Tom Morello
Tom Morello Tom Morello is the living representation of a powder keg. His unique and creative guitar playing style, combined with his powerful lyrics on the world we live in makes him one of the most respected musicians in the past two decades. He is most famously known as the sole guitarist of the rap rock group Rage Against The Machine, while also keeping up with his acoustic-driven side project “The Nightwatchman”. Along with those two experiences on his resumé, he is currently the guitarist for The Street Sweeper Social Club, another rap rock band consisting of him and Boots Riley. His existence in the rock and metal community is nothing short of important, as he has influenced many guitar players (including myself). Around 1984, Morello first started studying the guitar seriously. He had formed a band in the same year called the Electric Sheep which featured future Tool guitarist Adam Jones on bass. The band wrote original material that included politically charged lyrics. Post-college life was especially great. He soon moved to Los Angeles to form the band Lock Up. In 1991, however, Morello was looking to form a new band after Lock Up disbanded. Morello was impressed by Zack de la Rocha's freestyle rapping and asked him to join his band. He also drafted drummer Brad Wilk, who he knew from his band Lock Up, where Wilk unsuccessfully auditioned for a drumming spot. The band's lineup was completed when Zack convinced his childhood friend Tim Commerford to play bass. After frequenting the L.A. club circuit, Rage Against the Machine signed a record deal with Epic Records in 1992. That same year, the band released their self titled debut. They achieved a considerable amount of mainstream success and released three more studio albums. In late 2000, after Commerford's stunt at the VMA's, de la Rocha quit the band. On September 13, 2000, Rage Against the Machine performed their last concert at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. Although