Rage Against The Machine Talk About Their Rise In The L.A. Music Scene, L.A. Rising, & How This Might Be Their Last Show

When navigating the hormonally-induced rage and insecure emotionalism of the average teenage experience, mid-’90s pubescent Angelenos were lucky to sublimate their first socially-enlightened stirrings with a powerhouse local band like [lastfm link_type=”artist_info”]Rage Against The Machine [/lastfm].

[pullquote quote=”This is actually, probably, the last show we’re going to play.” credit=”Timmy C”]Likewise, Rage Against The Machine embodied the transformative, dynamic energy of a city in its own “teen” years–Los Angeles. Rage’s intense rock polemic, combined with their brash political overtones of old-school punk, underground hip-hop, and cocksure metal easily made them both a representation of fearless youthful revolution and unmitigated hope for the future.

No matter what the corporate drones would perpetually decide to dictate.

Twenty years after all four members of Rage first met, a more “taut” Rage Against The Machine are still diehards to their city of origin, and as evidenced by the July 30th début of Los Angeles music festival L.A. Rising, still possess the inspired ideas that galvanized a generation of like-minded counter-culture underdogs.

Three-quarters of Rage Against The Machine sat down and schooled Kevin & Bean about starting out in Los Angeles from “humble” beginnings, the vision behind L.A. Rising, and how they might never play another show again.

It seems mystifying that a band so ubiquitous with the Los Angeles rock scene has not “technically” played  a show (besides the benefit show at the Palladium last year) in the city since 1999 and that their massive L.A. Rising performance at the Coliseum in Inglewood will be the band’s first since then–and maybe the last.[pullquote quote=”The one thing that Los Angeles itself does not have is its own festival show. And LA Rising is Rage Against The Machine’s show.”]

More than likely, the mystery-shrouded band is simply donning their usual guises of cheeky provocateur, but according to the band who only has their L.A. Rising date scheduled for 2011, one never knows: “This is actually, probably, the last show we’re going to play.”

If this really is Rage’s last show, bringing a new music festival, L.A. Rising, to Los Angeles proper is an àpropos way for a band celebrating their twentieth reunion and renowned for their music-minded sets, political leanings, and frustratingly long hiatus’, to go out with a bang–albeit not a literal one:

“The one thing that Los Angeles itself does not have is its own festival show. And LA Rising is Rage Against The Machine’s show. It’s not like there’s a festival that hires Rage Against The Machine to play a show.

“This is Goldenvoice who has been friends with us since pre-Rage Against The Machine days and have been our first bookers of Rage when we were playing Club Lingerie.”

“This is our show…We wanted to establish something in our hometown, like at Ground Zero at the Coliseum. We’ve got a very special relationship with this city.

“We want to establish a festival show that’s going to have great band, sort of diverse genres, and was going to be an activist/charity-oriented event as well.”

Rage got to cull together their own dream bill which includes well-known bands like[lastfm link_type=”artist_info”] Muse[/lastfm] and [lastfm link_type=”artist_info”]Rise Against,[/lastfm] combined with the seemingly atypical choice of [lastfm link_type=”artist_info”]Ms. Lauryn Hill[/lastfm], the “rockin’ espanol” of [lastfm link_type=”artist_info”]El Gran Silencio [/lastfm]to honor the heritage of many of the city’s residents, and a controversial unknown named [lastfm link_type=”artist_info”]Immortal Technique[/lastfm].

Rage Against The Machine explained the thinking behind all their choices, while also schooling Kevin & Bean on Ms. Lauryn Hill’s ability to handle herself at a rock show when they said that the environment will be too full of “testosterone and it’s the summer and it’s the attitude and it’s the angst and it’s a Rage crowd.

“I don’t know how many people are going to be up for doo-wop-diddy-do-that-thing or whatever.”

“That’s just because your tastes are narrow. She’s going to be fine. I don’t know. We’ll see. I give people more credit…She’s great. She can rock a huge room too. I think she’s going to be great.” [pullquote quote=”We’ve got a very special relationship with this city.”]

“This is our show. It’s like ages ago when we used to play at a place called the Coconut Teaser–you pick the bands. You know, you’re the headliner and pick the bands on the bill. Muse is playing who have been friends of ours for some times–they’re an awesome band and know how to rock a stadium.”

“Rise Against which is a great Chicago band who I understand is very popular on your station.”[pullquote quote=”It’s an idea that way back in the day when we thought about doing it with the Beastie Boys and it didn’t work out, it’s sort of been on the books sense then.”]

“[Immortal Technique]…is actually awesome. You’ve got to check out Immortal Technique ‘Bin Laden’ on the internet. It’s just a great track…It’s great, man.

“I’ll just say this: Bin Laden didn’t blow up the projects. That’s one thing that’s important to remember.”

“And he’s [Immortal Technique] is local too. He’s from Inglewood. He’s Peruvian too and from Inglewood and he’s a good dude.”

“El Gran Silencio…is some rockin’ Espanol which we thought was important to represent in our city here and we’re psyched about it. We got to pick these bands. We picked bands that we wanted and loved.”

“It’s an idea that way back in the day when we thought about doing it with the [lastfm link_type=”artist_info”]Beastie Boys[/lastfm] and it didn’t work out, it’s been on the books since then.”

So, why the motivation behind the Coliseum? Kevin & Bean quip that they’ve only been pepper sprayed at two Rage Against The Machine shows, while the band joked back that the enclosed environment of the Coliseum “holds the pepper spray in.”

Rage Against The Machine continues, also explaining the undeniable dynamic of the band despite their individual side projects:

[pullquote quote=”And you know, the fans are a huge part of the equation. It’s more than just the four of us. And that makes it exciting.”]”There’s going to be close to a million watts of power. [We’re] a band that’s built for a big room. I mean, a lot of times people will say, ‘Well, you know, I really want to take it back to the theaters because that’s where we feel most comfortable in connection with our fans.’ No, no, no. Bring it. ”

“Really, from the very first rehearsals out in the Valley when the four of us were in a room, it was like Zack was going off. Like he’s going to do on stage at LA Rising.

“When the four of us play together, it sounds and it feels like Rage Against The Machine, when we had zero fans and when we’re playing the Coliseum, it’s just how that happens.”

[pullquote quote=”You don’t need a bunch of fireworks to make that point. I think that’s special.”]”And you know, the fans are a huge part of the equation. It’s more than just the four of us. And that makes it exciting.”

“We realized around the time of Coachella that the key component of our show is the audience. When you’re in that room and you see everybody going crazy and then the riff from “Sleep Now In The Fire” drops, that’s the show. You don’t need a bunch of fireworks to make that point. I think that’s special.”

“Jokingly, Kevin & Bean replied: “Well, if you hate fireworks, you might as well hate America.” To which Rage responded, “I didn’t say there’s not going to be fireworks. They’re going to be laced with pepper spray, but there’s going to be fireworks.”

At this point it was evident that their elusive lead singer (and undoubted victim of chronic pepper spray fireworks), Zack de la Rocha, was not in the studio.

Guitarist Tom Morello explained to Kevin & Bean why De la Rocha is not a fan of radio interviews, elaborated why they band is excited to celebrate their anniversary in their “hometown,” and how their breaks from each other make them a better band:

“That’s a particular brand of interview that he might not enjoy. He’s going to rock you senseless at the Coliseum.”[pullquote quote=”The bow string is taut once again.”]

“One thing, too, that bears mentioning is that this August is the 20th anniversary of the first time that the four members of Rage Against The Machine were in a room together. So, this concert will be a way to mark that.”

“Between times that Rage Against The Machine plays, it’s like pulling the bow-string taut. You know what I mean? …We hadn’t played, what was it, like seven years since Coachella and that room was pretty electric.

“Then we played one show since ’99 in Los Angeles and that was at the Palladium. So, the bow-string is taut once again.”

“Going from particularly humble beginnings practicing out at some place in the Valley to rocking our hometown with some of our favorite bands at the LA Coliseum is something we’re very excited to share with our city.”

“It’s a city with a great [history]. From[lastfm link_type=”artist_info”] X[/lastfm] to the[lastfm link_type=”artist_info”] Doors [/lastfm]to [lastfm link_type=”artist_info”]Jane’s Addiction[/lastfm], [lastfm link_type=”artist_info”]Guns ‘N Roses[/lastfm]. You know, the bands that really were a part of this city and we’re very proud to be a part of that legacy. And we’re the one of all those bands that’s rocking the Coliseum on July 30th.”