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Anger Management
Tim Commerford Breaks Out With Audioslave
"Geddy Lee is totally messed up!"
Gleefully hunched over an article on the iconic Rush bassist, Tim Commerford's muscular frame sits curved in a vibrating ball of energy, primed for the next outburst. "Now he's trying to get distortion and cop my bit. But the way he's doing it- it's not going to work! I've been down that ." For ten years Rage Against The Machine and nearly two years with Audioslave, Tim has navigated a never-ending quest for the ultimate distortion tone. He's built his own stompboxes. He's tinkered with his amps. He's even wound his own pickups--
by hand. And he's secretive as he is satisfied about the progress of his one-man tone trek. "I'm like the Pablo Escobar of bass," he grins, referring to the notoriously violent drug kingpin. " If a dude works on my amp, it's almost like
I have to kill him after he's done. I don't, but more than a few times I've told
people, 'if you let anyone know what you've done to my amp, I'm coming back.'"
With his larger-than-life personality, obsessiveness about his sound, and ever-present athletic physicality, it's easy to see how Tim has become one of the most distinctive voices in rock bass. But don't be so quick to categorize him: He's also an avid jazz fan who's studied upright and actively applies the advice of Jaco Pastorius to his rock & roll bass playing.
In the first of two somewhat reluctant interviews, the bassist formerly known as Tim Bob, Timmy C, Y.Tim.K, Simmering T, and Tim.com ("Commerford just didn't seem like a Rock & Roll name") came to the BASS PLAYER offices during Audioslave's first spring tour, in what seemed like a convergence of minor miracles. The Iraq War had just begun, and skirmishes between roving crowds of protesters and troops of riot-ready police had tied the downtown San Francisco streets into a knot of blocked intersections and impromptu detours, with the activity concentrated in a two-block battle zone between the band's hotel and the venue where the tour buses were parked. Only a vigilant tour manager ( and the risk of probation violation ) kept Tim out of the seething fray, where in a another time, Rage Against The Machine's energy and rebellious lyrics might have roused the rabble even more. But grudge was an even bigger obstacle: A long-time BASS PLAYER fan, Tim was miffed when BP omitted him from a list of important 90's bassists in an otherwise comprehensive 100-year retrospective [January '00] "I figured for sure I'd see some Timmy C in there," he remembers, "But I was wrong; I saw a gang of knuckleheads. It took me a long time to finally come around to do this."
Tim Commerford first took up bass at Irvine, California's Rancho San Joaquin Junior High, inspired by the school's annual rock show. "There were kids who played guitar and drums, but the janitor always played bass, because no kids did. Since fewer people played bass, I figured I could get into bands easier if I did." An avid Rush fan, Tim learned much of his craft by plucking Geddy Lee licks and copping his tone, especially from Rush's Moving Pictures. But Tim decided distortion would be his main effect when Rage Against The Machine formed in 1990. The quartet emerged with a fiercely original sound, fusing hip-hop sounds with metal angst in a precursor to nu-metal's rap-tinged agro-rock, while also bridging the divide between The Red Hot Chilli Peppers' funk-rock style and early 90's style grunge. But unlike funk-rockers, grunge bands, and the nu-metal acts, there has never been a band like Rage Against The Machine. It's uniqueness came from it's staunchly leftist politics, exemplified by the raps of frontman Zack de la Rocha--Tim's childhood friend--and Harvard-educated guitarist Tom Morello's well-argued interviews and essays. But the band's character also came from it's hard hitting sound: Brad Wilk's drumming was as pwerful as it was subtle, and Morello alterated between edgy and riffs and trippy solo sounds, often evoking the organized cacophony of hip-hop turntables. Gluing it all together was Tim's thick bass punch, a muscular grind liberally laced with fingerstyle nuances.
The band won Grammy Awards in 1996 and 2000, but the award ceremony Tim became best known for was 200s MTV Video Music Awards. After smashing his favourite bass against televisions during a performance, he disrupted the program's finale by scaling a 15-foot stage set piece, before a scuffle with security led to his arrest and a disorderly conduct charge.
De la Rocha announced his departure from Rage the following month. Upset and demoralized, the band remaining members seemed unsure of their next move, when bewhiskered producer Rick Rubin suggested they jam with former Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell.. "I've seen Rick tuck notes to himself in his beard, and us playing with Cornell was just one of those ideas he pulled out of there." deadpans Tim before breaking into a belly-laugh, his ink filled tattoo peeking out from under a tank-top like a tight-fitting shirt. Cornell dubbed the new quartet Audioslave, and Rubin produced it's self titled debut, which blends
the powerful sounds of Rage with Soundgarden's more melodic and dynamically diverse approach. The album hit big, and the band is currently sharing the main stage of the newly-revived Lollapalooza summer tour with Jane's Addiction, Incubus, Jurrasic 5, Cold, and The Donnas. "The band is better suited to me doing stuff like this interview. With Rage, I never felt right about endorsing anything or selling myself as a player. I felt like we should be a team. Tom was always doing magazine covers , and I was always arguing with him about it. But then he convinced me that when kids read an article about Tom Morello, they get to learn something. He has a lot to say and even if he's talking about his guitar sound, that's going to make some kid listen to him about something else."
What's the difference between playing bass for Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave?
With Rage, every single song was riff rock: we never had to deal with chord progressions, and we pretty much played only in E, D, and F#. In
Audioslave we actually use chord progressions on a few songs like, "The Last Remaining Light," "I Am The Highway," "Like A Stone," and "Getaway Car." It's all new to me- I had never played a chord progression! Once I got my head wrapped around it, though, it all becomes one giant riff in the end. Also, bringing in Chris Cornell added a third melodic instrument- his voice. In the past it was a guy rapping or screaming or reading poetry, but never anyone singing. Tom and I were the only ones who ever played any melody, so it didn't really matter if there was some cacophony where the chord sounded wrong as long as it repeated itself every time. When we started jamming with Cornell, there were a couple of times when he'd say, "There's something weird happening in this song." He'd make us play through the section and he'd stop us at a certain point, and sure enough, something was sounding sour. We never had to worry about that before.
The songs with chord progressions are mostly mellow ones. When we first played them for Rick Rubin, he loved them, but he was not afraid to tell us that we sucked at playing them. Some of those songs took 20 or 30 studio takes to finally get to where we could play them.
What made the difference?
Not playing hard. Backing off and having more feel brought out the songs' dynamics a lot more. It took us a while to get out of the one gear that Rage was in and get into the many gears that Audioslave was in.
Did you alter your sound for Audioslave?
I want to take my sound a little away from Rage, so instead of regular or drop-D tuning I strung my bass BEAD with a .130 string. Because of that, Audioslave has more than a few songs that are in B. With Rage I used a regular EADG tuning and sometimes I tuned the E down to D. It's more sporting to play with a .130 gauge string on your bass. It more athletic, and it's fun. Also I used two amps in Rage- one clean and one overdrive.
Now I've moved it up to three: clean, overdrive, and an amp in between so I can blend it all. I'm trying out new gear because I want to make the B string as punchy, loud and in-your-face as the E string is in regular tuning.
So in some ways, you're still working out your gear.
Ever since the first Rage record, my setup has always been evolving. I'm always working on my effects and getting into my amps. Tom and I were just talking about that. He said, "You've had a hurdred different bass sounds and they were all great."
What kind of work do you do on your amps?
If you replace a wire that's leading to the tube with a thicker wire, it makes a huge difference. There are all kinds of materials that are more conductive that what most amps come with. Tubes make a huge difference, too. If you pull out the tubes in there, it's a whole new head.
That's an easy thing that anyone can do. I put these old Telefunken preamp tubes inside one of my heads for midrange and clarity and low mids. They're the best tubes you can get but they're old and hard to find, and they're hit or miss. That's why pickups are so important. My tone comes from my amp and the pickups in my bass. So many people say it's all about the wood. It's ain't about the wood; it's about the pickups, the amp, and how hard you play.
Another part of my sound is the monitors. I went nuts with the monitor heads; I broke them down and resoldered the crossovers. If the shit ain't right, I will wield the soldering gun; I will break that thing out and start messing around.
Do you have a favourite distortion sound?
My one distortion pedal that I made is the key to victory! That thing is sick. I like a real gritty sound; I don't like that "nu-metal" tone, which is all about the 5-string bass being really low-endy, and you don't get the definition. Nu-metal is kind of a throwback to [Sunset] Strip metal, like Poison. You could never hear the bass in that stuff.
Why are you so secretive about your gear?
I'm scared of fools ripping off my sound. In Japan, for every band in the United States, theres a Japanese equivalent. The guys look the same, they play the same music and they use the same gear.
Have you met the Japanese Tim Commerford?
I have met some guys in Japan who were down with Tim Commerford, and I've seen the Japanese version of Rage, so I guess, yeah, I have. and it's not cool; it stresses me out.
Do you have a specific role that's common to both Rage and Audioslave?
After I had used my first distortion pedal for a while-it was the Marshall Guv'nor, which I swore by for years-I started realizing that my role had to do with how I'd play when Tom would solo-which he does quite often-or when he's making weird noises. The bass was left alone as the only instrument playing melody, and I wanted it to be heard, so I knew I couldn't just keep one tone happening through every song. I had to have some way of jumping it up and making it more exciting. so my role has been trying to fill the gap that a rhythm guitar player and bass player
would normally fill.
How do you do that?
It's all about tone, and the right hand. I know all the frequencies Brad and Tom take and which ones are left, and I focus on those. There was a gang of midrange, both high- and low mid, that no one used, so I jumped
all over that. As for my right hand, I studied tha Jaco Pastorius video [Modern Electric Bass, Warner Bros] and he broke it down. I'm no Jaco with my left hand, but my right forearm is strong. I feel like my right hand is just as sporting in the bass industry. I used to use three fingers, but in that video Jaco talks about how to do it with two. I realized I need to work it and raise my bass to where the session guys play, instead of down and low like all the rock guys. That made me able to hit the strings from a perpendicular angle, and that changed everything. I was able to play even harder than before without all those noises that I hate so much. My goal became to play as hard as I can with two fingers, so I can match up to Brad and Tom, who both play as hard as anybody.
What's your playing relationship with Brad like?
I've put so much time into trying to figure out how Brad plays drums so that I can compliment him the best way I can. I love the way he plays. He's got this crazy triplet feel; he's always on the three. When I first met him, he would talk about the three, and I had no idea what he was talking about. At some point it became clear to me. The triplet gives him a signature feel and I'm sure that my feel has a lot to do with that. If I had my way, Brad and I would both be on the cover of BASS PLAYER, because without him I ain't shit, straight up. I like to give props to Brad, because you're only as good as your drummer.
Both Rage and Audioslave songs are so riff-oriented. who usually writes the riffs?
We are a totally socialst band; nobody brings in songs. I've never had to deal with that-not in Rage or Audioslave. Someone comes in with a riff or a drumbeat, and we all write from there. I could not have written anything I have written without the other guys in my band, and I can't tell you how many things we've all come up with that stem from Brad. He'll be playing a sick beat on the drums, we'll go, "Oh that's dope." and all of a sudden something comes out of it.
You slapped on the first Rage record. Why did you move away from that?
Back in the early '90s, I was really into the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Brothers Johnson, and I loved to slap. But it became clear that if I slapped with Rage, we'd sound like another Chili Peppers clone band. I wanted to be in a band that sounded unique, so when we got into the second record I mad the decision to put the thumb up on the shelf and never use it again. I sued to be good, but now I suck at slapping.
How else has your technique changed?
When I'd go see Rush as a kid, I would wonder why Geddy Lee used one finger all the time. Did he do that because it made it easier to play while he was singing? I didn't get it. Later I realized that if you're just riding a note or trying to play a real straight part, it sounds more pulsating if you play with one finger. So I took every bass line and learned how to do it with one finger, and I started doing it that way as much as I could. Back then I thought I looked goofy, but now here I am using one finger whenever I can. One finger is ultimately the funkiest sound of all. If you can do it with one finger, you should. If you can do it with two finger, you should choose over three.
Have you ever played with a pick?
Never. A lot of times Brad or Tom would say, "Hey, dude, I think you should use a pick on this-it'll be easier." For example, we just learned the Clash's "White Riot"- that's our new cover song and I can do it with two fingers. Before we started learning it, Brad suggested I use a pick. It's kind of like the running joke. I won't even answer him; I'll just go, "Yeah, whatever, dude." I play bass man, I don't play guitar. I almost used a pick on "In My Eyes" the Minor Threat song on the last Rage album, Renegades. That guy [Brian Baker] used a pick, but instead, I used three fingers, which gave it a gallopy sound.
You sing background vocals with Audioslave. Is singing and playing new for you?
I did all the backing vocals with Rage, but it was a rap and yelling and stuff. I definitely enjoyed being the "angry parrot" [Tool singer] Maynard James Keenan called me that years ago, and I've always thought that was a good one. By the end of Rage, I was able to rap parts of verses and do the bass lines. It's harder to rap and play than it is to sing and play.
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