In my humble opinion, there are 3 great pioneers that completely revolutionized the electric guitar. All 3 have their own distinctive sound and have contributed highly to the evolution of this awesome, powerful instrument:

Jimi Hendrix: At a time when most guitarists were playing basic bar chord rhythms, Jimi changed the game with a new style of chord and rhythmic progressions.

Eddie Van Halen: This guy truly studied his instrument and took harmonics and finger tapping to a whole new level of musicianship. Eruption!

Tom Morello: The man who organically turned his guitar into a turntable/synthesizer through countless hours of experimentation with effect pedals, feedback and scratching.

These brief descriptions do none of these masters proper justice. It’s very difficult to explain the enormity of their contribution to Rock Music with mere words. Go to your play list and crank out their tunes…. That is the only way to fully understand what I’m attempting to articulate.

Now that that’s been established, let’s go back to April of 1995. At this point TK Productions had been in Los Angeles for 6 1/2 years and had opened 3 different rehearsal facilities within the West LA area. They were all conveniently located on the same block, housing around 50 individual practice spaces (we offer approx 300 rooms today). The studio was getting pretty well known within the Rock community and it was not uncommon for musicians of all different levels to utilize our services.

In reality, it’s irrelevant to me as to who rents the spaces. My only concern is that the studio is treated with respect and the monthly rent is paid on time. As a matter of fact, dealing with signed acts for the most part has proven to be more difficult to contend with for a number of reasons. I will further elaborate on that subject in future articles but the bottom line is; whether a room is rented to a local band or to a national act has no bearing. $500 is $500, regardless where it comes from. Please don’t misunderstand me, I love the music. However, after many years of dealing with unreasonable egos, flaky management and unorganized record company reps, I prefer to keep business as headache free as possible.

With that in mind, one day I met up with a guy named Tom looking to rent his own monthly lockout rehearsal space. I shake hands with a lanky guy wearing a baseball cap whom has a really cool, humble attitude. Perfect! Exactly the type of people we want here. He leased Studio #1, which was located directly across the hall from my office inside the infamous original TK location / 1939 Pontius Ave, WLA. Pictured is the actual lease signed at the time (personal info was blurred for privacy reasons).

SIDE NOTE: It’s interesting to see how different our Service Contracts are today: First off, the pictured lease is short and simple. Now our agreements are 2 sided and printed on legal size paper. Secondly, there is no social security # requested on the form. Thirdly, the price for this larger practice space including a PA system is crazy low. Lastly, the security deposit was only $100! Evidently those were much simpler and trusting times on my part.

To be honest, I had no idea who this guy was at the time, but I was quickly and enthusiastically informed by other studio tenants whom shared the same facility: “Wow, Tom Morello has a spot here?…. Cool!” I was familiar with his band Rage Against The Machine because of their hit track entitled “Killing In The Name” that received heavy radio play a few years earlier. I also knew they were part of the Lollapalooza Tour in 1993 but really had not heard much from them since. Regardless, the practice space was now his and I left him alone to work on his music as I do with all our studio tenants.

About a month in, I was walking down the studio hallway towards my office and heard Tom in his room experimenting with different sounds on the electric guitar. There was feedback, clicking sounds and ungodly high end tones jumbled in a big fat audio mess. It sounded horrible. I squinted my eyes in displeasure and quickly shut my office door. I was thinking “what the f*ck is he doing?” I didn’t get it at all, it really was painful to the ears. However, once again, it was none of my business…. Do your thing bro.

A few weeks later I hear Tom playing some of those same tones and effects but now they are organized and rhythmic; “weee-ka-wahhh-chaka-chaka-chaka –  weee-ka-wahhh-chaka-chaka-chuk-chuk”… Then I hear the bass and drums come in under his crazy feedback/effected arrangement. I stood frozen in the hallway and could not stop listening. It sounded so friggin’ good. I thought to myself: “Damnnnn, this is the most original thing I’ve ever heard”. The band then hit the chorus heavy and when guitar solo time came around, Tom really went off using his pedals, toggle switch and practiced experiments. It was Incredible! I didn’t get it before… but the genius got it, worked it and made it happen. I now knew who Tom Morello was…. The FN Man.

Because he was right across the hall, I saw him often. We would mostly speak about music when crossing paths. At one point, Tom set up a large mixing board in the hallway with cables running into his room to do a pre-production mix of some of his new music. I usually don’t allow any of the thoroughfares to be blocked in any manner but I am always excited when anyone at our facilities is trying to accomplish something. So, I let it go and was told the board would be gone the following day.

The next morning the mixer was gone but the studio common areas including the front steps, hallways and bathrooms were a complete mess. There was obviously a post mix party with no regard for clean-up. To say I wasn’t happy is a gross understatement. I called Tom’s phone # and there was an aggressive female voice on the message that sounded something like this: “You’ve reached Tom Morello’s answering machine, for all you girls out there, don’t leave a message!… beeeeeeep” While in my angered state of mind I left a strong voice mail saying: “It sounds like some’-one is insecure… Tom, you guys left the studio a mess bro, please handle it ASAP”….. I then hung up the phone.

To Tom’s credit and true to his nature, within an hour homeboy cleaned up the entire mess by himself without complaint. I later looked at the video surveillance footage. Tom had left the studio long before the mess was even created but took full responsibility for his guys and humbly handled it like a true gentleman. The next time I saw him, he apologized for the problem and made a joke about how jealous his girlfriend can get. I laughed and told him that’s what happens when you’re Bigtime.

A few months later Tom calls me. He explains that his band is going on tour and not to freak out if I see different people occupying his room. He was allowing others to use his practice space while the band traveled. I thanked him for the “heads up” and wished him success on the road. He expressed his appreciation and we ended the call. Due to Rage’s 4 year down-time between record releases, I had just assumed these guys would be hitting the larger club venues across the nation ala the Palace in Hollywood (now the Avalon) which has a capacity of 1500 people.

After the call, I really didn’t give it much thought. That weekend I inadvertently clicked my TV remote to Saturday Night Live on NBC. As I’m watching, they announce…. “Ladies and gentlemen… Rage Against the Machine!” I was stunned and pumped for these guys as they ripped through “Bulls On Parade” on national television. Soon after, they were on the cover of every reputable music magazine, all over the radio, MTV and touring the world. Their latest recording release entitled “Evil Empire” went through the roof. They were now mega-stars on an entirely different level. I must admit, I felt a bit of pride that just maybe some of that magic was generated right across the hall from me right here at TK Productions.

I later read that RATM was supposed to play 2 songs that night on SNL but there was a disagreement behind the scenes that lead to the cancellation of the 2^nd tune. For more info on that controversy click here: Rage vs SNL

Everything I just mentioned is without a doubt a great story of success. However, in my opinion the truly amazing inspiration is the unassuming nature of Mr Tom Morello. If I were in his position while making that phone call to me, it would have went down more like this: “Bro, others will be using my studio because…. I’m gonna be hanging out with Will Farrell and Crew after we jam out on Saturday Night Live this weekend!…. Wazzzz uuuuuup!!!!”…. Again, it’s simply not in Tom’s nature to brag or make others feel small. Not a single word about it from this guy.

About 7 months later I saw Tom coming in and out of the studio again. I high fived him on his accomplishments and left him to do what he does. At that time, my band “Intox” had just released a 7 song demo. I handed a cassette copy to Tom and asked him to check it out, he said he would. I then walked out of the building to handle business at a different property across the alley. When I returned 20 minutes later, I heard the Intox demo blasting at full volume from within Tom’s room. I thought it was really cool that he actually took the time to give it a listen.

Eventually he no longer needed his practice space and gave it up in the summer of 1997. A few years later, in April of 2000, I was pleasantly surprised to see him at our facilities once again. He was there to visit another rehearsing project. We stood in the hallway and spoke for awhile, I then handed him a pamphlet and invited him to the TK Productions 12 Year Anniversary Party to be held at the Key Club on Sunset Blvd within a few days. He explained that he already had plans on that night but wished me well. Of course I understood, and the studio event was a great success, but it would have been really cool if he was able to attend. Tom was a shining example of what was possible for all whom rehearsed within our walls. Unfortunately, that was the last time I ever saw or spoke with the man.

I have observed many musical artists achieve success over the years. In this particular case, I was thrilled to see it happen to such a decent and talented human being. I hope all continues to go well for the Nightwatchman. Throughout the years I’ve seen vocalist Zach de la Rocha working with new projects of his own at TK Rehearsal but I didn’t interact with him much. In the media I see Tom often collaborating with Jersey legend Bruce Springsteen. I assume they have common political views but I personally think it’s an odd musical mix. But hey…. just like in the hallway back in ’95, WTF do I know?…. Let the genius’ work.

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BAS JANSSEN / Berklee College Senior Recital

BAS JANSSEN: This 3 song medley is performed by seniors at the illustrious Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. The tunes are entitled: “What Lovers Do”, “Attention” & “Sorry Not Sorry”. I usually prefer not to post live videos due to the lack of audio quality, but this one sounds Great!

Players: Lyric Rachaé-vocals / Demeyer Lauture-vocals / Gaby Alegro-back up vocals / Lachie Day-trumpet / Lorren Chiodo-alto sax / James Vincent-tenor sax / Noah Wiehl-guitar / Trigga Trey-keyboards / Philip Chuah-bass / Thomas Debelian-percussion / Bas Janssen-drums.

The music and video production was mixed, mastered and co-arranged by Bas Janssen, co-arranged by Josh Foster and worked by the Berklee Stage and Video Krew.

What is Bas currently up to? Follow him on his Instagram page: Bas Janssen

RESTLESS BREED / After The Holocaust

RESTLESS BREED: Bang your head with one of my favorite bands out of Columbus, OH. When these guys were in high school they used to open up for my band “Seducer” back in 1986. They went on to headline shows featuring their own brand of Bad Ass Heavy Metal. The video showcases early footage of the group and political horrors relevant to their sound track “After The Holocaust”.

1987 Line-up: Dave Cowgill-vocals / Mike Ulery-guitars / Mike ‘Rover’ Tonn-guitars / Sam DelGreco-bass / Bill Boyle-drums

For more info, music & videos click here: RESTLESS BREED

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