Tom Morello: ‘Greatest Gift’ From the Music Industry Was Failure

“The greatest gift that I ever received in the music industry was failure.”

Tom Morello joined Loudwire Nights on Tuesday (Dec. 10) to celebrate the recent release of his latest solo track, “One Last Dance,” but he also spent some time reflecting on his storied career. Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.

“I was in a band before Rage Against the Machine called Lock Up and I signed a deal with Geffen Records,” Morello recalled to host Chuck Armstrong.

“Everybody back home in Illinois thinks you’re a millionaire, [but] you’re living in a squat with six roommates and [you’re eating] some cheese and ramen.”

Morello said he was younger than some of the other guys in the band and they were happy to do everything the record company asked them to do.

“They must know,” he said. “They have Guns N’ Roses on that label … We were like, they must know. We listened to them and we made a record that I wasn’t as proud of as I would have liked.”

Even though he wasn’t completely satisfied, he still figured that since they followed the guidance of their label, Lock Up would be poised to be rock stars.

“We had our 15 seconds of interest from them and they stopped returning phone calls,” he said.

“We were summarily dropped and we walked away with about 400 bucks. I was 27 years old. I had failed. I had moved to Los Angeles, I moved to Hollywood, I had my shot at the brass ring. The day that band got dropped, I made a solemn vow that I was never going to play another note of music that I didn’t believe in.”

That was the day Morello started working on guitar riffs that would eventually become his contributions to Rage Against the Machine’s self-titled debut album.

“There’s a lesson in that that I followed over the course of 22 records. I’m going to play the music I want to play, make the music I want to make.”

Tom Morello Discusses New Solo Song, “One Last Dance”

The latest example of Morello making the music he wants to make is “One Last Dance,” his new solo song featuring rapper Grandson as well as his 13-year-old son, Roman Morello. The song is featured in the new movie, Venom: The Last Dance.

“It’s awesome doing multi-generational riff rock with my boy,” Morello said with an obvious smile on his face.

“You know, during the pandemic when everyone else was learning to make sourdough bread, Roman was putting in his eight hours a day and I’ve frankly been relegated to being the rhythm guitar player in the family.”

This isn’t the first time the Morellos have recorded together. Prior to “One Last Dance,” they released “Soldier In the Army of Love” — and Morello explained there is plenty more to come.

“Right now I’m in the midst of making what is really my first full-length, Tom Morello solo rock album,” he said.

READ MORE: Billy Corgan Tried to Take Himself Back to the Early Days of Smashing Pumpkins on New Album

“It’ll incorporate everything from the big riffage of Rage and Audioslave and Prophets of Rage to the stuff on the Nightwatchman end of the spectrum and there’s some kind of Springsteen Darkness on the Edge of Town and there’s some Battle of Los Angeles on it.”

Morello promised that this album will be the definitive rock record for him as a solo artist, thanks not just to him but also because of his son.

“Roman Morello will be present. I can’t keep him off of it. We’ll be doing some songs where we’re cutting heads. That’s what I’m doing right now. I love the freedom.”

What Else Did Tom Morello Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• What the year 1999 was like for Rage Against the Machine, releasing The Battle of Los Angeles and playing Woodstock: “It was a monumental year…the connection that people have with that band is one that matters.”
• How Grandson ended up choosing “One Last Dance” as the song for Venom: “I’ve got like 25 riffs just waiting to be songs and I sent him over all 25 and the one he picked was one that actually my son, Roman, had written.”
• What it was like the first time his kids got to see Rage Against the Machine perform live: “The first show was at Alpine Valley, like 40,000 people. They were very surprised that many people showed up to hear their dad play guitar.”

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Tom Morello joined Loudwire Nights on Tuesday, Dec. 10; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.