TOM MORELLO
agrees with them. Whether it’s an actor like
Ronald Reagan or Arnold Schwarzenegger
or a conservative artist, we should all agree
that we should be able to speak our mind
freely, even if we disagree on politics, war
or even music.
Another passion that I happen to share is a
never-ending admiration for the Cubs. With
another playoff sweep under their belt,
what’s your take on being a Cubs fan?
TOM’S
Gear Box
As Cubs fan know, we keep finding out
that there is no basement. You think you’re
at the bottom, but the elevator keeps
going down. It’s incredible. This year, I
was cynical from the start while everyone
was saying “This is the best Cubs team
ever.” That doesn’t matter—we are the
Cubs. If you give us the greatest team ever
assembled, we’ll find a way to screw it up.
If ever someday—I hope during my and my
family’s lifetime—the Cubs actually win it
all, it won’t happen because they have the
best players on the field. It’ll be because
some counter-acting, supernatural force
will turn it around. The stars will need to be
re-aligned.
Whether in Audioslave,
Rage or solo as The
Nightwatchman, here’s the
gear Tom keeps close by.
GUITARS
“Arm the Homeless” Frankenstein guitar
The body is a Kramer Pacer that was routed so that the Floyd can go up and down.
It contains EMG single coils in humbucker
housing, Ibanez Edge Floyd Rose Tremolo,
toggle switch, and a locking nut on a 22-
fret Kramer neck.
1982 Black American Fender Telecaster
“Sendero Luminoso”
I equate it to having a vengeful girlfriend
who builds you up with all that love during the regular season, then come playoff
time, she kicks you in the balls and takes
your rent money, but you just can’t find it
in your heart to leave her.
Ibanez Custom Talman
Three single coil pickups, an Ibanez Lo-Pro
Edge Floyd Rose Tremolo, and the kill-switch. He noticed that the guitar made a
weird noise when the middle pickup was
selected and the noise could be manipulated with the tone knob. Ibanez built him
a new guitar with that internal noise.
Exactly man, it is like a train-wreck of a
relationship that you just don’t know how
to end. Every time she lets you down, you
give her one last chance.
“Whatever It Takes” custom Ibanez
Galvador Acoustic
A nylon string acoustic guitar used during
concerts as The Nightwatchman.
What can we expect from Tom Morello
in 2009?
AMPS + CABS
Marshall JCM 800 2205 50-watt head
Peavey 4x12 cabinet
Well, I know for sure that I’ll be doing a lot
of Nightwatchman dates in the coming year
and continuing the Axis of Justice organization [ axisofjustice.org] that I run with Serj
Tankian [System of a Down]. I got a pretty
large cache of Nightwatchman songs that I
haven’t released yet so I’ll definitely continue writing and recording. Also, I had a great
time playing Rage Against the Machine
shows over the course of the year and half
and I have no doubt that we’ll continue to
do more of those in the future.
PEDALBOARD
Digi Tech Whammy WH- 1 (original)
DOD FX40b Equalizer
Jim Dunlop Crybaby Wah
Boss DD- 2 Digital Delay
Boss TR- 2 Tremolo
MXR Block Phase 90 Phaser
Ibanez DFL Flanger
Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2
