Rage Against the Machine Bassist Gives Band Update, Talks ISIS, Trump
Green Day got in this year, and they still release albums.
[Pauses] I hear ya. [Long pause, laughs] If Rage gets inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it’ll be interesting to see who shows up. I think it’s pretty obvious. I think there’s somebody who’s going to show up and somebody who’s not going to show up and maybe somebody who’s going to show up with an enema filled with food coloring and shit all over the red carpet.
Would you guys play if asked?
Anything’s possible. We are still a band, and we still might play again. We don’t have anything scheduled right now, but you never know what the future will bring. [Editor’s Note: Following publication of this interview, RATM guitarist Tom Morello tweeted about possible future shows, “If we do, I hope to be there.”]
The band’s Wikipedia page lists 2011 as your last active year.
I read something on the Internet the other day where it said, “Former Rage Against the Machine bassist Tim Commerford.” I was like, “Fuck you, man. I still play bass in that band. I’m not the ‘former’ guy. I’m the guy.”
When was the last time all four of you were in the same room?
Well, here’s something cool: We just played our first show with Wakrat and Zack and Tom [Morello] were there. Zack is my biggest fan and supporter right now. What I’m doing musically is his shit and what he’s an expert on. He and I talked for two hours after the show. He loves what I’m doing. I asked him to play a guitar solo for this track I’m working on and he was like, “Oh, I’m in.”
He released the One Day as a Lion EP in 2008 and appeared on Run the Jewels’ last album, but his solo album has become the Detox of rock.
He’s been working his ass off here in the last couple of years. The kid is an amazing musician. He built a studio in his house, and he’s there all the time making a One Day as a Lion full album. That’s his band, and he’s a “one band” kind of guy.
Switching gears, you released a video as Future User showing your actual back surgery as an indictment of the current U.S. health care system. Which presidential candidate would be the best option to fix the problem?
I don’t buy into the hype. My advice would be none of them. They’re all the same; their campaigns are all funded by the same corrupt corporations that accept the same favors. And I don’t care whether a Republican or Democrat wins; the same shit’s going to happen. That’s why you’ll never see me at the ballot box ever.
Does that include Bernie Sanders?
Yes. I don’t believe in any of it. It’s all bullshit. They’re not the ones calling the shots. Whether it’s the heads of the corporations or the military guys that have been in there for 30 years, there’s no president coming in every four years and telling those motherfuckers what to do.