Rage Against The Machine Guitarist Tome Morello Describes G8 Protest, Dramatic Escape By Boat
Launch Radio Networks reports: RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE guitarist Tom Morello, sometimes known as the protest folksinger THE NIGHTWATCHMAN, performed in Germany last Saturday (June 2) as part of the Move Against G8 protest. An estimated fifty to sixty thousand people showed up for the rally where Morello was one of the performers.
Morello described the crowd: "I headed into the crowd. Police began to attack the crowd with water hoses and tear gas. There were big fires. I saw members of the black bloc throwing bottles at police." Despite some violence, however, most of the protests were peaceful.
Morello performed the songs "One Man Revolution", "The Road That I Must Travel", and "Maximum Firepower".
Morello says he made his exit by sea in a dramatic escape: "After my set, I had to escape via small boat to the Baltic Sea. There were police boats blockading the entrance to the festival and we snuck out under cover of darkness."
Morello is in the middle of a NIGHTWATCHMAN tour of the U.S.
RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE has reformed, and is expected to be playing shows soon.
Morello explained the origin of his "NIGHTWATCHMAN" name, which came from when he first began performing his protest songs incognito in coffeehouses. "I would sign up anonymously, you know," he said. "I didn't want to sign up as Tom Morello and have people, you know, between their mochaccinos clamoring for 'Bulls On Parade'. So I signed up as THE NIGHTWATCHMAN, and it was a moniker that seemed to fit the music that I was writing and playing, and it stuck."
Source: Blabbermouth
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23 Comments on "Morello Describes G8 Protest, Escape By Boat"
2. writes:
Dramatic escape, yeah right. More likely he was given a special transport from the concert grounds, because the police didn't want to open up their barricades for the artists leaving the venue. If he was so rebellious he should have stayed after the show and joined the masses in their protest. Likely his publicist and manager would not have agreed to that.
3. writes:
Ha ha ha! Yeah, exactly! You big revolutionary, you! I knew Tom Morello was a fxckn' pvssy. You're gonna stand there watching your fans get tear gassed, and, since you're all "fxck the man" and all that, you jump on a boat and bounce the fxck out. What a goddamned wimp.
5. writes:
Yeah, sounds kind of silly. When are people going to realize that protests are just a big waste of their time and taxpayer's money for all the sh** they need to do to control the violence at their "peaceful protests". Millions upon millions of people all across the world protested the US's war in Iraq, and do you think for a second that Bush's government wasn't sitting there watching TV thinking, "Heh, look at those idiots. Like they're really going to change our minds." The same reason that protesting at the G8 summit isn't going to make the world leaders give their money away to foreign countries. Basically what it comes down to is, "Hey, you're rich and they aren't and its ALL YOUR FAULT." Maybe Morello should donate all of HIS money to the poor in Africa.
6. writes:
Hey, so what if I'm drinking Mountain Dew in front of a keyboard. Apparently, you are too. The important thing is, I haven't spent the last fifteen years talking about how much I care about revolution and how much mankind needs to step up to the plate and fight for their rights, and then run away in a fxcking boat. There's a difference between eating Cheetos and scratching my ass, and ditching my own crowd of fans at a protest. I will tell you that I am going to eat Cheetos and scratch my ass. I won't tell you that I'm going to rise up and fight the power, though, because I'm too busy eating cheetos and scratching my ass. If I did tell you that, though, I'd mean it. If I had a cause that I previously stated that I would DIE FOR, I would stick by my words. Morello, however, has spent his career talking about civil rights, and all that bullshxt, wearing his UNITE caps onstage, and scribbling COMMIE and SOUL POWER on his instruments, and fighting for Amnesty International and all that garbage, and then, in the midst of his shining moent that he's been talking about to the press for years and years, he jumps in the water while his fans are getting tear gassed and beaten down by this supposed "man" that is holding them down. He's a real hero, fighting for his cause verbally, but when it comes time to cut the mustard, he leaps into a goddamn boat and skedaddles. Just like I thought he'd always do. All talk and no walk. It doesn't matter the difference that protesting would make, because the protesters know their chances of making change are slim. What matters is standing up to who the fxck ever no matter what the odds. If America is such an Evil Empire, and it needs to be raged against, why did he chicken out like a fxcking pvssy? He's a little b1tch. He turned his back on his cause AND his fans. What I'm doing at any time has nothing to do with that. If I was fingering a six-hundred pound chick while I rubbed peanut butter on my windows, it wouldn't matter a fxck, because it has nothing to do with Morello leaving his fans stranded in the middle of a protest that he was supposed to be against. Utter garbage.
Supporter
9. writes:
Supporter
12. writes:
It's easy to criticise someone when you're behind a computer screen, isn't it? If he'd stayed and got arrested or something, you would all be criticising him for that instead. He was obviously part of the crowd at some point at least, as he states, ""I headed into the crowd.""
13. writes:
Shut the fxck up. If you love him, why don't you crawl up his ass? He's a fxcking douche and he stranded his fans amidst a riot. Plain and simple.
Had he got "arrested or something", as you so succinctly put it, I wouldn't be here calling him a d1ck, because getting arrested is one of the things that revolutionaries are known for doing. You never abandon your cause. Just because he "headed into the crowd", which I doubt he really did, doesn't mean anything. This fvcking wankster acts like a little b1tch from the suburbs. Spoiled, classically-schooled little fxcking brat. He flaked on his fans. Period.
14. writes:
The fact that he was well educated has nothing to do with it. And he ""snuck out under cover of darkness"", so he must have been there most of the day. Why do you doubt that he "headed into the crowd"?
I agree with the fact that you shouldn't abandon your cause though. I just don't think he abandoned it as fully as you're suggesting.
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15. writes:
I think you all are missing the point, being so quick to call him a p***y. He is supporting the peaceful protest and condemning the violence (in not so many words) - so why the hell would he get in the middle of that mess? I agree there's some irony in the events from the article, but the outbursts of violence are an escalation beyond what he's aiming for I think.
16. writes:
I think the whole "under the cover of darkness", and "making his exit by sea in a dramatic escape via small boat to the Baltic Sea" adds drama and romanticism to his picture he's trying to paint. What a bunch of B.S. I believe he wants people to think that he's out there living it, while we are eating Cheetos (Freetos, Combos, Doritos... any of your various o's products) and pecking away at our keyboards while we are armchair revolting.
17. writes:
So a guy goes to the doctors with an orange c***. The doctor asks "Do you work with chemicals?"
"No" replies the man
"Hmm." says the doctor, "Do you do any heavy lifting?"
"No" replied his patient
"Well, what do you do all day?" responds the doctor
The man replies "Watch porn and eat cheetos!"
Badumbutsch!
The only reason Morello was there was so all the people that lick arse can go "See? He was fighting the power with his unique brand of crap music! He's so revolutionary! Oh! I spilled Starbucks on my Che Guevera shirt!"
Former Contributor
20. writes:
If I had a friend who had done half the human rights workMorello has done (which is alot) he would have all my respect. But Tom Morello is not my friend, nor do I or you even know him. So why critisize him as a celebrity and not just see him just as a human being? I mean, he's got human rights work and an award to his name (and he has been arrested before), and judging from the TWO quotes given in this article he did what he went there to do, play music to support the protest.
Deathbringer's right, just because you're not hurling molotov c***tails at other human beings doesn't mean you're abandoning your cause, nor do I think that's what his cause was.
Now Playing: Loss - "Cut Up, Depressed And Alone"
Former Contributor
22. writes:
Protests are an outlet.
Whether they effect change is another matter entirely. Our govt and others would be a playdoughy mess if every large group of hellbents got their way.
It feels pretty good to vent though -- especially in the company of people you agree with. Though the most fun can be had getting in the face of people that you disagree with.
This site gets alot of that.
Ask every naive, tree hugging hippy and religious-fanatic abortion clinic bomber. Shattering someone's world view or letting the powers that be know that you are paying attention is always worthwhile too.
Morello's been arrested many times over the years, he also has a habit of being dramatic when he recounts a story. To the best my understanding he has never pushed violence as an ends to a means though. Morello's angle has always been to speak with/for those who are getting shat on be it in this country or another.
Now Playing: Distorted - "Redemption"
23. writes:
i agree hes all for peaceful protests but the whole "dramatic escape"? seems like a load, the guy has money so he probably chartered a boat....and thats another thing, how can you be a member of the "revolution against the system", when you're well known and made money playing music? and as far as playing music couldnt he find other ways to help these people who are being treated unfairly? but i do agree that leaving a violent protest while you're a proclaimed non-violent is not cowardice.......him hurling a molotov like cynic put well would not be the opposite of abadonment......it would probably be hypocrisy.
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1. Diamond Oz writes:
Well I didn't expect anything less than for Morello to claim the police started it. Fact of the matter is the German police were being treated with maximum hostility, on the receiving end of verbal and physical abuse from 60,000 people that had nothing better to do with their time. They were right to do what they did.