Tom Morello and Serj Tankian took time away from their day jobs -- guitarist for Audioslave and singer for System of a Down -- on Monday to tape a radio show at Burbank, California's KPFK. It's a monthly ritual the two have observed for the better part of the last year. The show is an extension of Axis of Justice, the social justice organization that Morello and Tankian founded.

"The radio show is a way to use the principle of Axis of Justice, which is rock meets fiery revolutionary fervor," says Morello, clad in a red Dixie Chicks T-shirt and jeans. "We play rebel jams of different genres and show that there's a link between Bob Marley and Bob Dylan and Rage Against the Machine and System of a Down. There's a thread that goes through that, and I don't think fans of our hard-rocking bands necessarily know how hard-core political a song like Bob Dylan's 'The Times They Are a Changin'' can be."

Morello and Tankian's loose-knit format combines eight or so topical songs -- on this afternoon the playlist includes Willie Nelson's anti-war-in-Iraq track "Whatever Happened to Peace on Earth?" and Crass' "Nagasaki Nightmare" -- with an interview. The show also features a guest appearance by author Peter Balakian, whose book The Burning Tigris examines the Armenian genocide at the hands of the Turks, a personal as well as political cause for the four Armenian members of System of a Down.

"The idea for the show first occurred to me when I went to Ozzfest three years ago in San Bernadino," says Morello. "We were stuck in the traffic on the way into the venue and I saw a lot of guys proudly and unapologetically sporting white power tattoos and SS tattoos and Klan tattoos and I was like, 'Are you kidding me?' It was unbelievable. And I was thinking, 'This is my music too.' And on the bill that day, the top four or five bands on the bill were multi-ethnic. I thought, 'This is so insane. There definitely has to be like a counter-voice.'"

The like-minded musicians gradually developed the counter-voice, first in the form of the Axis of Justice Web site, which features an extensive reading list, current articles on a variety of causes and contact numbers for activists in every municipality.

"Our organization is unique in that it's open to any type of social justice," says Tankian. "It's not just political, it's not just economic, it's not just environmental, it's all of the above."

Although the show addresses weighty issues, Morello and Tankian are relaxed revolutionaries on air -- they laugh between (mis)takes and both take distinct pleasure at having found a Thin Lizzy song that's applicable to the overall theme.

The two recently organized a benefit for striking grocery workers in Los Angeles, a battle over healthcare that could have national and international repercussions, and future shows could be on the horizon for the election season, although the bar for the Axis of Justice endorsement has been set high.

"The second a candidate guarantees that there will be universal healthcare, an end to hunger and homelessness in the United States, a foreign policy based exclusively on human rights and peace, he or she will get the Axis of Justice endorsement," says Morello.

The show airs in Los Angeles on the third Friday of every month on KPFK, nationally on XM Live radio and is archived on both the KPFK and Axis of Justice Web sites.

COLIN DEVENISH
(January 15, 2004)