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Morello Sweeps The Street |
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Written by KZYR
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Sunday, 31 May 2009 |
Tom Merillo (Rage Against
the Machine, Audioslave, the Nightwatchman) has a new band, Street Sweeper
Social Club, that will join Nine Inch Nails tour.
A surprise invitation from Trent Reznor resulted in Street Sweeper
Social Club -- the new group formed by Tom Morello and the Coup's Boots
Riley -- getting an earlier than expected public airing.
"We were finishing mixing our record when Trent called up and said,
'Hey, want to do the (Nine Inch Nails/Jane's Addiction) tour?',"
Morello tells Billboard.com. "So all of a sudden the leisurely
mixing process became, 'We gotta get this out right now! We've got
to start rehearsing for the tour tomorrow!'"
There are no regrets, however. "Both bands are friends from back in
the day," Morello says, "so there's a very good, family kind of
vibe. (Reznor) has been a great host on the tour" -- and also
joined Morello, Riley and company on stage for a recent rendition
of the MC5's "Kick Out the Jams."
Street Sweeper Social Club started in 2007, after Morello and Riley
played "innumerable" shows together, including benefits and
Nightwatchman tours that featured Riley as the opening act.
"When Audioslave broke up, we had dinner and I made him an offer he
couldn't refuse," Morello recalls. "I told him, 'We're in a band.
It's called Street Sweeper Social Club. It's revolutionary party
jams.' Then I handed him a cassette tape of 24 song ideas and said
'Write to this.' He was given no choice in the matter -- and to
date, he hasn't said 'yes.' But it's been going very well."
The "Street Sweeper Social Scene" album, which comes out June 16,
features 11 songs with a predictable socio-political bent, a rap
and rock mix that's closer to Rage Against the Machine than
Audioslave. The difference, Morello says, is that "Boots'
storytelling relies a lot on humor and satire. One of my main jobs
as a producer was to really present his lyrical vision in a way
that people really see how great this guy is. I think they'll be
blown away."
Galactic's Stanton Moore played drums on the album, while a trio of
musicians -- Tony Award-nominated David Gibbs ("Rock of Ages") on
guitar, bassist Carl Restivo (Satellite Party, Freedom Fighter
Orchestra) and drummer Eric Gardner (drums) -- is part of the
band for live shows. Morello says the group is planning a late
summer/fall headlining tour of North America and possible some
European summer shows.
Morello adds that the Coup and his work as the Nightwatchman and
with Rage Against the Machine will continue alongside Street
Sweeper Social Club.
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