Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello sat down with Classic Rock to give tips on being a better guitarist.
Having played in numerous bands such as Audioslave, the E Street Band and Prophets Of Rage along with RATM, the guitarist has one way of playing the guitar: ‘Crappy.’ Morello explained how no longer searching for the ‘magical tone’ helped him be a better guitarist:
“I tried for years to find this magical tone that was in my head and I never did. I finally just gave up and I just played with the crappy tone I had and said, ‘I’m never gonna worry about it another day in my life, I’m just gonna make music that sounds good with the tone I’ve got’ and that ended up being Rage Against The Machine.”
What Piece Of Advice Made Morello A Better Guitarist?
One might think Morello started his music life at a really early age of his life. Well, not really. The guitarist first got into guitar when he was 17, and constant practice made his guitar-playing skills better day by day. A piece of advice he had heard changed his life: To practice consistently. Morello explained:
“This was advice given to me by a more advanced guitar player in high school and I took it as biblical script. I started playing guitar late, when I was 17 years old, and I made that my mantra. I practiced every day at least an hour and I realised the tide of my ability was rising because of that, so I said, “What if I do it two hours a day?”. And then I was like, ‘Oh my gosh,’ it was exponential. Eventually it was eight hours a day, every day, without fail. I was pursuing an honours degree at an Ivy League university. I was in the four hours a day period then. I would finish studying at 1am, practice until 5am every day. That doesn’t mean 4.58am, it was a dedication and a commitment to a goal that you can extrapolate. You can do that in any endeavour and achieve real results. Even if you’re a late starter.”
RATM Won’t Be Touring Again
Rage, formed in the early 1990s with Zack de la Rocha, Tim Commerford, Morello, and Brad Wilk, has experienced disbandment in the past. Despite quickly gaining fame, internal conflicts arose. In 2000, de la Rocha announced his departure, citing a dysfunctional decision-making process within the band. The remaining members then formed Audioslave with Chris Cornell, a project that lasted until 2007.
In 2007, Rage Against The Machine reunited for a headline performance at Coachella and continued to tour for several years, concluding with their final performance at L.A Rising in 2011. This marked their second separation. However, the band wasn’t finished. In 2020, they announced the Public Service Announcement tour, signaling a strong comeback.
Their comeback didn’t last long as in 2023, Wilk posted an announcement stating that RATM would not play live or tour again. It’s unclear whether they would produce new music or make a comeback or it’s the end for them.
