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January 12, 2004
Taken from the May 2004 Edition of Guitar World Magazine
Taken from the May 2004 Edition of Guitar World Magazine
Tom Morello has a new alter ego. Billing himself as the Nightwatchman, the Audioslave guitarist has been giving solo performances of acoutistic protest songs. It's a bold move for one of the most foremost electric guitar stylists in recent metal, but Morello says he felt compelled to speak out against what he sees as the growing threat of to individual freedom, economic equality, ecological responsibilitly and world peace posed by the Bush administration.
"In times like these," says the guitarist, "you can either stand by or stand up."
According to Morello his repertoire grew out of "playing open mic nights with friends at coffeehouses around Los Angeles. But in November of last year, Morello brought the Nightwatchman to larger stages when he took part in the Tell Us The Truth Tour with alt-country icon Steve Earl and British folk singer/ activist Billy Brag. Stopping at Politically charged events, like the National Conference on Media Reform, in Wisconsin, and the People's Gala for Global Justice, in Florida, the tour denounced the economic injustices of globalization, as manifested in the proposed FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas) agreement and the role corporate consolidation of the media has played in denying citizens access to complete and unbiased information on important news events.
"By unifying the issues of fair trade and media consolidation," says Morello, "the tour drew attention to the bad policies and bad journalism."
Morello plans to release an album as the Nightwatchman on Epic this spring. The record is sure to form a striking contrast with the recent Rage Against the Machine live CD, Live at the Olympic Auditorium, which hit the market in late 2003.
But Morello has always been as noted for activism as for his groundbreaking guitar work. It's a duality that he trusts will help fans make the leap into the Nightwatchman's acoustic domain.
"These songs are about three chords and the truth," he says. "There's no shredding in sight. But it's always been my opinion that music doesn't have to be loud to be hard."
