How many Harvard graduates can come up with a slogan like “Arm the homeless”? Just one: Tom Morello. The Harlem-born riff slinger first gained notoriety with politically charged metal band Rage Against the Machine, followed by the supergroup Audioslave, fronted by the late great Chris Cornell from Soundgarden alongside his RATM bandmates.
Then, there was Prophets of Rage with rap firebrands Public Enemy. In between, Morello swapped his electric guitar for an acoustic one, writing protest folk under the moniker The Nightwatchman. Touring the world and recording tunes on the regular, Morello kept his activist voice intact. Most recently, he’s lent his support to Amazonia Calling, a campaign aimed at protecting the Amazon rainforest. “It has always been my goal to weave my convictions into my vocation and to find a way through playing guitar to fight for justice, to fight for peace, for fight for democracy, to make the world a better and more humane place,” he tells me over a Zoom call.
From causing a furore on Wall Street outside the New York Stock Exchange to taking part in a nude protest at Lollapalooza in Philadelphia in 1993, Morello has been a musician with a spine and continues to be. At his solo shows, there’s a tip of the hat to the renegade spirit found in RATM’s greatest hits, fist-tight riffs that made Audioslave iconic, and everything in between. This month, he’s bringing all that to India for the first time, performing in Delhi-NCR (December 17), Mumbai (December 19) and Bengaluru (December 21) with his band, with the tour being produced and promoted by BookMyShow Live.
Morello says he can’t wait to go to India and connect with fans across generations. “Some have been waiting their whole lives, some are younger and just discovered the music. People have been waiting too long for that, and we’re going to deliver the goods,” he says. Below, he speaks to The Nod about his show routines, New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani’s election and activism.
What are you doing the day before a show?
I would say this is a very different circumstance, because this is a country I’ve never been to. So, there may be sort of a more traditional North American answer for that, but I’m going to choose to answer what I plan to be doing when I’m in India. I’m bringing my family over as well, so we’re going to be trying to get as much of the experience as we can during our limited time there, whether it’s sampling the food, meeting people, doing tourist stuff, like visiting the Taj Mahal... We’re going to be doing it all.
What about the day of the show?
On the actual show day, there may be a jetlag factor involved in this, so we’ll see. That is to be determined. But I’ll probably continue my tourist exploits right up until soundcheck, because I want to see as much of India as I can during my time there. There’s not a lot of, like, real pre-show rituals. I always like to do a good sound check to make sure the room is sounding as good as it can for everybody, run through any of the material with my band, if there’s anything in question, and then, sort of between sound check and the show, just relax.
Morello will be performing in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru this month
And once everything’s done, the day after the show?
I think we have a very stacked schedule while we’re there, so it’ll probably be a travel day to the next city and begin again.
In my twenties or so, we used to go out a lot. Now, you have to sort of maintain [yourself]. I always want to be at my best for the shows, so I want to be well rested. I want to be ready to rock as hard as possible. So, after the last show of a tour, I may go out on the town and enjoy myself.
What do you have on your checklist in terms of things to see in India?
We have a pretty crowded schedule. In each of the cities, given the amount of time we have with soundcheck and stuff, I’m just going to do whatever. We have local contacts in each city to see what they recommend.
Speaking of recommendations, what are you listening to these days?
I listen to a lot of music because I have a radio show here in the in the US (One Man Revolution), so I’m always trying to… If you just give me one second, I’ll tell you some stuff.
I just did a sort of a year-end show of the new music that I’ve been listening to. I love a band called Grandson. I love The Neighborhood Kids. I’m wearing their shirt right now. I’ve been listening to the Bruce Springsteen Nebraska record, as that was just re-released. Dropkick Murphys and the rapper BigXThaPlug have been on my list lately.
There’s a Bring Me the Horizon metal song that I’ve been liking, a UK band called The Luka State, and the Nova Twins… There’s a lot of stuff. Some old Jack White I’ve been enjoying as well. I always fall back on my Bob Dylan and Public Enemy. I really love lyricists, so Roger Waters, Bob Dylan, and Public Enemy are also very big for me.
A lot of those lyricists are often in the activist space. As someone who’s been part of so many movements as an activist and, most recently, Amazonia Calling, what’s it like when people seek you out to be the face of a movement or campaign? How do you decide what you end up joining?
That’s a good question, because hundreds and hundreds of organisations reach out. On the one hand, I have to keep in mind that the reason why anyone is reaching out is because there’s an attachment to my music. So, the music has to come first. I can never sacrifice playing great shows, making great records, being committed to the fans, because that’s where it all…that’s where it all springs from. But having said that, I didn’t choose to be a guitar player, it chose me, and so it has always been my goal to weave my convictions into my vocation.
So, when Amazonia reaches out, which is about sort of saving the planet, that was an easy one. Other causes that are near and dear to my heart are labour rights, anti-racism and stemming the rising tide of fascism here in the United States.
Did you ever think about running for office?
I was the scheduling secretary for a United States senator for two years, and that cured me of ever thinking about running for office. I’m an idealist in my music and it’s very, very important to me that the things that I put out into the world are an authentic reflection of what I think and feel. And politics has no room for that in the United States. So, it really cured me of ever thinking that that would be a route that I could go. It’s all related to money and raising money, and none of that money comes for free.
As someone born in NYC, what are your thoughts about Zohran Mamdani getting elected New York City mayor?
I mean, it’s an incredible step for the United States to elect a socialist, Muslim mayor to the biggest city, you could argue. One of the most important cities in history is New York City, right? And it really does show a rejection. This is the way I look at it—the neoliberal policies of American politicians, Democrat and Republican, have failed working-class people. Donald Trump was able to sort of hijack that via racism and whatnot. And now there’s a rejection of a realisation that that leads to nowhere.
People are looking for populist answers that are based on love and caring rather than anger and vengeance. I think that’s what you saw in New York City, where this is a person who is clearly very authentic, who wants what’s best for the working people of that city. And I hope that it’s is a movement that can grow even bigger.
Tom Morello India tour will see the artist perform in Delhi-NCR (December 17), Mumbai (December 19) and Bengaluru (December 21). For tickets, click here
