Tom Morello to receive Woody Guthrie Prize

By Thomas Conner
© Tulsa World
 
For Tom Morello, the key to following in Woody Guthrie’s footsteps is, well, just that — walking, marching, and unplugging.
 
Morello is the former lead guitarist for the hard-rock band Rage Against the Machine turned solo acoustic balladeer, and the recipient of this year’s Woody Guthrie Prize from Tulsa’s Woody Guthrie Center. In a world where so much of our expression, even social protest, is posted and hashtagged, Morello prefers instead to speak with his shoe leather.
 
“I’ve been in bands all my life, where there’s trucks and buses and gear to be dealt with,” Morello said this week from the West Coast. “The freedom I’ve found since becoming a solo acoustic troubadour has allowed me to wage guerilla sonic warfare. Sometimes I can just ride a bike when I hear about protests happening.”
 
Early in 2019, for example, Los Angeles teachers went on strike. Morello heard about the nearby rallies and sprinted over, guitar on his back. Within short order, he was on a stage before 30,000 motivated educators singing “This Land Is Your Land” backed by a local marching band.
 
“Sometimes people find me, too,” he said. “Word’s gotten around that Morello’s game, so when I tweeted in support of some coal miners in Alabama, they invited me to come. I said, ‘I’ll be there tomorrow’ and spent days walking the (picket) line and playing songs. That’s what I feel I was born to do. I mean, I love rocking arenas with an electric guitar, but the opportunity to put real wind in the sails of people doing grassroots work to change the world and fight for a more equitable and just and dignified workplace is what I’m definitely always game for.”
 
On Wednesday at the Cain’s Ballroom, Morello will accept the 2024 Woody Guthrie Prize, an annual fundraiser for education and programming at the Woody Guthrie Center. Previous recipients of this award include Joan Baez, Chuck D, Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen, and Mavis Staples. Anna Canoni, Guthrie’s granddaughter (and new director of Woody Guthrie Publications), will speak before a Q&A with Morello about his impact on the music industry and contributions to social-justice movements.
 
Beyond co-founding Rage Against the Machine in 1991, Morello has played as a member of Audioslave and Street Sweeper Social Club, as a collaborator with Prophets of Rage, even as a frequent player with pal Bruce Springsteen. A vocal union member, Morello has advocated for workers’ rights on and off stages, and his social activism includes co-founding the nonprofit Axis of Justice (with fellow hard rocker Serj Tankian).
 
Near the turn of the century, the Guthrie archive opened to artists who could put new music to the scads of lyrics he left behind. Morello’s contribution was “Ease My Revolutionary Mind,” which he performed at the Woody at 100! centennial concert in 2013 at the Kennedy Center.
 
“I am really honored to be a recipient of this award because Woody Guthrie is the great hero of mine — an absolutely fearless agitator and six-string instigator, a poetic truth-teller and a harmonizing hell-raiser, things I’ve always aimed to be,” Morello said.
 
Wednesday’s event will culminate in an acoustic performance. But fear not, fans. Morello’s got a new record in the works — a loud one.
 
“It’s my first proper solo rock album, and I’m not shying away from the big riffs,” he promises.
 
The so-far untitled record, he says, will feature appearances from Shooter Jennings (Waylon’s boy). There’s also a scorching new guitarist on board: Morello’s 13-year-old son, Roman (named after Rams quarterback Roman Gabriel, who died early this year).
 
“He’s a riff machine!” dad says. “He wrote and plays the solo on the single. It’s not nepotism if the kid’s that good. … It happened during the pandemic. While everyone else was baking sourdough bread, [Roman] spent hours in his room learning guitar. I begged him to take five minutes and learn the first few notes to ‘Stairway to Heaven.’ The next day, he asked for the next few notes, and we were off to the races.”
 
The single featuring Roman’s solo is “Soldier in the Army of Love,” out now — a grinder with an uplifting choral refrain. Morello took his son with him on a European tour this summer, playing large festivals and opening every show with the new song.
 
“I was always drawn to heavy music — metal, punk, hip-hop — but it wasn’t till my 20s or 30s that I discovered folk, that the right lyrical couplet with a quiet acoustic guitar can be just as heavy,” Morello said. “It’s more than an honor to receive this prize and share the stage there with the spirit of so many people who have found that same power.”

The Woody Guthrie Prize: Tom Morello

• 7 p.m. Wednesday (Sept 25)
  
• Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N. Main St.
• $60 general admission ($40 for Woody Guthrie Center members), plus VIP packages
• cainsballroom.com
  

 
Thomas Conner is a former writer and editor at the Tulsa World. He is currently affiliate faculty at The University of Tulsa.