TOM MORELLO

The Nightwatchman HISTORY

A Harvard political science student, a former stripper (his nickname was Meat Swinger), a political activist, an extra on StarTrek:Voyager, the man who introduced his buddies Adam Jones and Maynard James Keenan to Danny Carey (leading to the formation of Tool), a comic author... Tom Morello is living proof of the theory that if you lead an interesting life, you’ll make interesting music.

Morello’s revolutionary guitar playing has featured in a number of different contexts: Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave, Street Sweeper Social Club, Prophets Of Rage, Bruce Springsteen, his acoustic protest song alter ego The Nightwatchman… Morello channels his distinctive voice into a wide variety of contexts, always reframing his unmistakable sound in new and interesting ways. GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS

Morello popularised the DigiTech Whammy Pedal early into the legendary red stomper’s existence, but his whammy use is just one example of his textural fearlessness on guitar, wrenching an infinite array of sounds from a simple rig consisting of delay, tremolo, an EQ, a phaser and a wah. Everything else comes out of how Morello interacts with the guitar itself, whether via killswitches for stutter effects or in imitating record scratching. WHERE TO START Killing In The Name Of

It’s the ultimate groovy riff, and if you can get your hands and feet on a whammy pedal, the solo is deceptively simple. BOSS LEVEL Shadow On The Sun (SOLO)

If you can nail this bizarre, chattery, harmonised piece of genius, you’re well on your way to applying Morello’s originality to your own playing.