He's back rocking the world's stages with Rage Against The Machine, but that doesn't mean Tom Morello has said goodbye to his acoustic-folk alter ego, The Nightwatchman. In fact, the guitarist has a new collection of protest songs, The Fabled City, ready for release on September 30.
"My goal was to capture the energy and emotion of The Nightwatchman live shows," says Morello. "There is a much more rocking quality to this record, solos and riffs, mixed with darker acoustic songs."
Like his first Nightwatchman disc, the new 11-song set was produced by Brendan O'Brien. It features guest appearances by Shooter Jennings and System Of A Down's Serj Tankian, Morello's partner in the activist organization Axis Of Justice.
In preparation of the album's release, Morello is playing his acoustic on a handful of international festival dates with Rage Against The Machine this summer, including an August 2 slot at Lollapalooza in Chicago.
Rage Against the Machine's summer run also includes dates in Portugal, France and the UK.
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Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar World, Guitar Player, MusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.