Tim Commerford, the 54-year-old bass player of the American band Rage Against the Machine, announced that he has cancer in his last interview with Spin. Commerford said he was diagnosed two months before the band reunited in July. Before the interview, Commerford explained that only his bandmates, close friends, and girlfriend knew about his health issues and that he didn’t want to talk about it until Andy Taylor inspired him.
“I’ve been dealing with some pretty serious sh*t,” Commerford said, referring to the hard times he went through. “Right before I was about to go on tour with Rage, I had my prostate removed, and I have prostate cancer. I’ve been someone that’s taken a lot of pride in being in shape and taking care of myself. But it’s something where either you’re lucky or not.”
Commerford continued, “I wasn’t planning on going here with you until last night. I’ve been struggling, and it’s hard. It might not sound like much, but to get through a conversation and not choke up and get emotional is a win for me. It’s a little victory.”
Andy Taylor was the one who encouraged him to speak. Tim confessed, “Over the last 24 hours, I’ve been thinking about it more, and a weird thing happened. I was with my girlfriend, and we were watching the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony on TV. Duran Duran was on, and I was like, ‘Ah, f*ck, I used to learn those songs when I was a kid. I saw them on stage and wondered, where’s Andy Taylor, and why do they have this other guy in here?!”
He added, “Then it was like, ‘Andy Taylor is suffering from stage four prostate cancer and is unable to make it.’ My life is sort of like that. There are a lot of people who have it. There are a lot of people who are like, ‘Where do you go?’ You can’t talk to a therapist. You can only really talk to someone who’s going through it.”
The musician also shared how difficult this period has been by saying, “I just got my six-month test, and it came back at zero. I was like, ‘F*ck yeah!’ That’s the best I can feel for the rest of my life. Every day I get closer to that test is like, ‘F*ck man, is this going to be the time when the number is going to go up, and I’m going to the next thing, whatever that is?’ I already went through some pain and sh*t. And I’m continuing to go through like, some crazy sh*t.”
Rage Against The Machine toured for the first time in 11 years this summer. Commerford was also with them during all of the concerts in North America. During the concerts, Zack de la Rocha ruptured his Achilles tendon while performing in Chicago, so the shows were almost delayed, but Zack continued to sit on the stage and play.
RATM has proven in all their concerts how powerful their songs are and how good they are at their job, despite the passing of years. However, at that time, no one except his relatives knew that Tim Commerford was battling cancer. Inspired by Andy Taylor, Tim decided to reveal his condition in his last interview and used this speech to raise awareness about cancer.
