Raging for Pot
Add Marijuana legalization to the list of causes supported by Rage Against the Machine
Zena Tsarfin, High Times magazine February 2000

On the surface, Rage Against the Machine would appear to be reactionary: four angry young men of various backgrounds, exorcising their contempt for the status quo and social injustice through pummeling music and venomous diatribes. But when you experience their frenetic live show or groove to any of their three albums, the true nature of the band is unveiled. Rage Against the Machine are mighty catalysts-equally as jarring to your fist as to your cerebrum.

"It's easy to incite a riot by getting on the mic and saying 'break shit,'" states Rage bassist Tim Commferford, alluding to Limp Bizkit's performance at Woodstock '99. "It's not easy to incite a riot by just playing your songs."

An aggressive fusion of hip-hop rhymes, metal guitar riffs and underlying jazz syncopation, Rage's music is as hard-hitting as the controversial causes they champion, such as the cases of Leonard Peltier and Mumia Abu-Jamal, and the issue of Mexican sweatshop labor reform. Clearly, no one here is doing anything for the nookie.

Living in racially and socially charges Los Angeles, vocalist Zack de la Rocha, guitarist Tom Morello, drummer Brad Wilk and Commerford formed Rage Against the Machine in 1991. Their self-titled debut was releasedin 1992. Four years later, Evil Empire shot to No. 1, as did their highly anticipated follow-up, The Battle of Los Angeles (Epic), last November.

"We're a microcosm of L.A.," says Commerford. "We have a lot of different ethnicities in the band: African-American, Latin American, Jewish and Caucasian. In L.A. it's the same kind of thing. You walk out your door you don't have to go far to enter into a battle somewhere. There are battles all over that city." While songs like "Guerrilla Radio" and "Testify" discuss both the power of the media and its sometimes biased approach, "Maria" and "Born of a Broken Man" are narratives about sweatshop labor.

As one might expect, Commerford's stance on cannabis is equally well articulated. "I'm into it," he states enthusiastically. "I definitely get high. It's an innocent thing. Not everyone in the band blazes up, but Brad and I definitely partake in a little of the green herb so that we can be a tighter rhythm section. We're the tightest!"

Commerford attributes marijuana prohibition to a perpetual web of career politicians, class struggle and big business. He's appalled by the staggering number of Americans in jail for pot. "There are almost two million people in prison right now. A lot of kids are in there for marijuana, and that ain't right.

"Prison is a huge business," he continues. "They put all these people in prison and break up homes. But the main thing is it keeps people from voting. For the most part, people from the inner city are the ones that need change more than anyone else. But the system throws a disproportionate number of these people in prison. They can't vote if they're in jail.

Rage Against the Machine's radical stances provide an alternative for politically aware fans. "We're a left-of-the-center point of view, and ultimately, will be the cause of a lot of kids raising their hands in history class. We're like a school for kids, and I feel the power of us being able to give them something to look at instead of this one-sided point of view that you see in the newspapers and on TV news, I wish I had Rage when I was in high school. I wish I'd had this point of view that comes from a different place, so I could raise my hand and say, 'Why aren't we learning about Africa?' There's a lot of ill shit happening that the news just doesn't address, and we do. That's our place."

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Rage Bassist Arrested for VMA Stunt
Tim Commerford arrested after scaling stage prop during VMAs
Jaan Uhelszki, RollingStone.com September 8, 2000

The MTV Video Music Awards has always had its share of ad-libbed moments, and last night's festivities at New York City's Radio City Music Hall were no exception. Rage Against the Machine bassist Tim Commerford scaled a fifteen-foot stage prop directly behind the podium, and dangled there for several minutes while Fred Durst and Limp Bizkit accepted their award for Best Rock Video. Rage was one of the runners-up for the award.

After climbing the structure Commerford began shifting his body weight, causing the apparatus to swing as the crowd urged him to "jump." Commerford screamed something back, but it was inaudible, because of the uproar of the audience. Meanwhile a panicked security team surrounded the structure and tried to talk the bassist down. "This guy is rock & roll," Durst said. "He should be getting the award. I hope he's OK. I hope he gets his head checked soon."

When Commerford was finally removed, he was rushed offstage by a battalion of plain-clothes police officers, pushed up against a limousine and handcuffed.

A spokesperson for the NYPD said the musician was charged with assault and resisting arrest, while his bodyguard, Perrin Beatle, who jumped to his defense as Commerford was removed from the stage, was changed with obstructing justice.

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Rage Against the Machine Bassist Released From Jail
Tim Commerford of RATM pleads guilty to disorderly conduct
Jennifer Vinevard, RollingStone.com September 9, 2000

After an altercation with security guards and police at MTV's Video Music Awards at New York's Radio City Music Hall Thursday, Rage Against the Machine bassist Tim Commerford plead guilty Friday to disorderly conduct in Manhattan's Midtown Court. Though he had been charged with assault and resisting arrest, those charges were dropped with his guilty plea, and he was released with time served.

Though NYPD at the scene said Commerford had a conditional discharge, a spokesperson for the District Attorney's office said that the Rage bassist's time in custody was considered time served, and no more would be required of him. Commerford's lawyer Melinda Sarafa had no comment.

Commerford's bodyguard, Perrin "Big Pete" Beattle, who had been arrested along with him and charged with obstruction of justice, did not enter a plea, causing his case to be adjourned until Oct. 3. The pair was whisked away in a black Lincoln-Mercury following the arraignment.

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Rage Against the Machine Explain Bassist's Actions
RATM's Tom Morello comes to defense of band mate Tim Commerford
Maureen Herman, RollingStone.com September 9, 2000

The night before MTV's Video Music Awards, Rage Against the Machine playfully debated with video director Michael Moore how they would accept their award if "Sleep Now in the Fire" won Best Rock Video. The running joke was that they should get Fidel Castro -- in New York for the United Nations Millennium Conference -- to accept on their behalf.

That might have caused less of a stir than what actually happened -- with Rage losing out to Limp Bizkit, while RATM bassist Tim Commerford climbed the stage props only to get arrested afterwards. "I had no idea what he was planning," guitarist Tom Morello said afterwards. "I didn't expect an evening of Tim vs. the NYPD."

"Earlier, Tim had mentioned something about toppling the podium if we won, for no particular reason, which seemed like a silly idea to me," Morello said. "Right before the award we were up for was announced, Tim asked [singer] Zack [De La Rocha] and me if he should do it. We both said no."

Commerford, an avid rock climber, seemed fueled by presenter D'Angelo's comments about the spirit of rock ("fueled by risk and bound by nothing"), Morello said. Before Limp Bizkit even left their seats, Commerford had bounded up on stage and was climbing the stage prop while Morello yelled, "Tim, no! Don't!" he recalls. "I was cowering in my seat while he climbed up there, squatted on the MTV precipice and started rocking back and forth, seemingly trying to make it fall over and on the two sexiest people in the industry, Jennifer Lopez and D'Angelo." Then, while Limp Bizkit were on stage, they seemed unaware of the situation, Morello said. "They had no idea there was a gargoyle up there giving the rock & roll sign and saying, 'This is bullshit.'"

De La Rocha didn't stay to see the aftermath, having left Radio City immediately after Commerford's climb to go back to his hotel room. "I was so humiliated," De La Rocha said, "I left." He added that he needed to take a long walk to think about it, declining further comment.

When security and police tried to retract Commerford, Morello said, "all the fists from Pete [bodyguard Perrin Beattle] and Tim were defensive. Security did not know [Tim] was a band member. They thought it was a crazed fan." From what he witnessed, Morello believes that "the police overreacted."

Video director Moore, who told Commerford at the time, "I'm not going to tell you what to do, just don't hurt anybody," looked back at the incident and reconsidered his advice. "Maybe I should have talked to him more like a teenager and told him not to do it. But hey, this is rock & roll -- stuff happens. That shouldn't be a surprise."

As to what Commerford's motivation was, though others attributed it to his champagne consumption prior to the show, Moore thought the bass player was "just bored," citing his increasing agitation with some aspects of the show, especially Britney Spears' cover of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," Sisqo's win for "The Thong Song" and the army-like procession of Eminem lookalikes. "In America, we reward the mediocre," Moore said, quoting Kurt Vonnegut. "The more you're like 'N Sync, the faster and higher you'll climb. Rock & roll used to be about playing music that stood for something. Now it's background music for Burger King and McDonald's commercials. I think the bass player of this band is against really bad MTV props."

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Live105 Interview with Tim Commerford
LIVE105 radio mm/dd/yy (edited for clarity)

[note: this was taken from a transcript of the original show. Because I haven't found an audio version yet, I don't know whether Tim and the anonymous interviewer have REALLY bad grammar, or this was just poorly transcribed, but I promise I haven't edited out anything important.]

105: For Rage fans it's been an emotional past few months, and I'm sure for the band members as well. And I'm very very very glad and proud to welcome Tim to the Live 105 studios. What's up bro?

Tim: How you doing?

105: Let's check that mic, you gotta talk right into it man.

Tim: Okay I'll get up on it.

105: I know it looks like a professional radio station, but it's... semi budget. You have to forgive us. But welcome to Live 105.

Tim: Thanks.

105: I know you had some trouble getting here man.

Tim: Yeah, I've been en route for a couple days now. I had to try to go 5 hours. I could have gotten in my car and driven here and back by now.

105: Well, I can't begin to tell you how glad we are to have you here. It has been an emotional few months for all the Rage fans, me included. Hopefully tonight you can set aside some myths and some rumors, and give us a look at the future as far as what Rage is doing, and what you're doing personally.

Tim: Right on.

105: But uh, first off man, congratulations on the Grammy!

Tim: Thanks.

105: Is that something you're excited about?

Tim: Yeah, you know, it's cool to go there and pick up the trophy. We've been there 6 times now, and we've won twice, so we're like batting 333, and I feel like if we had lost both of these, it would have been bad. It would have been like one for six and that wouldn't have been good. So it was cool for me to go there, win, and split you know. I didn't stick around for anything. I couldn't do the hoopla, I just wasn't into it.

105: I think... you are the only band in history to ever win a Grammy and break it on the same night. Now, was that something intentional? Is that like a message, a symbolic message?

Tim: ...I'm always looking for some way to just like, throw a wrench in, you know. I have one of those at home and sometimes I forget I have it... I took it apart and then some guy goes "don't strip the threads!"...

105: Cause I heard you actually broke it over your head or something man. You were getting crazy backstage.

105: Yeah that's what happened. I actually smashed it over my head. *laughs*

105: I was actually surprised they let you in there man, I thought [you would be banned] from all award shows after what happened at MTV. They didn't have any like, handcuffs on the seats or anything for ya?

Tim: Umm, you know what, no. But before that show kicked off, I got in contact with the anarchist group "The Ruckus Society" and... me and my girlfriend were gonna give our tickets to the "Ruckus Society" and let them kinda steal the show. So I got a call back and then I called back three times and didn't make the connection. It's kinda hard to hook up with anarchists, you know? I was ready to just burn that joint down. *laughs*

105: Seriously, one of the highlights - I don't watch TV that much - but one of the best things I have ever seen on TV is definitely the VMA, and for so many reasons. Perhaps the best was because Fred Durst didn't even know who you were...

Tim: *laughs*

105: Now I heard you actually got arrested and spent the night in jail.

Tim: ...I feel like jail is a learning experience for me. I've been to jail in a few different cities and every time I go, I always learn something new and meet some cool people. I was there in New York, and I met some nice people in jail. The cops were actually, with the acceptation of [a few of them]... pretty cool.

105: You were in a room with Big Pete so that had to help, man.

Tim: Big Pete had my back. *laughs*

105: But they treated you well in lockdown then?

Tim: Uh, yeah that actually kept me in the women's cell. *laughs*

105: You don't gotta say that man. He's like "yeah, I spent some time in NYC man, you know I'm hardcore. I did my time, I did it in the woman's side though." *laughs* I heard that's how you lost your tooth, dude, is that true?

Tim: No. My tooth got knocked out mountain biking, but you know I wish I could say it got knocked out in the melee. But the melee is definitely where I'm at.

105: Yeah, the melee is definitely where it's at, and that's why I'm excited that you're here - because anything could happen tonight. Just please... no physical violence to the lame DJ *both laugh* He promises. But let's see, it's been about four months since Zack left RATM, and... I've never seen more rumors and more things go completely crazy... Basically the world's waiting to find out if someone's going to step up and grab the mic for RATM. Theses are some of the names that I've heard and uh, I want you to either say possible, dispel, myth, rumor. B-Real of Cypress Hill?

Tim: He's someone that we've jammed with recently and we've known him for years and he's a great MC, so we jumped at the opportunity to see if there's any chemistry between us and him. It may be something that we will do at some point in the future, but I don't think that he would be the right singer for RATM.

105: Okay, how about Method Man?

Tim: We've never hooked up with Method Man, but I would love to hook up with him, and that would be a great combo right there.

105: Eddie Vedder?

Tim: Um.. we'd have to skip that one. *laughs* I'm down with Pearl Jam, but they're fine the way they are.

105 Well, I thought that was the weirdest rumor that I've heard because Pearl Jam is still a very active band, so I was like, "I can't imagine that."

Tim: One thing I gotta say about B-Real, too - B-Real is a punk rocker... he's in a band right now. I forgot the name of the band.

105: It's a side project.

Tim: Yeah, it's with a friend of mine - Christian from Fear Factory. And it's just the most insane... hardcore metal that you could imagine... B-Real was like, frontin' it, and it's kinda cool; that takes some nuts, to get out there and scream.

105: Kind of like Body Count for the new millenium?

Tim: Kind of... it's kinda like that.

105: And of course, Chris Cornell. I know it has been confirmed that you guys have been jamming, writing... new songs.

Tim: Well... since we've been a band we would write riffs, and most times we'll name the songs by the riff; you know, the riff will remind us of [another] band's riffs or something like that, so we have a lot of songs that were called 'Soundgarden Riff A' or something like that... They've been a huge influence on us, Chris Cornell especially. It's like, before Rage there was the Seattle grunge movement, and they are arguably the trail blazers of that whole movement. [Chris is] the same age, sold the same amount of records, excited to jam, want's to play the heaviest music ever, and we're all kind of like, wanting to be Zeppelin, you know?

105: "Hi, I'm Chris Cornell. I want to play the heaviest music ever... uh, I need a backup band. Hmmm..." *laughs*

Tim: It worked out.

105: Yeah, I think you guys would fit the bill.

Tim: The stars align...

105: I mean, are you guys writing whole new songs? Is this something that may or may not see the light of day? What is you're feeling on that?

Tim: Well, it's like one of those things where chemistry is such a key thing. We got together four days. One day we got to know each other, and then three days we decided to write songs. We wrote 3 songs, and so you can't ask for a better track record than that.

105: What was it like meeting Chris Cornell? Have you known him before or were you just like, "dude, you're Chris Cornell."?

Tim: My ear is still ringing on the right side from the PA system... he's got some lungs on him, that's for sure. I'm a big fan; I've met him a couple times and have always been taken back by him. He's just, he's legendary. I'm psyched, man.

105: Yeah, that's exciting. I just wonder if you guys are like, "Woah! You're Chris Cornell!" and he's like, "Woah! You're Rage Against The Machine!"

Tim: It is; I look over and there he is, and I just start laughing.

105: Is that something that you could see him singing for Rage or would that be like a new project?

Tim: He's definitely not going to be singing for Rage Against The Machine... The music that we're making with him is incredible - and it will be something - but it's not going to be Rage Against The Machine. But that's not to say that we're not going to find the perfect person for Rage some day.

105: You know Denis from Refused and the International Lawyer Conspiracy?

Tim: No.

105: I'll play it to you when we get off the air. They're anarchists. That's one of things I wanted to ask you: What kind of things are you looking for? Is it important that the political philosophies of the new lead singer... are cohesive with the rest of the band? Is that a priority?...

Tim: You just have to be ready to make the heaviest music known to man, you know. That's where we're at, and that's where we've always been. We write our music first, and we get moved by the music... then we put the lyrics on it the past, and so right now it's like, an exciting time to get together. We've been working with Chris and so it's like we're all in the studio in there with a vocalist, and a lot of times Zack wasn't in the studio when we would write music. It's exciting to have somebody that's listening to a sound that Tom's making on the guitar, and coming up with melodies - someone besides me. In the past, it's just been [me]. That's a lot. *laughs* I'm psyched to let someone else step up.

105: You're like, "Yeah, he's got good ideas man!" That's excellent. I was going to ask you that too; has anyone in the band thought of singing the songs?... The idea of replacing Zack and the changing of the chemistry of what Rage has become [is hard to imagine]. One of the things I thought would be cool was if you guys just came out, played shows [as] Rage Against The Machine, and just punk rocked past the mic. You know - fan gets on stage, "What do you want to hear, dude?", boom busts it out and just sings with tbe band. That gives a special.

Tim: Could be good... could be a headache though.

105: Tim's all, "Nah dude, you've seen our fans. You've seen our shows."

Tim: There's been a couple times where... fans have gotten hold of the mic in the past and it's pretty terrifying.

105: It's always scary what comes out of their mouths because it's like, "Dude, those aren't the lyrics!"... So you guys aren't necessarily looking for a Zack 2 or anything like that? You're laying a new foundation of RATM, and when the vocalist apears, that will be that?

Tim: We'll see... I don't know that we're actively searching for a singer for Rage. [We're] actively searching for a band. We want to rock and we want to pick up the slack where we've been dropping the ball in the past... We've got a lot to say and we're totally a great band, but there are areas when I look back in the history of the band and say, "Hey man, we didn't do good." For example, we had a tour with the Beastie Boys and there was 350,000 kids that got...

105: Dicked?

Tim: Yeah, that got dicked.

105: You had two shows at the Filmore, bro!

Tim: Kids got dicked, you know, and I'm not down with that... That's where we've been dropping the ball. You look at our touring throughout the life of RATM... it's pathetic... We've played half the amount of shows that some bands play in one year, you know. So I feel like, whatever we're going to do, it's going to be something that we're going to take out on the road before we record. We're going to do good; we're going to enjoy all the things that maybe we took for granted, and just rivet people with some serious music.

105: Some serious loudness! If you guys could sense the energy from Tim and the excitement, it's infectious man. I wish I had my drum set here so we could just jam out a little bit.

Tim: I got my bass, man. I'm ready!

105: You should go get it, man. Let's really freak everyone out! It is weird though; a lot of people don't understand, like you were saying, you know there are a lot of things that you as a band member weren't satisfied with [in] RATM. As a fan, to hear that, it's hard to even imagine. It's really hard for people all of a sudden on day in October [to hear] "Zack quits the band"... It's hard for people to realize that inner things happen. What is your take on exactly what happened with Zack?

Tim: Well, like I said... we've had a hard time in the past agreeing with things and some of those things are tours that 350,000 go out and buy tickets for. And tours that we go out on the radio and promise homeless shelters around the country that we're going to give them $2 [for] every ticket. Tours that our 20 crew members timed their lives around, their families and their children, you know. And tour guys don't just pick up work the next day, you know. They have to plan out their year. It's funny, cause this to me is what humiliation is all about. I'm humiliated by that. I was humiliated when I had to look at one of the crew guy's in the eyes, he's about to cry telling me that he's not gonna be able to maybe afford the baby that's on the way. And that's where we're at. And there's kind of been 10 years of that. Ten years of getting excited about something and then having the rug pulled out from underneath you, you know.

105: Because of someone's other obligations or whatever?

Tim: Yeah, because that's part of being in a band, and things finally got to the point were Zack wanted to go do a solo project and we wanted to go on tour and promote RATM and that's why I'm here right now - Cause ideally I'd be on tour right now. We're only halfway into probably one of the best records we've ever made.

105: For sure?

Tim: I want to be out on the road and I'm not able to do that. And finally for the first time we quit taking it in the ass, you know. And we started saying, you know we have a great record, we're a great band, we're just wasting our careers and our lives not playing and we need to get out there and play.

105: ...I remember in the mid-90s there was rumors of you guys breaking up... I don't know if this is true but you guys all lived in a house in Atlanta...

Tim: ...It was after our first record. Everytime a band has success and sells a million record it messes up your head, and we were no exception. We couldn't really get together and write music, and so somebody at the record label Michael Goldson had the idea to send us to Atlanta and put us up in this house and in like Buckhead in this really ritzy area in Atlanta, and see if we could work it out. We wrote like 3 songs and they kinda sucked, and we fought a lot. We watched this videotape we got of this one guy shooting himself in the mouth, and some guy gave us this video of just people dying and weird stuff, and we watched that. I'm just thinking of what sticks out in my mind.

105: Sounds like a pretty fascinating kind of boot camp.

Tim: Get this, though - we bombed our landlord. We rented this house, and we had a refrigerator that never came... We were there for a month and it came like three weeks into it or something. It stopped working a week later after we had called a million times like, "Where's our refrigerator?" All of a sudden it stops working and we call the guy up, "Please bring us a new refrigerator." He never brings it, so we put it out on the front porch... Eventually we kick it off the porch and it's like, broken in the grass of this nice neighborhood. He never comes and gets it. Finally, one day we're in our house and this guy Clay that had this studio that we were rehearsing in... was sneaking around the backyard of the house, and we're like, "What the hell is going on?" And he had M-80s with cigarettes on the fuses and he was like putting them on the windowsills of our house trying to scare us. And we caught him and we're like, "Wait, we know someone who could use these." And we looked up our landlord in the phonebook and we went to his house and just bombed him man. I'm serious we put those things on every window and then drove off an waited and the explosions were just echoing through Buckhead. *laughing*

105: I can just imagine the neighbors. "Hey! What's up with that fridge? Oh, it's that Mr. Rage Against The Machine, I don't know." That's classic stuff man. I remember hearing those rumors and how you guys would get in physical fights and so I think it's just important for the fans of the band to understand that there are a lot of things that go on personally in between bands that sometimes as a fan you can't even fathom. It's like a family in there.

Tim: It's hard to imagine something as cool as RATM, or being in something as cool as this; [not necessarily to have] a great experience, but it is conceivable that you can do something as amazing as this and look back at this and say, "Man, I wish I would have done it differently," you know? And that's just kind of where I'm at right now.

105: Well, despite all the turmoil... the band has been amazingly - I repeat amazingly - active... I know Tom has been working with Crystal Method on the new Crystal Method CD, [and] you guys released a DVD, "The Battle Of Mexico City."

Tim: Yup.

105: Now, is that available everywhere?

Tim: I believe so. You're talking to the wrong guy, man. It's a dope DVD, I saw that. *laughing*

105: Tim's like, "Dude, I played their show and I saw it."

Tim: "I was there. It's killer. Go buy it." *laughing*

105: I've also heard rumors that Tom's putting together like, a home video kind of retrospective things. Is that true?

Tim: I haven't heard anything about that, you know? Tom has definitely got a few tricks up his sleeve.

105: That guy is like, everywhere! That's why I was so glad you are here. I was like, "Dude! This is the guy that people want to know more about," you know? I'm really stoked you're here. Do you have any other kind of side projects? I know you're a big mountain biker, but outside of that?

Tim: I jam with... Adam Willard. He used to play drums for Rocket From the Crypt... and he recently quit. He and I mountain bike all the time. We come back from rides and we jam. I was telling Amanda that we jam, and then for like the last year we've been jamming and we've been [saying], "Dude, I hear Chris Cornell has a mountain bike. We need to hook it up. We need to go riding with Chris Cornell and then jam!" And now it's like tripping me out. The other day he called me up and I'm like, "Dude, I'm on the other line with Chris Cornell right now!"

105: It all comes full circle... let's talk about...*blank in transcript*

TC: .the history of like, what inspired us to want to make social music, and rock people, and these are all amazing songs that we got together with Rick Rubin and said, hey, finally we have lyrics! Let's go on the Internet and download the lyrics. And then we can start writing the music. And so this is the first time that we ever knew that a verse was going to go 8 times and that the bridge section was going to go 4 times. You know what I'm saying? NN: I hear ya. TC: So we had like, our little outline in front of us. NN: You're like "we know what we're doing man!" TC: yeah, it was cool, though, it was really cool to take songs and just erase all the music and take the words and look at the words and let's right a new song now. And that's how we did it. NN: It kind of sound like a Rage Against The Machine mix tape. What's like the biggest surprise on the CD? I think..I was pretty surprised you did the minor threat cover. TC: That one was hard because we from the very first day that we started working on this record we played that song at the end of every rehearsal because we're not punk rock players, we don't play like that. And we all were kind of scared as far as me Tom and Brad. We're like "oh no" Like I didn't think Brad could do it, and he didn't think I could do it! He was like dude, I didn't think you could do it, and I was like yeah, well I didn' t think you could do it. And so, we were in the same boat. NN: Were there any covers that you guys wanted to do that you didn't put on the CD? TC: Umm, yeah, there were some. There was like some 'Frankie Goes To Hollywood' songs, you know that I was thinking about, like "Two Tribes" would have been a cool song. NN: Tim was busting all the 80's stuff, and the rest of the band's all "nah, dude, nah" *laughing* TC: A couple Carpenter songs.John Denver, Rocky Mountain High. NN: That's for Renegades too, right? TC: haha, yeah NN: But, what was the process of picking out which songs you were going to put on the cd? TC: We just made, like a.we just picked like 5 songs all of us including Rick Rubin, and we just narrowed them down to a couple songs each, and then worked them up. And that was it, once we had like 15 or 20 songs, that was it. And so we have a few extra songs and I can't even think about what they are now, but there are a few extra songs that we didn't put on the record. Oh, you know what there's a Rush track. We detuned working man into B, and then we did Ruthless Gansta, that Easy E track, you know "Ruthless gangsta definiton villian!" you know. NN: Yeah, I know you guys have covered F the Police by NWA, so I thought that would be on there, but you know, it wasn't TC: One day you'll get a chance to hear Ruthless Gangster over Working Man. *laughing* NN: See, there are things to look forward to in life! TC: It's actually Ruthless Gangster over Working Man with a Wu-Tang beat underneath. It's pretty sweat/ NN: What is your favorite song on the new CD Renegades? TC: I don't know.Renegades of Fuck is pretty sweet. That's one that I can't help but get excited every time I turn on the radio it's on, you know wherever I go. And that one was one that we did 28 takes, and we've never ever done that before. We've always done like maybe 4 takes of each song. And that one was 28 and well worth it, you know so.That one and Maggie's Farm. Maggie's Farm I didn't like when we did the music I thought it was monotonous. And then when the vocals got put on there I was like, "oh my god, this is sick." So every song, like, kind of surprised me in how good it is. I think it's a fun record, you know? It's great to listen to. NN: Oh yeah, It definitely kinda came at the right time, you know what I mean? TC: Fools need to get out and buy it thought! Hehe NN: People are getting' it! Maybe it's cause people are downloading it. I know you guys had some problems with Napster, all the Rage fans got blocked and then they got unblocked. TC: yeah. NN: And now the future of Napster is, well we'll have to find out. Do you have any feelings about that? All the decisions just cam down this weekend. TC: I'm not.I don't have any opinions about Napster, it's like I know if I was a kid, I would be downloading music, you know. And that's all I know. NN: Well let's hear a couple of tracks off of the new CD Renegades if that's ok Tim, and then we'll come back and we'll talk some more. TC: Sounds good NN: Alright man, this is Renegades of Funk. They did this 28 times! TC: yeah! NN: 28 takes and this is the one that stuck. TC: ah yeah NN: It's Renegades of Funk, NoName with Tim from Rage Against The Machine on Live 105 <<((Plays Renegades Of Funk))>> <<((Ads))>> NN: This is live 105 I'm here with Tim from Rage Against The Machine, and Tim, we are running out of time here, the Adam Corolla and Dr. Drew have to come save everyone's crotch in about 5 minutes so. TC: ok NN: You'll have to forgive the quick rap-up here. But I do want to thank you for coming by tonight. Definitely an honor and a privilege and I hope we have some peace to the Rage fans out there that maybe are feeling a little void. TC: So do I, and this was cool, you know. And all I can say is just hopefully people will go out and get the Renegades album, check it out.it's filled with rock, punk. NN: Filled with a variety of music, that Rage wants you to hear. And maybe it will open up a few doors for people who never heard of a Minor Threat TC: Yeah I mean, I definitely have some. you know Denis from Refused and the International Lawyer Conspiracy?

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Audioslave (album review)
Bill Leigh, Bass Player magazine December 2002 issue

Following singer Zach de la Rocha's departure from Rage Against the Machine, the remaining members recruited Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell and hit the studio. Armed with a muscular tone and occasional overdrive snarl, Tim Commerford lays down mile-wide grooves that prove he's still one of rock's heaviest big-bass hitters. The remaining Ragers are in fine form; drummer Brad Wilk and always-creative guitarist Tom Morello never disappoint with their headstrong grooves. Only the less believable angst of Cornell's high-pitched vocals threaten to redirect the band away from it's raw, creative origins.

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Tim Commerford
Bass Boulevard December 2002

Whether or not you happened to agree with the left-wing politics of the L.A.-based rock band Rage Against the Machine is really irrelevent. The fact of the matter is that the dynamic quartet may have been the greatest rock band of the nineties. With their utterly explosive mix of militant lyrics, off-the-wall guitar playing, and simply powerful music, the band lit up radio, MTV, and the music charts. Usually getting the brunt of the attention in the band was lyricist Zach de la Rocha for his poignant and almost always controverisal songwriting (sample lyric: "...I warm my hands upon the flames of the flag...") and guitarist Tom Morello for his ability to illicit sounds from his guitar that are quite unguitar-like.

While these two certainly deserved every bit of the attention they recieved, requiring just as much of our admiriation was bassist Tim Commerford. Providing the backbone for RATM funk-infused Rapcore, Commerford's bass playing is some of the most inspired of our time. Having a background in jazz, Commerford has a grip on the subtleties of his instrument and he uses this to his advantage. One excellent example of this can be heard on the hit "Guerilla Radio" (Battle of Los Angeles). During the chorus, Commerford solidifies Morello's riff by mirroring him with the bass. This creates a veritable wall of driving sound which is extremely suitable for the explosive refrain. During the verse, however, Commerford's bass remains almost silent throughout, playing only 6 notes (in the form of 3, 2-pair staccato phrasings) at the very end of each subsection. While many bassists (who already have the inferiority complex that seems to accompany bass playing) would shudder at the thought of having to sit there while every one else plays, Commerford uses his notes like an exclamation point, ending the "sentence" with poignancy and effect.

We should point out however that Commerford is not only a man of subtle, sparatic playing. This is only one side of him and one of the reasons he is so good. The other side of him is an explosive, aggressive player who is not afraid to take center stage. No more is this more evident than on the songs "Take the Power Back" and "Bullet in Your Head" (both from "Rage Against the Machine"). In the former, Commerford's bass soon follows the drums with an absolutely brilliantly simple slap-bass line that is still one of the coolest intro's I've ever heard even ten years later. The latter, posesses none of the slapping shenanigans of the first, but does posess a sort of unstated beauty that mixes oddly (but nicely) with the rest of the song.

In the early part of the 21st century, Rage Against the Machine broke up and Commerford, along with Morello and drummer Brad Wilk joined up with former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell to form Audioslave. With the band's format being more of a traditional rock-and-roll one, it will be interesting to see the future of Commerford's bass playing.

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An Interview with Tim Commerford of Audioslave
NYrock.com January 2003

It was planned, cancelled, then planned again and cancelled again. But finally the collaboration between former members of Rage Against the Machine and Chris Cornell (former singer/guitarist of Soundgarden) came to pass with a blockbuster album in November 2002.

The new disc not only combines the powers of RATM and Soundgarden, it also pushes music to new frontiers. But then, who would expect anything less from Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk? Tim Commerford was on interview duty when he met up with Gabriella. And he decided to address a couple of issues without mincing words...

NYrock: After Zack De La Rocha left Rage Against the Machine, how did the project with Chris Cornell come about?

Tim: It came as a surprise for us when Zack decided to pack it in and didn't want to be a part of RATM anymore. I was really surprised when he left, and to be honest, we were all quite worried. Tom, Brad and I discussed it quite frequently because, as I said, it was quite a surprise and we didn't know what to do. For a while, we were shell shocked, but we didn't want to give up, so we talked about what we could do and we knew we had to find another singer. We discussed quite a few and when Rick Rubin suggested Chris, we were up for it.

NYrock: Why not go on as RATM? Why a new name?

Tim: After we all met up, we decided that we'd let RATM die and form a new band. To be honest, it wasn't too hard to give up RATM.

NYrock: From what I understood, you guys worked really well together right from the start...

Tim: It was unbelievable. In a way, we were simply jamming along and when Chris liked something he was singing along, no words, no lyrics, just a melody. He used his voice as simply another instrument. We recorded absolutely everything because it was so much, we were afraid that we wouldn't be able to remember anything. We just didn't set ourselves limits. We had no plans. The only motto we had was "Just do it. What sounds good is good," and it seemed to work. In a way, it was something completely new, you know? We could play slow songs. If we played a slow song with Rage it was always just in the studio or in the rehearsal room and we all knew that it wasn't serious, that we only experimented and a slow song would never see the light of day – at least not with RATM.

All of a sudden it wasn't just an experiment anymore. We could do whatever we wanted to do. We could record whatever we felt like recording. It was like some walls had come down and it opened the sight for a completely new world. Because we weren't RATM anymore we could do as we pleased and didn't have to think if it would be what our fans expected or if it was the sound for RATM. We could follow different ideas and different influences, it was really liberating and I, for myself, did grow through the experience.

NYrock: Sounds like you don't miss RATM at all...

Tim: Because I'm absolutely happy with Audioslave and the freedom we have. I love what we're doing and it simply feels good. Those are great reasons. Another reason is that it's something fresh and I don't have to talk about RATM anymore and what it's like to be a member of RATM. I'm happy to be Tim from Audioslave and not Tim from Rage Against the Machine. Apart from that it's simply great to be able to have a fresh start and experience certain things all over again. Kind of like starting with a clean slate. It's exciting.

If you want the honest truth, I think there is only one musician right now who might feel happier than I do and that's Dave Grohl. He's a member of three bands and all three bands are bands where you jerk the volume up if their songs are on the radio!

NYrock: Audioslave wasn't an easy birth. Everything seemed to be over before it began, with Chris calling it quits, the cancelled slot on the Ozzfest tour, etc...

Tim: What it basically all came down to was trouble with the management. Chris had a management and we had a management and the bosses of the managements picked exactly that moment in time to remember that they never liked each other and under no circumstances possible they would ever work with each other.

It was a very stressful time. Our album wasn't even finished when the Ozzfest was confirmed. While we should be in the studio recording, mixing and practicing our instruments, we were busy trying to sort out the troubles with the labels and the managements – or at least minimize them. We managed it with the labels, but with the managements it was absolutely hopeless. Imagine it, we had a hell of a lot of trouble, an album that wasn't even finished and not even a name for the band, on top of that we were absolutely stressed out because of the trouble with the dates and the Ozzfest. So we cancelled and, you know, in retrospect it definitely was for the better. To be honest, I don't think that tour would have been right for us.

NYrock: So if you take the new album, which influence would you consider stronger, RATM or Soundgarden?

Tim: I think in a lot of songs you find passages that remind you of Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden. But Rick, our producer, always complained that we didn't have a clue how to play a slow song, so we had to learn it. It was pretty tough, but I think we all grew with it. With Audioslave I feel much more as a musician than I did with RATM.

NYrock: It seems that RATM and Soundgarden were not your only influences. Somehow you created a unique sound...

Tim: That's true. Take "Hypnotize," for example. There we tried out how it would sound if we'd combine some Led Zeppelin parts with elements of the Chemical Brothers. Now it sounds like something else and completely new! We simply did what we felt like doing and it did feel great. All it was about was music, pure music, nothing else, the feeling was incredible, and in a way it was so innocent, pure music and pure innocence. Tom (Morello) summed it up and said, "Wow, this is great... It feels like the first time I played my guitar with others, I heard it in a room with other instruments and was surprised how good it sounds!" I guess that says it all and it was the feeling we all got from it. We made something happen, something new, something fresh and great.

NYrock: Do you still stay in touch with Zack and, if so, what does he think about the album and the band?

Tim: Zack and I haven't talked in ages. We didn't talk since he left. If I could be sure that he would give me an unbiased opinion, then I'd be interested in hearing what he thinks about our sound and how he likes. But, truth to be told, I don't think that much about Zack anymore in musical terms. It was pretty hard when he left, but when we met up with Chris, and Chris joined the band, it was a fresh start and it was a new feeling.

The older I get, the more I drift away from the "Fuck You, I Won't Do What You Tell Me" from our debut. I'm 34 and I ask myself what I want to do when I'm 44. I was a part of Rage Against the Machine and it was great. Maybe it would have lasted a lot longer if Zack wouldn't have left. For now, I just want to be 34 and to be taken seriously on a different musical level.

I think when I'm 54 and turn the radio on I'd rather hear Audioslave than Rage Against the Machine.

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