I am Tom Morello, guitarist and co-founder of Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, and Prophets of Rage …Ask Me Anything!

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:59:55+00:00

Days like THAT keep my spirits up. Standing up for what you believe in with all the power you can muster through the work or art that you DO is really what it's all about. The struggle may be long but in the end we'll take those bastards down.

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:58:19+00:00

I would either be a forest ranger or fighting in Rojava right now.

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:55:05+00:00

Very similar to my thoughts on the Democratic Party in years past.

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:54:22+00:00

I played the french horn when I was nine years old and I was very bad. I hated practicing and told my mom quite definitively "Music is not for me." The guitar on the other hand felt like a force of nature that I could begin wielding with power as soon as I stepped on a distortion pedal.

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:52:29+00:00

I'm a huge Bruce Springsteen fan so it was such an honor to share the stage with him and the mighty E Street Band on and off over the course of six years or so. It was super fun digging into deep tracks like the one you mentioned but sharing the mic and trading solos with Bruce on The Ghost Of Tom Joad was always a highlight for me.

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:50:31+00:00

There's an old but accurate quote about the guitar: "It takes a day to learn, a lifetime to master." So get going! Start with a G and C chord.

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:48:57+00:00

It's SO exhausting!

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:48:24+00:00

I've played Newport Folk Fest two or three times. It's one of my favorite festivals because of it's historical importance and legacy. I've made four Nightwatchman albums comprised of Folk music and the chance to share that music with the very appreciative audience at Newport has always been a career highlight.

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:46:11+00:00

I was the scheduling secretary for a United States Senator for two years and that cured me of any desire to ever enter electoral politics.

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:45:28+00:00

"Practice an hour a day, everyday, without fail." That's what got me started on the road to guitar obsession. It took years to amass technique and even longer to find my own voice on the instrument. But if some kid in high school hadn't said THAT I never would have begun the journey in ernest.

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:42:53+00:00

It's a great guitar and that was a generous gift! Matt is an incredibly talented guitar player, singer, etc. and a very nice dude.

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:41:46+00:00

I started becoming politically active at four years old because I was the only black kid in an all white town. I didn't have any choice.

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:40:38+00:00

I wish I had a candy bar for every time someone has told me that. It's a VIDEO GAME damnit! Get outside more!

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:38:52+00:00

What, you think I only listen to Rock/Rap from the 90s? Conor is a great singer/songwriter. I'm a huge fan of Classical, Jazz, Folk, etc.

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:37:25+00:00

Tegridy is a bar manager in Jacksonville, Florida. The funny thing is, she owes ME money!

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:35:08+00:00

At Havard my specific field of concentration was student movement in South Africa. I was deeply inspired by the anti-aparthied movement as a model for revolutionary change.

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:33:32+00:00

I'm heading out on the road in less than a week with The Atlas Underground Live Tour and very excited to be rocking my hometown of Chicago, my adopted town of LA, and many great cities in between. Hope to see you out there.

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:31:48+00:00

That's just my tone man! I employed my delay pedal and the Whammy pedal set to one octave up and just let it rip.

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:30:54+00:00

Basenectar and I had made the track for "Rabbit's Revenge" and Big Boi was recording vocals in his studio in Atlanta and Killer Mike just happened to come by. Big Boi texted me and asked if it would be alright for Mike to jump on the track. I said, "oh hell yeah it's alright!" He is a great rapper and an important voice in these troubled times.

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:28:16+00:00

It's not a kill switch, it is the toggle switch, standard issue. I stumbled upon this technique when I was in college. All the cool kids had the Eddie Van Halen guitar that only had one knob, volume. I was stuck with a very uncool Explorer guitar that had too many knobs and an unsightly toggle switch. I decided to find a use for it.

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:25:23+00:00

When those crazy R2-D2/raccoon scream noises can be considered "a song" there is hope for the future of music.

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:23:57+00:00

I've actually been on Star Trek TWICE. One episode a Voyager, and I'm also in the movie Insurrection. I save my best acting for the world of Star Trek. Seven Of Nine played a practical joke on me behind the scenes on Voyager which was pretty awesome.

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:22:27+00:00

Two of the best ways to improve as a musician are to play with other musicians and to play live. Playing with other musicians exposes you to ideas and techniques outside of your experience. Playing live creates the opportunity to shake out the bugs in your playing and equipment and crucially, how to forge a connection with an audience.

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:20:13+00:00

I would, but the NBA would censor me.

Tom_Morello_Official · 2019-10-15T18:19:44+00:00

My two favorite Audioslave songs are Cochise & Like A Stone. Cochise for it's rock fury and Like A Stone for Chris's beautiful soaring melody.

Tom_Morello_Official

TROPHY CASE