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<Moderator1>We're Rage Against the Machine from Los Angelese CA. For the next hour or so, Tom Morellow, Brad Wilk, and YtimK are going to be chatting you up, fielding questions, and getting to know you better. So fire away ...
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Our new album, the Battel of Los Angeles comes out on November 2 (election day) and we're glad that, for the first time in many years, the American electorate will have a true choice.
<Moderator1>How do you feel on the rejection of appeal for Mumia-Abu Jamal?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: The Supreme Court of the initial Federal appeal comes as no surprise.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>It must be remembered that since Pennsylvania Governor Ridge signed Mumia's death warrant, the full Federal appeals process is just under way.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>The battle to save Mumia's life is far from over. In fact, it is just beginning.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>When Governor Ridge signed a death warrant for Mumia in 1995, it was in large part due to the huge public outcry at that time that Mumia's life was saved.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Anyone interested in justice must now raise their voices louder than ever before to save the life of this important political dissident.
<Moderator1>WHEN WILL YOU LAUNCH YOUR US TOUR???
<RageAgainstTheMachine>YtimK: It starts November 19th, and we've had any rehearals yet, so we won't be ready, but we will rock.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: It's a month long your of the US, before the holidays. We are looking forward to connecting with our fabulous fans and rocking the songs from our new record..
<Moderator1>How do you feel about Amnesty International trying to get Peltier another trial?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: Amnesty International has been tremendously supportive of the judicial rights of political dissidents in both the Abu Jama case and the Peltier case.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>It's shameful that our government has turned a deaf ear to this non-partisan humanitarian organization.
<Moderator1>What will be the first music video from The Battle Of Los Angeles?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Brad: First music video will be Guerrilla Radio.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>We're working on some final editing this week.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>It should be out soon.
<Moderator1>Where did you come up with the name for the new album?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: We had narrowed the list down to a couple of choices and it turned out that one of the other top contenders, Battle Hymn, was the name of a record by European Heavy Metal band Man Of War, which disqualified it.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>The Battle of Los Angeles is in part intentionally ambiguous, but it speaks of the tension that bubbles just under the surface of our fair city.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Rage Against the Machine is a unique product of LA, and I don't think it could have happened anywhere else.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>The sounds, sights, smells, glories, and horrors of this city can be heard on every track of this album.
<Moderator1>The lyrics are noticably more abstract than the first and second albums, do you think the message will still be heard loud and clear? and how did the PMRC respond to the album?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>The PMRC has not sent us an official review yet, we eagerly await their comments and look forward to making whatever revisions they suggest.
<Moderator1>Comments from the chat channel:
<RageAgainstTheMachine>YtimK: I'm down with Testify. A real good first song for the record, and it sets up the record real good.
<Moderator1>What is the basic style of the music on the new album? Is it any different from the last two albums?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Brad: I think it's a lot broader than our last record in many ways. A lot more dynamics, more intent and it has a lot of subtleties that you didn't really catch on our other two records.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>I think it's a broader record.
<Moderator1>I was at the Roseland Ballroom show, and it was amazing... But I heard it was so short because Zack was sick, is that true?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: Zak did have a bad case of either the flu or food poisoning that afternoon but still put on a pretty spectacular performance.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>That was why the set was not as long as we usually play.
<Moderator1>Hi, my name is Brian Tronieri. I was wandering if RZA produced any of the songs on the new album?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: No. RZA didn't produce any of them. Brendan O'Brien was the producer and the ban coproduced the album with him.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>There are no guest stars, guest rappers, guest percussionists, guest joke players on this record. It's just the four of us.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Brad: We do have a juggler though.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>We've been motivitaed by juggling.
<Moderator1>How do you get involved?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: If you want to help with freeing Mumia abu jamal or Leonard Peltier or any of our other causes, you can check out the Action site at ratm.com where there are links to the various activist organizations that we endorse.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Feel free to contact them and they will help plug you in with concrete and specific things you can do in your local area to help.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>If you live in a major city, there's a lot of places that you can find alternative information to what you hear in the mainstream press.
<Moderator1>Where are you going to be on 11/2?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Philly is on December 2nd. On 11/2, the day the album comes out, we are playing on the streets of New York City at an as-yet undisclosed location. Our performance will be broadcast on the David Letterman Show that night.
<Moderator1>Is it a coincidence that you guys have a show in philly on 12/2?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>There are no accidents or coincidences in this business.
<Moderator1>Do you think that your cd will open others eyes or cause more uproar and controversy?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>YtimK: I think our CD could potentially move people down the road to a better understanding of how tight pieces can fit.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>I think that we are more machined than we've ever been. I feel we are polished. I think our sound is embossed on a metal disc that will go on forever.
<Moderator1>What song is everyone's favorite on your new CD
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Brad: My favorite is War Within a Breath.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Bard: Ashes in the Fall.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: It's difficult to choose. I'm rocked by so many of them, but if pressed, I'd probably choose Born of a Broken Man.
<Moderator1>What about the other people on death row? Shouldn't we save the lives of them too? We need to get closer as whole to save the not so important people in life, as well as the important, Don't you think?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: Absolutely. But I think that Mumia's case is one that transcends the issue of the death penalty. There are many political prisoners in the US, Mumia, however, is the only revolutionary and political dissident since the Rosenbergs in the 50's who is threatened with immediate and official execution.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>His case speaks to larger issues of race and class in the judicial system and in society as well as being a focal point for organizing around these issues.
<Moderator1>Many people are asking about tour dates, can you fill us in?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>For the official Rage tour itenerary, check out ratm.com. Keep checking the site for the on-sale dates, some of which have yet to be determined.
<Moderator1>Now you've completed your album, are you completely happy with every song?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: Absolutely. I think that it is clearly our best album today. It is our most cohesive, most rocking, and funkiest album so far.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>We have really gelled as a band and are totally proud of The Battle of Los Angeles.
<Moderator1>You guys used to play a song live in 1994 that I think was called "Producer". What ever happened to that song?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Brad: It's just a song that we kind of played as a jam at the time. There's a few songs like that floating around that were kind of left behind, which is kind of cool, because kids can get them off of live records.
<Moderator1>What is your favorite song to play live?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>YtimK: Killing in the Name is the best song that any band will ever play live.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Brad: Freedom.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: With so many to choose from, it's a difficult choice. But I might have to agree with Timmy, Killing in the Name is a song that stirs the crowd in every city on every continent into such a frenzy, that it is really hard to believe.
<Moderator1>You guys seem to have high expectations for "The Battle of Los Angeles". Did you have high expectations for the debut and Evil Empire when they were released, too?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: We did have high artistic expectations for the Battle of Los Angeles and I think we've exceeded them. Commercial success is out of our hands. Whether it sells ten copies or ten million copies, we've made the record of our careers, and that's really our only responsibility.
<Moderator1>Do you think Leonard Peltier will ever be granted executive clemency?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: The only chance that Leonard Peltier has for being set free from prison is if YOU demand it. The only way that Clinton or the next president is going to be forced to act is if the American people demand it and hold our leaders accountable for their inaction in Leonard Peltier's case.
<Moderator1>I have noticed when you play live Tom and Tim get next to the drum kit and kind of talk. What are you usually talking about?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>YtimK: We usually talk about what we're doing and how we can do it better. We're trying to figure out a way to make the explosion bigger.
<Moderator1>What do u guys think of the thriving L.A. new metal scene? i think of u guys as a pioneer of all of it.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: What exactly is the "thriving LA metal scene"?
<Moderator1>Hey, you guys kick major ass and i heard guerrila radio and i was so glad to hear that it was like your old stuff and i was wondering if the rest of the cd is like that because i really hate when bands change and try new styles.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>YtimK: No love songs, nothing but just hard music, all 12 songs. No bullshit. Just Rage Against the Machine.
<Moderator1>Will there be any bands opening for you on your tours?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: Yes, there will. But we've not decided who yet.
<Moderator1>What did the band think of the rock for life article?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: The statement from Rock for Life is shocking in its ignorance. Saying that Rage Against the Machine promotes hate crimes is about the most foolish thing I have ever seen in print.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Clearly these people need a hobby.
<Moderator1>Will you ever release a collection of your lyrics annotated it would seem if people were aware of the problems your lyrics address they would become more active.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: I've seen a somewhat accurate annotation of the lyrics on a FAQ somewhere on the Internet. We don't have any immediate plans to release our own, so keep puzzling them out.
<Moderator1>The Name Rage Against the Machine, does the name have a meaning such as "Rage against the Government as a whole, or onto a society that would jail a man like Leonard Peltier?"
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: I think "the machine" in Rage Against the Machine refers to illegitimate authority, whether in your home, your relationship, in your school, in your workplace, or in society at large, it deserves to be raged against.
<Moderator1>It sounds as if you're happier with this album than with Evil Empire, are you?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Brad: Yes. I feel a lot better about this record. Evil Empire was a very dark record and this record has a lot more emotions running through it.
<Moderator1>I just want to say that you guys are the only band around that keeps up their standards. plus you never changed the way you expressed yourselves. just keep on doing what you do cause it kicks ASS
<RageAgainstTheMachine>We agree.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: That was the wonderful YtimK.
<Moderator1>Testify is an older song though isnt it?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: In 1995, we did have a very different song called Testify that I believe we played only once at a K rock acoustic concert.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>The Testify on Battle of Los Angeles shares only a name with that older version and is a completed different, and new, song.
<Moderator1>YtimK is it really u?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>YtimK: In digital form, but me nonetheless.
<Moderator1>Tom, what exactly are you doing in Bombtrack solo? Is that a gated flange? The whole tapping sounding thing.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: I'm not sure I understand what all the fuss is about the Bomtrack solo.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>It's a pretty straightforward old-school rocker.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>There's not a lot of trickery involved. Maybe you are thinking of the wrong song.
<Moderator1>Where is Zack tonight?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: Zack is working on setting up our upcoming Mexico City show which will be on October 27 and will be broadcast on MTV about a week later.
<Moderator1>Chuck from st. louis- this is for Tom, what are you doin on the beginning of voice of the voiceless? i know you're using harmony on the whammy pedal, but i'm tryin to figure it out and i don't know what harmony to use.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: It's just a note feeding back and I'm twirling the knob around on the whammy pedal.
<Moderator1> PJ from New York, I love both TOOL and Rage Against the Machine and I know both bands have collaborated before. Any chance of a future collaboration or tour between these two amazing bands?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>YtimK: As long as we get a formal letter asking us if they can come on tour with us and explaining why, signed by every member of the band. Maynard, Danny, and Justin.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: We just played with TOOL at the Coichella Festival outside of LA last weekend and it was great rocking with that fine band after spending years apart.
<Moderator1>What do you think about the situation in East Timor?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: The situation in East Timor is bad, but it's nothing new. The United States Goverment has long sponsored the genocidal Indonesian government in its efforts against the democratic forces in East Timor.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Noam Chomsky, in his book Manufacturing Consent, and in the documentary of the same name, details how the US was complicit in the massacres then. So it comes as no surprise that this latest horror has happened.
<Moderator1>What is the most embarassing moment any of you had on stage?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>YtimK: Philadelphia, when we had to stand naked because I just took a dip in the ocean.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Right before we went onstage I was swimming around in sub-zero water.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Brad: When I accidentally attacked Tom because I thought he was a crazy fan coming after me.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: At the Redding festival in 1993, where I had this fancy guitar trick planned where I pull at the guitar jack and touch it to the guitar, it makes this crazy noise. Except it didn't, in fron of British national TV and an audience of 60,000.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>I was whacking my guitar cord against my guitar, and it went put put put put put put.
<Moderator1>FYI: Brad only attacks fans that are attacking him!
<Moderator1>So how does it feel to be one of the most influential bands of the 90's?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>YtimK: I feel like we're veterans, and we've been on a team for a long time and I feel like we're firing off right now.
<Moderator1>2 YtimK; how long did it take to complete your tattoos??
<RageAgainstTheMachine>YtimK: I'm not done yet. It's an ongoing process.
<Moderator1>What are the beginning words to bulls on parade...the very 1st part?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Come wit' it now
<RageAgainstTheMachine>It's not "quit it now", for goodness sake.
<Moderator1>Do you think you have influenced other bands in being political
<RageAgainstTheMachine>YtimK: Who else is political?
<Moderator1>TIM, WHEN DID YOU START TO PLAY BASS?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>YtimK: Ninth grade.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>As soon as my fingers got long enough.
<Moderator1>What do you say to people who think Mumia is guilty?
<RageAgainstTheMachine>Tom: Irregardless of what you think about mumia's innocence or guilt, and irregardless of what you think about the death penalty, what is the indisputable cornerstone of the case is that this guy simply did not have a fair trial.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>In the United States of America, you'd better not go executing people who have not had a fair trial.
<Moderator1>Rage Against the Machine needs to go...
<RageAgainstTheMachine>We want to thank everybody for participating in this chat. We look forward to seeing you all on tour very soon.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>We're doing another chat on November 1st at twec.com, where we will be able to answer more questions.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>You can check our site, ratm.com for more details.
<RageAgainstTheMachine>It's been a pleasure and we've gotta run and do some interviews right no, so, Adios!