PROPHETS OF RAGE // Beyond The Fifth Level

Featuring members of Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, Public Enemy, and Cypress Hill, Prophets of Rage are an unstoppable force, and have just released their debut self-titled album.

With members Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, Brad Wilk, Chuck D, DJ Lord, and B-Real. Prophets is a small crowd of musicians determined to inspire in revolution with a brand new weapon in the fight. Just as you’d expect the topics on the album are politically and socioeconomically charged. Mind you, it’s not the world can have too much of that kind of commentary right now. We caught up with bassist Timmy C in New York to learn more about the record (only a day away from release at the time of speaking) and the group’s future plans.

Hysteria: It must be a cool moment to be you guys right now, mere days away from this thing getting out.

Tim: It’s always great to make songs and ear mark eras, and years, and days with a musical soundtrack. That’s an exciting moment as a band. And there’s the sporting duck side of things where you get to go perform your songs and try to play them better than they’ve ever been played and try to go to that next level.

Listen to Prophets of Rage on Hysteria Radio

There’s so many members that make up Prophets of Rage, and so many really incredible artists within their own rights individually and in their own groups have achieved so much. What’s it like when you all kind of sit down to start writing an album together? Is there any kind of delicate kind of balance that you need to do to make sure everyone gets their say?

There was so much respect coming into it, we all had a history with each other. Chuck D and B-Real were so instrumental in Rage Against the Machine and our first record and what we were listening to at that time. So it was very natural, it didn’t feel as different as say when we got together with Chris Cornell and I had only met him maybe once before with a handshake. And now here I was in a room with him, and that was a little bit different. This is more like these guys are like-minded and they have a history with us. B-Real was in the Killing in the Name video. There’s a picture of B-Real, or footage of him at that show. We toured with Public Enemy back in like 1991 and nobody knew who we were. So they’re our bros, man.

So what was it like writing this kind of subject matter again for you guys?

I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about comparing the statistics of every generation, but I do know that that will always be there. There’s always going to be the things happening in the world that are not okay that can be used as inspiration to write music and like I said, earmark times. I really feel like there’s no question as to what kind of music I’m going to be a part of. It’s got to be music that has something to say and that feels rocking.

We’re trying to bring it on what we call the fifth level. Which is level one being you write your song, level two you record your song, level three you perform your song, level four you believe your song, and then level five you bleed your song. And that’s what being in a band is about for me, at least for now.
[TIM]

From your perspective as one of the dudes that made the thing, what are you the most excited for the people to hear when the album comes out?

I’m just excited to, like I’ve said before, establish for us as the Prophets of Rage to have written now and put out the first chapter of our playbook. It’s going to be awesome when we have three playbooks to choose from. When we’re able to play from all different songs from our era and three records. But we’re on record one right now and it’s really cool and it feels really good and I love the challenge of writing and performing new hardcore music.

So this is album number one and you guys, by the sounds of what you’ve just said, you’re in this for the long haul now.

Oh, for sure. There’s no rules and we are already talking about the next record. That to me is very exciting.

Prophets Of Rage

How far advanced is this new record already? I can’t imagine it was easy to close the floodgates once you finished the upcoming one, so where is the second one at?

The same place where the first one was at where we started with nothing, we had one song that had an idea but we went into the studio with the goal of okay we’ll make another EP. And three months later we had a mixed 12 song record. So it was really refreshing and really exciting to be able to go in a studio and record and perform these songs. I can’t wait to do it again, and like I said we’re already talking about it because we know that it’s just something that’s going to continue to get better and better.

It would be also interesting to know how the live shows have gone down with other bands, because of course there’s a super powerful message behind it. So perhaps people that would land on various political spectrums to where Prophets of Rage is at. Does that happen, do you get people coming to your shows to kind of argue?

No, not that I’ve seen to be honest with you. I say bring it on, it’s one of those things that it empowers me as a person that sort of thing, I love it. I’m not really seeing that. I’m seeing people that are like-minded and it’s pretty easy to find those kind of people now days.

I guess so the whole left and right leaning kind of things is something, in terms of the American context, is something that’s kind of new to us. So forgive if I get the language wrong with all of this, but say someone came up who was far more right leaning than you guys, an artist that was maybe on a tour or something like that. Would you be down to join forces with them and spread the message through both spectrums like that?

Absolutely. I actually think that seems like a great idea. I would actually welcome the challenge of that game. Well it’s a lot safer to come out and be a band like that in this world so there shouldn’t be a very long list, or there should be a long list of people that are willing to step up. I say bring it.

You’ve just got to look at the bands that played all the various inauguration events and you could potentially put on a show. I’m not sure how great those bands are but it could be done.

There was a band that played?

Yeah, Three Doors Down.

There you go.

I’m so sorry, I just suggested you tour with Three Doors Down.

Yeah, that would be kind of crazy right? This is what we’re doing, we’re making music and like I said that’s half the battle and then we’re taking that music out to the stage and we’re trying to bring it on what we call the fifth level. Which is level one being you write your song, level two you record your song, level three you perform your song, level four you believe your song, and then level five you bleed your song. And that’s what being in a band is about for me, at least for now. I’m always trying to bleed my music and believe every single note that I play and understand as much as I can. That’s what it’s all about, so we’re out here earning our stripes.

We’re a brand new band, yeah we have some people in it that people know but we’re still a brand new band learning how to play together. Whether it’s with a DJ, or whether it’s with two MC’s, but it’s really fun to hear the exchange between Chuck and B-Real and how their tones are so different. Sort of like Flavor [Flav] and Sen Dog, it’s very similar and it works well and they trade off Run DMC of old. I love that old-school hiphop. I love rock and roll and punk rock and R&B and that. And it’s all in this music with all the different members and their influences and… it’s just incredible man.