them, to help them unionize and help them close the gap between their sub-poverty wages and the millions and millions of dollars the people who own these hotels make.
Axis of Justice is also in iTunes Podcasts

[edit] Trivia

  • Morello is a Star Trek fan, having appeared twice in its various forms. (He played Crewman Mitchell in "Good Shepherd", an episode of Star Trek: Voyager, and a Ba'ku warrior in the ninth Trek feature film, Star Trek: Insurrection.)
  • Morello is a friend of actor Vince Vaughn, as the latter states in the commentary to the movie Dodgeball. Morello has a minor role in Vaughn's film Made.
  • Morello often wears a baseball cap during live performances. Some sport political messages such as the word "commie" or "UNITE!", a reference to the textile union. Two other commonly worn caps are his hometown Chicago Cubs hat and one with the word "geek" on it.
  • Morello sometimes wore an American Boy Scouts uniform during concerts.
  • Morello's favorite album of all time is The Clash's London Calling.
  • Is a close friend and supporter of Farenheit 9/11 filmmaker Michael Moore. (Moore directed the RATM video "Sleep Now in the Fire", nominated for a VMA in 2000.)
  • Is a long-time friend and protégé of U2 frontman Bono, who personally sought out RATM to open for U2 during their Achtung Baby tour back in the early 1990s.
  • Enjoys the show Family Guy.
  • Morello owns a 1970 Dodge Demon.
  • His favorite football team is the St. Louis Rams.

[edit] Discography

Lock Up

Something 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)

[edit] External links

Audioslave
Chris Cornell | Tom Morello | Tim Commerford | Brad Wilk
Discography
Studio albums: Audioslave | Out of Exile | Revelations
Live, DVDs, and Compilations: Audioslave | 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" | "Revelations"
Related articles
Rage Against the Machine | Soundgarden | Interscope Records | Epic Records | Axis of Justice
Rage Against the Machine
Band members
Tim Commerford | Tom Morello | Zack de la Rocha | Brad Wilk
Discography
Albums: Rage Against the Machine | Evil Empire | Live & Rare | The Battle of Los Angeles | Renegades | Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium
Videography
Videos and DVDs: Rage Against the Machine | The Battle of Mexico City | Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium
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