Tom Morello

Tom Morello arrived in Los Angeles from Libertyville, Illinois, in the mid-1980s with a Harvard political science degree in his pocket and a guitar slung across his back, determined to become the next great guitarist on the scene.

Instead, he found himself locked out of the glam-rock world that had taken over the Sunset Strip. By day, he worked as a secretary to a state senator; by night, he played clubs, searching for a way in.

Then, in 1991, Morello co-founded Rage Against the Machine with Zack de la Rocha—and everything changed. The band fused hip-hop, punk, metal, and politics into something entirely new, becoming one of the biggest rock bands of the 1990s.

Rage has been on and off over the past 25 years, but Morello has rarely stood still. He formed Audioslave, recorded folk protest songs as The Nightwatchman, toured as a member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, and collaborated with artists ranging from Chuck D and B-Real to Johnny Cash.

Now, for the first time in his decades-long career, Morello has made a true solo album. Everyone Gets Everything They Want combines high-energy rock with social consciousness—and features his 15-year-old son, Roman, as a collaborator throughout.

On today’s episode, Justin Richmond talks with Tom Morello about making Everyone Gets Everything They Want and the long road that led him there. Morello tells the story of his early years in Los Angeles, the divide between the Eastside and the Sunset Strip, his time with the E Street Band, and much more.

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