Tom Morello Shares His First Disappointment With The Rock Scene

Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello spoke to Louder Sound, where he shared his first disappointment with the rock music industry. The guitarist recalled his first days in Los Angeles as a musician and shared his story of trying to get into a band. He shared how he imagined the music scene there and how it turned out to disappoint him:

“I imagined LA was going to be a mecca for brilliant musician, an island of Steve Vais, but it was an island of Faster Pussycats, and no-one wanted me in their band. I’d answer ads, and the first question would be ‘How long is your hair?’ It was massively disheartening. I’d stand in the Whisky-A-Go-Go watching these hair metal bands and think ‘All my practicing has been for nothing, there is no room for me in this world.’”

The guitarist then explained discovering the other part of the Los Angeles rock music scene:

“But eventually, I discovered that there was another scene in Los Angeles – the Jane’s Addiction, Fishbone, Red Hot Chili Peppers scene – and the rules were entirely different there. That was a world of oddballs into which I was welcomed with open arms. And that was a road which eventually led to Rage Against The Machine.”

Having started in the 1950s, Los Angeles’ music scene evolved with the involvement of heavier rock music over the years. The 80s acclaimed hard rock and alternative rock bands of the time, such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tool and right at the end of the decade, Rage Against the Machine was founded.

Although the band was separated and was planned to do a reunion tour in 2020, it was canceled due to the hit of the pandemic. They were then scheduled to have a North American tour this year, and a European fall tour in 2022, which Zack de la Rocha announced was also canceled due to his leg injury. Morello explained that he is not sure about touring again and that the band is now in a healing state.