The Nightwatchman is Tom Morello
'One Man Revolution' was produced by Brendan O'Brien, who has worked with Morello on Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave albums. O'Brien also produced Bruce Springsteen's 'The Rising' and 'Devils & Dust,' as well as albums by Pearl Jam and Incubus. The Nightwatchman is planning an extensive spring tour, including appearances at South By Southwest in March and the Coachella Festival in April.
Morello has performed as The Nightwatchman for four years at political events and on 2003's Tell Us the Truth tour. He has presided over a Hotel Café residency in LA since November, which has featured many of his musical cohorts including Serj Tankian, Perry Farrell, Shooter Jennings, Nuno Bettencourt, Queen V, Sen-Dog from Cypress Hill, Jill Sobule, Boots Riley of The Coup, Alexi Murdoch, Jon Foreman from Switchfoot, Wayne Kramer from MC5 and others. The Tuesday night residency wraps up February 6,but the shows will resume later in the spring.
As a producer, Morello has worked with artists as diverse as Puff Daddy, The Indigo Girls, Joe Strummer, KRS-1, Wu Tang Clan, Crystal Method and Anti-Flag. He has also scored movies such as "Collateral," "Charlie's Angels," "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," and "XXX: State of the Union." With his bands Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave, Morello has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and won two Grammys. He was named #26 of Rolling Stone magazine's "100 Greatest Guitar Players."
Morello also formed the non-profit Axis of Justice with Serj Tankian of System of a Down to bring together musicians, fans of music, and grassroots political organizations to fight for social justice.
"THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE AMPLIFIED" - TOM MORELLO
THE NIGHTWATCHMAN'S SONGS OF ACTIVIST SOLIDARITY
'ONE MAN REVOLUTION' OUT NOW ON EPIC
Among the stark songs on Tom Morello's debut album as the Nightwatchman areseveral written to express solidarity with other anti-oppression activistsand instigate action. These appear on his debut album as the Nightwatchman,'One Man Revolution,' available now on Epic Records.
Tom penned 'Union Song' after performing at countless union rallies and marching on picket lines. He says, "I felt like I needed a fighting song, a freedom song, written specifically to energize grocery workers on the picket line,when it gets cold at night." He sings, "For our brothers and our sisters/ Upand down that picket line/ For the unnamed and unnumbered/ Who strugglebrave and long/ For the union men and women/ Standing up and standingstrong." The song also includes a Spanish couplet, acknowledging thatfreedom struggles transcend notions of race and nation.
The rousing "The Road I Must Travel" was one of the first Nightwatchmansongs composed by Morello. He says, "It is definitely meant to be sung enmasse, whether it's in the concert hall, the coffeehouse or the union hall."With echoes of the Pogues or The Clash, it's also the only song on the albumwith a full band, powerfully rendered to inspire conviction.
Morello has stood on the front lines during his fair share of protests. Heperformed and spoke at the Million Immigrant March in LA, was teargassed atthe Miami protest against the Free Trade Area of the Americas, protested thedemolition of South Central Farm in LA, was arrested in a civildisobedience action with Hotel Workers Rally in LA, and in 2006 Tom was awarded the Eleanor Roosevelt Civil Rights Award.
An eloquent coda to the album, "Until the End" is the Nightwatchman's statement of solidarity with other activists on the front lines. Morello says, "It's a song of commitment, most of all a commitment to one another -- to work and to fight for freedom, economic justice and human rights.
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