Rage Against The Machine Icon Makes Embarrassing Tool Revelation

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Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello discussed a surprising band he had early in his career in a new Hard Drive Radio interview. Ultimate-Guitar transcribed his comments. Morello previously stated that Maynard James Keenan almost fronted Rage Against The Machine. The new Tool album is set for release on August 30th.

He explained the “a gap” between himself and his rock and roll heroes.

“I didn’t think I could do it because those guys had expensive Les Paul guitars and songs about the devil and groupies.

“And I didn’t have expensive guitars, I didn’t have expensive amps, there were no groupies present, I was not down with the devil… I don’t know how I’m gonna build a bridge here. But I loved the sort of power of it.”

Morello claimed “it was punk-rock that built the bridge.”

Morello also discussed his first band with Tool guitarist Adam Jones, and how the band did not have the ‘technical ability’ to play covers.

“Literally, I got the Sex Pistols record and within 24 hours I was in a band without knowing how to play a chord on a guitar. Like, ‘A band is forming, no experience required, I’m the guitar player, let’s go.’

“You know who else was in that band? Adam Jones from Tool. Chris George was the lead singer, Ward Wilson was the drummer – he didn’t have drums – and then there was a saxophone player named Phil Johnson who is known as Mooney the Magnificent.

“That [band was called] the Electric Sheep. We didn’t have the technical ability to play covers, so we wrote our own songs.”

He later said, “I’ve taken a couple of guitar lessons years before – teach me how to tune the guitar, how to play the C major scale, and all that sounded like bullshit…

“I wanted to play ‘Detroit Rock City’ and in my punk band, I was able to do that, and really, like, from that day to this, it’s been the driving force, like, internal need to create.

“This record that I made now, ‘The Atlas Underground’ record is my 19th studio album, and I’ve never stopped pushing myself to make music challenging to me and exciting to play, as a guitar player.”