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Tom Morello

Tom Morello

Photo: Travis Shinn

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Tom Morello Still Worships The Electric Guitar tom-morello-the-atlas-underground-fire-eddie-vedder-bruce-springsteen-phantogram-interview

Tom Morello On His New Album 'The Atlas Underground Fire,' Working With Eddie Vedder & Bruce Springsteen, And The Liberating Power Of The Electric Guitar

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For his pandemic album, 'The Atlas Underground Fire,' Tom Morello assembled a diverse array of famous friends—from Bruce Springsteen to Sama' Abdulhadi to Phantogram. The throughline, he says, is his eternal vehicle for expression.
Morgan Enos
GRAMMYs
Oct 14, 2021 - 1:03 pm

It must be slightly jarring for Tom Morello to read lists of the most innovative guitarists of all time: "Wes Montgomery." "Joni Mitchell." "Pat Metheny." "You!"

Especially because he didn't start until he was 17. Doubly especially since after he learned scales, he spent eight hours a day working on "animal noises." Good thing Morello is on Zoom right now, so GRAMMY.com can finally ask him if it feels odd to be revered this way.

"Why, yes I do," the two-time GRAMMY winner and 10-time nominee responds, deadpan. "As someone who reveres the guitar as an instrument of expression and salvation and liberation and power and something to hide behind—I didn't choose to play the guitar. It chose me."

Read More: For The Record: Saluting Los Angeles Revolutionary Rockers Rage Against The Machine

So, when the Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave and Prophets of Rage guitarist decided to combat the lockdown blahs by recording a bunch of tunes with his musician friends, there had to be one throughline: The electric guitar. His other voice. And that's what binds The Atlas Underground Fire, his new set of originals—plus an incendiary cover of AC/DC’s "Highway to Hell" with high priests of gruffness Eddie Vedder and Bruce Springsteen.

Other than that fist-pumping tribute to what he calls "one of the greatest rock 'n' roll bands of all time," The Atlas Underground Fire, which arrives October 15, embraces metalcore ("Let's Get The Party Started" with Bring Me The Horizon), country ("The War Inside" with Chris Stapleton) and Middle Eastern sounds ("On the Shore of Eternity" with Sama' Abdulhadi).

Thanks to you-know-what instrument, what would be a disparate grab-bag of tunes sounds like a whole—even though everyone was physically separated due to COVID-19. Read on for an enthusiastic, in-depth interview with Morello about all things music and why he thinks Rage Against The Machine—who will ride again in 2022—successfully welded rap to rock.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Hey, Tom.

I like your mandolin back there. The Fall book is a nice touch.

Thanks! Are you a Fall fan?

I'm not the biggest Fall fan. I'm more of an appreciator of the Fall than I'm an enjoyer of the Fall.

What's your favorite outré cult band that you stand by?

[Without hesitation.] Sisters of Mercy.

Why's that?

I was so mesmerized by the voice and attitude of that band that clearly did not care about anything that was not dark.

They're on the list of bands I really want to like, but I haven't found an entrance to them.

Have you tried Floodland? Floodland is the jam for Sisters of Mercy. That record, top to bottom.

For sure. Are they just straight-up death rock?

No, it's sort of a forerunner of gloom. There's almost a techno element to it as well. But try Floodland. One of the reasons why I appreciate that band is the singer [Andrew Eldritch] has a rich, dark, milk-chocolate baritone voice like myself.

Give me a band you love where it confuses people that you like them.

The list goes on and on. There are no dirty secrets in regard to what I like. I love Lady Gaga. Because I'm not embarrassed by any of my tastes, it's hard to even think of anything. Back in the day, people assumed I only listened to rock/rap bands. I was like, "Mmm, that's not the case."

As if you just listen to Public Enemy on loop all day.

[Laughs.] Exactly!

The first thought I had while listening to The Atlas Underground Fire was that AC/DC doesn't get enough credit. They're not just a macho rock band—I think of them almost as a dance band.

You're absolutely right about that. I think the interesting thing is they deal in only major keys. For a band that almost exclusively sings about the devil, that's a very unusual combo platter. 

If there was ever an alien invasion and there was an intergalactic battle of the bands for the sake of saving humanity, I would put AC/DC forward as our champion and feel really good about our chances.

I feel like they get lumped in with other hard-rock bands, but they stand alone to me.

It may be a slightly generational thing, but AC/DC is a stadium band in most of the world. So, they do get a lot of love. But I get what you're saying: It might not be a contemporary love. But they're one of the greatest rock 'n' roll bands of all time.

Tackling "Highway to Hell" with Bruce Springsteen and Eddie Vedder was no small task. The genesis of that song was: I was on tour with Bruce and the E Street Band in 2014, in Perth—the home of Bon Scott, the singer of AC/DC. Outside of Perth, there is a literal highway to hell! It's the highway that stretches from Bon Scott's small hometown outside of Perth to the local pub where he and his bros would go get hammered. So there is a highway to hell.

I was trying to pay my respects to Bon Scott's grave in this little Perth cemetery in the middle of the night—and I couldn't find the grave! And out of the mist came a motorbike, and sitting on the motorbike was a heavyset dude with a German WW2 army helmet and a T-shirt which read "I don't give a shit, but if I did, you're the one I'd give it to." I'm like "That guy is going to know where Bon Scott's grave is!" And sure enough, he did.

Tom Morello, Eddie Vedder & Bruce Springsteen

Composite image of Eddie Vedder, Tom Morello and Bruce Springsteen. Photo courtesy of Tom Morello.

Later, I saw Bruce in the bar and was like. "Do you think that AC/DC and the E Street Band might overlap in any way?" Over the course of the next couple of days, we started rehearsing "Highway to Hell" at soundchecks and found ourselves at a big giant soccer stadium in Melbourne.

Eddie Vedder happened to be there because he was on a solo tour, and we opened the set with "Highway to Hell" with Eddie Vedder! It was an apex moment in the history of people going absolutely apes*** at a concert.

And as I was making this record with a lot of young, inspiring, exciting artists, from Phem to Sama' Abdulhadi, from Grandson to Phantogram, to Chris Stapleton, to Bring Me The Horizon, I was like: I want to make a song with my rock bros and try to bottle the incendiary magic of that one night on stage, where one of the greatest bands of all time, AC/DC—songs of all time, "Highway to Hell"—sung by two of the greatest rock 'n' roll singers of all time.

Do you lean more Bon Scott or more Brian Johnson in your fandom?

I've got to tell you: I lean Bon as a lyricist. In a genre not exactly known for great lyrics, I believe that Bon Scott is a great lyricist. No disrespect to Brian Johnson, who stepped into some enormous shoes and made the band bigger than they ever were.

I love how after Bon's passing, they not only found the perfect replacement but didn't even miss the cadence of album cycles. The next album—Back in Black—came out right on time.

That record came out and sold 20 million copies. [Editor's note: Back in Black has sold more than 50 million copies to date.]

There's something in the DNA of that band. There's an Angus Young quote where a snarky interviewer had cornered him. He was like, [Smug affectation] "So! People say that AC/DC has made 10 records that sound exactly the same. What do you have to say about that?" He said, "That is bulls***! We've made 11 records that sound the same!"

Getting Bruce and Eddie together is like the ultimate dyad of grizzled male singers. It's two of the gruffest to ever do it.

[Laughs.] I mean, it's two of the kings of rock 'n' roll! On an AC/DC song. I'll take it.

I don't get the sense of you guys saying [Momentous voice] "We three are going to make history by paying tribute to the greatest band of all time." It sounds casual.

Exactly. Jamming on one of their favorite tunes. It was the last song I recorded for the record. I had all these futuristic artists, and I put the track together and sent it to Bruce. I just said, "Hey, remember when we did this? Let's get Eddie and do it!" Within 48 hours, he did two takes. It sounded fantastic. I sent it to Eddie and he was like, "Done!" And that was it.

When I think of Bring Me the Horizon, I think of the larger metalcore universe they're part of. What is it you love about them? What makes them stand out?

I really love that they unapologetically fly the flag of roaring electric guitars —you know what I mean?

I firmly believe that the electric guitar is the greatest instrument ever invented by humankind, but it's an instrument that doesn't just have a past—it's an instrument that has a future. And on these Atlas Underground albums, I'm trying to forge that future by having my guitar playing as a North Star, touching on these different genres—from Chris Stapleton to Phantogram to Bring Me the Horizon—which is an important part of it, because it's a band that's not afraid of huge riffs.

One of the unique components of this record is that it's a global record. The record was made entirely—for my part—isolated and alone in a studio, recording all the guitar parts into the voice memo of my phone. But Bring Me the Horizon was in Brazil and the UK; Refused was in Sweden; Sama' Abdulhadi was in Palestine; Bruce Springsteen was in New Jersey.

Mike Posner recorded vocals for his song while in the midst of summiting Mount Everest. He recorded vocals between 20 and 25,000 feet for the song "Naraka." So, in some ways, it was a solo record because I was completely alone, but it was also a global net of collaborators that helped me find a path for my guitar in exploring the future.

Most people are probably asking you about the collaborators, but tell me about the tunes and what you wanted to say through them that you hadn't before.

In order for a record to breathe true, it has to be authentic to the time. So, I didn't sit down and say "I'm going to write 10 songs about Guatemalan labor unions and—go!" It was like, "What resonated?"

Two songs that are on two opposite ends of the spectrum are Chris Stapleton's "The War Inside"—Chris is a great dude who I met at the Chris Cornell memorial. He pulled a great melody out of the ether, but our Zoom session to write a song together—the first two hours of it —was basically kind of therapy.

We were talking about what it's like to try and keep the grandparents alive and the kids from going crazy while doing Zoom school. Trying not to drink ourselves into oblivion while doing all that, and combatting that. "The War Inside" is that therapeutic conversation that led to that song.

The Bring Me the Horizon song ["Let's Get the Party Started"], on the other hand—which sounds like this big, rock anthem—is about the other side of the coin. During times of anxiety, you can party yourself into the grave.

I can't think of anyone else who would bring Phantogram and Damian Marley onto the same record.

[Hearty laugh.] To me, that all makes perfect sense! [Phantogram's co-leader] Josh [Carter] and I worked together on the lastAtlas Underground record, and he and Sarah reached out. He had an idea, endeavoring to make the spookiest song of the last decade with "Driving to Texas."

Damian Marley, we've jammed together a few times on stage. I sent him that track and wanted to see what his Rasta gravitas and everyman lyrical perspective would do on a song named after a quote from a 1970s Planet of the Apes movie.

I've been around long enough to know that most musicians don't put much stock in genre distinctions. Even if one is pop and one is reggae, these are all just singers you love.

Yeah. And the thing about making a record like this—which is both a solo album and a collaborative album—is that it's my responsibility as the curator to provide a unifying voice. My unifying voice is my guitar.

So, whether it's kind of a haunting, electro, Phantogram world or roaring Bring Me the Horizon world or the Arabic trance of the Sama' Abdulhadi song, the North Star has to be something. In this case, it's the electric guitar.

Read More: Sama' Abdulhadi Is Techno & Techno Is Freedom

Is it strange to find yourself on lists of guitar innovators? "Charlie Christian! Jimi Hendrix! You!"

[Laughs.] Yes! Do I find that strange? Why, yes I do. As someone who reveres the guitar as an instrument of expression and salvation and liberation and power and something to hide behind—I didn't choose to play the guitar. It chose me. And I didn't start playing until late; I started when I was 17 years old.

The only other guitarist that I had ever heard of who made [records] who started that late was Robert Johnson, and he had to sell his soul to the devil in order to get good. Given my Catholic upbringing, that wasn't an option, so I just had to practice my ass off.

Back in the early days of Rage, did you think you were doing anything innovative with the guitar? Or were you like, "That sounds cool"?

I self-identified as the DJ in the band. For my first 10 years as a guitar player, I practiced scales eight hours a day. Then, in my next 10 years as a guitar player, I practiced animal noises eight hours a day. So, yeah, there was a real conscious shift in direction and trying to create—not just a different vocabulary—but, from scratch, make up a language, like talking on the guitar.

A singer/songwriter friend of mine once told me that, to him, the guitar is nothing but a tool for writing songs. But I feel like you might be on the opposite end of that thinking.

He's not entirely wrong, but I look at it as a colleague, in a way. In the same way that a chemical reaction between any two musicians transcends what either could create alone, the guitarist is that collaborator. It's not just you.

Each day, I would go into the studio and intentionally choose a different guitar to create with on that particular day. It just takes you in a different place—whether it's the tone, whether it's the feel of the strings on that particular day. But it's a colleague you're collaborating with on that particular day, where the outcome is not predetermined.

As far as your synergy with your fellow musicians, do you think of it in terms of "swing," even though we're not necessarily talking about jazz?

For sure, having the great blessing of being able to play with Brad Wilk over the course of three decades.

There was one point really early on when this local heavy-metal Hollywood band had their drum set, which had 95 kick drums. We rented the space in front of their drum set. There was barely enough room for the two of us to stand there, but I remember playing with him, and the way he played beats and my right hand worked, he swung that stuff so hard and it felt so heavy.

I think that's the difference with a band like Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath, who had drummers who found grooves within those heavy metal riffs that elevated them.

I feel like that's lost in modern rock, that the greatest, heaviest drummers of all time—rest in peace, Charlie Watts—learned from Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa.

The drummers of Kiss, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and the Rolling Stones—their influences were much more than [mimics generic 4/4 beat].

The Beatles and Stones also had to go to "rock school," in a sense. Before they wrote originals, they had to learn Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Little Richard songs. Is there something to be said about that barrier to entry?

I would say absolutely not. One of the silver linings of lockdown is that I began teaching my nine-year-old how to play guitar. I took two lessons when I was 13 that made me not play guitar for four years. I was sensitive to the fact that it's a delicate time!

He knows maybe a handful of chords, but he's a great improvisational soloist over pretty much any chord change I throw at him. I'm basically a rhythm guitarist in my home, and here, he's a little 10-year-old shredder, whether we're doing funk or jazz or Hendrix or heavy metal.

The short answer is: You don't have to learn s*** to play great. Now, there are different routes to being great. And one of those routes is learning all that s***. But it's not the only route.

I happen to love all that music, but maybe it could be a speedbump for somebody.

And then you're out! You're out forever! That's how it was for me. I wanted to learn "Detroit Rock City" by Kiss and "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin. That stupid teacher wanted to teach me to tune the guitar and the C-major scale. And I was like "I am out."

Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine performing in Belgium in 1994. Photo: Gie Knaeps/Getty Images​

To you, what's the relationship between rap and rock? I would think they'd have a very fruitful partnership—and in some cases, including with Rage, they have—but it's experienced kind of a tortured synthesis.

A "tortured" history—you've chosen a very apt term to describe it. For me, Run-D.M.C.'s "King of Rock" was the bridge. It was music with every bit of the power and more of the swagger than anything in my heavy-metal catalog. And then, you can maybe count on one hand the successful hybrids of those genres.

We could probably spend a long time deciding what to attribute that to, but I think each of those genres is hard enough to be great on its own. Finding an overlap of greatness in those genres is an absolute unicorn.

It's one of the great blessings of Rage Against the Machine to have Zack de la Rocha, who is not only a very talented musician but a brilliant mind and great rapper who also understands the awesomeness and fury of punk rock music.

That's not a combination that comes along that often. Commercial success aside, that chemistry has been hard through the ages to duplicate.

Angels & Airwaves On New Album Lifeforms, Restoring Angst To Rock And Turning Blink-182's Purview Outward

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Stars To Pay Tribute To MusiCares Person Of The Year Bruce Springsteen

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Alabama Shakes, Faith Hill, Elton John, John Legend, Sting, and Eddie Vedder among artists to perform for MusiCares Person of the Year tribute during GRAMMY Week
Crystal Larsen
GRAMMYs
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

Alabama Shakes, Jackson Browne, Kenny Chesney, Ben Harper, Emmylou Harris,  Faith Hill, Jim James, Elton John, Juanes, John Legend, Natalie Maines, Tim McGraw, Tom Morello, Mumford & Sons, Patti Smith, Mavis Staples, Sting, Eddie Vedder, and Neil Young will perform at the tribute concert in honor of 2013 MusiCares Person of the Year Bruce Springsteen. The sold-out gala will take place Feb. 8, 2013, two days prior to the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards. Additional performers will be announced shortly.

Hosted by Jon Stewart, attendees will include Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy and MusiCares; Scott Pascucci, MusiCares Foundation Board Chair; and Paul Caine, MusiCares Board Chair Emeritus. In addition, a host of celebrities, along with prominent music industry and entertainment executives, are scheduled to attend. Rob Mathes will be the evening's musical director.

The 2013 MusiCares Person of the Year gala, which will celebrate Springsteen's exceptional artistic achievements and philanthropic work, will begin with a cocktail reception and silent auction, sponsored by Starkey Hearing Foundation, that will offer an exclusive and unparalleled selection of luxury items, VIP experiences and one-of-a-kind celebrity memorabilia for bidding guests. The auction will be followed by a gala dinner sponsored by AEG, and a star-studded tribute concert sponsored by Acura/ELS Studio. Acura RLX is the MusiCares "Vehicle of the Year."

During the gala dinner, a live auction will feature an exciting array of items, including a customized Acura RLX. This year's red-carpet press arrivals area will be sponsored by Galactica Park. MusiCares would also like to thank CenterStaging, Delta Air Lines, Double Platinum, Gibson, Global Art, Heineken USA, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Jackson Limo, Pepsi, Sweetwater, and Trattore Estate Wines.

The MusiCares Person of the Year tribute is one of the most prestigious events held during GRAMMY Week. Proceeds from the annual Person of the Year tribute — now in its 23rd year — provide essential support for MusiCares, which ensures that music people have a place to turn in times of financial, medical and personal need.

Past MusiCares Person of the Year honorees are Tony Bennett, Bono, Natalie Cole, Phil Collins, David Crosby, Neil Diamond, Gloria Estefan, Aretha Franklin, Don Henley, Billy Joel, Elton John, Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney, Luciano Pavarotti, Bonnie Raitt, Paul Simon, Sting, Barbra Streisand, James Taylor, Brian Wilson, Stevie Wonder, and Neil Young.

GRAMMY Week culminates with Music's Biggest Night, the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards, which will take place live on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live on the CBS Television Network from 8–11:30 p.m. ET/PT. 

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Talkin' Baseball And Music

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The crack of the bat and the sound of music fill the air as baseball gears up for opening day
Matt Sycamore
GRAMMYs
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

Major League Baseball's Opening Day is upon us and as the 2011 season kicks off today and tomorrow at stadiums across the country, it's time for red, white and blue bunting, fresh-cut grass, hot dogs and Cracker Jack, and the crack of the bat.

And let's not forget, it's time for music.

"The Star-Spangled Banner" preceding every umpire's "play ball" announcement to players' theme songs as they step into the batter's box. The closers' dirges of ninth-inning intimidation booming through amped-up ballpark sound systems, from New York Yankee Mariano Rivera's entry to Metallica's "Enter Sandman" to San Diego Padre Heath Bell's saunter to the tune of Breaking Benjamin's "Blow Me Away."

It's on-field, post-game concerts and the tradition of the seventh-inning chant to "Take Me Out To The Ball Game," and almost every pitch and every at-bat are chronicled with melody and rhythm in this most American of lexicons.

Yes, ballparks are like concert halls, and the guys with the bats and gloves in their hands make up the other group of rock stars playing nightly shows during the summer. And as America's favorite pastime revs up for another 162 games at loud ballparks near you, there will be plenty of music to fill the air.

Since 1985, John Fogerty's "Centerfield" — from his GRAMMY-nominated album of the same name — has been a stadium favorite, blasting away before first pitch and as soon as the gates open during batting practice.

"I have always felt that springtime and spring training is the most hopeful time," said Fogerty when asked about the song's theme during an interview with TampaBay.com in 2010. "It's almost a metaphor for life. Everything is brand-new, you're going to start all over. Everybody is in first place on opening day. So I tried to get that sense of hopefulness, almost like a motivational speaker."

The song is no doubt a baseball classic, but Fogerty's signature line, "Put me in, coach," applies more to Little League than the big leagues, where "skip" is more appropriate for the manager who determines playing time.

Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days," from 1984's Album Of The Year-nominated Born In The U.S.A., revels in the timeless message of nostalgia brought forth by the Boss while watching the boys of summer in all their glory. And while you might question Springsteen's reference to a four-seam heater as a "speedball" instead of a "fastball," the sentiment is still appreciated.

Another ballpark favorite is the 1985 mixtape classic "Your Love," by the Outfield. The only references to baseball occur in the name of the British band, and the name of the album (Play Deep) on which the song appeared, but somehow the killer guitar riff and opening line of "Josie's on a vacation far away" are as American and baseball as peanuts and run-scoring sacrifice flies.

There is also "Sweet Caroline," the 1969 chestnut penned by New York's very own Neil Diamond. The Boston Red Sox have adopted the song and play it between the eighth inning, overwhelming Fenway Park with its raucous chorus as 37,000-plus fans repeat the trademark "so good" refrain three times in unison.

Diamond has revealed that the inspiration behind the song was Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John F. Kennedy and wife Jacqueline Kennedy. Aside from the Kennedy family's ties to Massachusetts, why has the song become a Red Sox tradition?

"I think they consider it good luck," said Diamond in an interview with The Associated Press in 2007.

The GRAMMY winner brought the Red Sox some luck when he performed the song at last year's opening night in Fenway Park, which could not have looked "so good, so good, so good" to his hometown Yankees or their fans.

And then there's the celebration song following a victory at Dodger Stadium, the ballpark nestled in Chavez Ravine overlooking downtown Los Angeles. When the boys in blue pick off a win against a division rival such as the reigning World Series champion San Francisco Giants, Randy Newman's 1983 ode to Los Angeles, "I Love L.A.," rings that much louder as the cars spill out onto "Century Boulevard (We love it)/Victory Boulevard (We love it)/Santa Monica Boulevard (We love it)/Sixth Street (We love it)," or wherever they happen to be going. But given the city's traffic, rather than cars spilling out, it's more like attempting to exit the parking lot at a glacial rate. We love it, indeed.

You never really know what you'll get during the seventh-inning stretch at Wrigley Field in Chicago, where the tradition of getting a famous (or even semi-famous) celebrity to lead the crowd in Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer's classic 1908 paean to hardball, "Take Me Out To The Ball Game," can go from the sublime to the substandard depending on the singer and/or the amount of beer consumed prior to the seventh. (See Osbourne, Ozzy, Vedder, Eddie, or, yes, Hung, William.)

On a slightly more consistent note, you'll hear Frank Sinatra's version of "New York, New York," as soon as the final out is recorded at any game at Yankee Stadium. In other stadiums, you'll hear Terry Cashman's 1981 song "Talkin' Baseball," which features the indelible line about "Willie, Mickey and the Duke." (That's Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and Duke Snider.)

Finally, one of baseball's grandest traditions is the singing of the national anthem. And who better to perform the anthem than artists and musicians? Artists singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at opening day this year include GRAMMY-winning tenor Plácido Domingo in Los Angeles; GRAMMY winner Jason Mraz in San Diego; and actress/singer Haley Swindal in New York.

The bottom line is that music and baseball go together as well as a close play at first base and a manager running out of the dugout to argue with the umpire. No matter where you go during the upcoming season, you're going to find something to smile at — and sing along with.

(Matt Sycamore is a freelance music writer who lives in the Pacific Northwest and has a lifetime batting average of .217.)

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GRAMMY Charity Online Auctions offer three-day VIP experience on the Vans Warped Tour, autographed guitars, exclusive music memorabilia, and official autographed GRAMMY merchandise
Crystal Larsen
GRAMMYs
Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

In celebration of the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards, the GRAMMY Charity Online Auctions are open now through Feb. 23. Presented in partnership with Kompolt, the auctions provide bidders an opportunity to bid on approximately 100 exclusive items, including once-in-a-lifetime VIP experiences, memorabilia from world-renowned celebrities, and official GRAMMY merchandise autographed by artists during GRAMMY Week.

Featured items will be available for bid in two cycles, including a 2012 Vans Warped Tour three-day/three-city VIP experience, including the chance to ride on the official tour bus; private guitar lessons with Phil Collen of Def Leppard and Manraze, and Diamond Rio's Jimmy Olander; and official GRAMMY merchandise autographed backstage at the 54th GRAMMY Awards rehearsals and telecast by celebrity participants. This year's performers include Foo Fighters, Paul McCartney, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Bruce Springsteen, and Taylor Swift, among others.

Additional auction items include VIP concert and meet-and-greet experiences with Kathy Griffin and Portugal. The Man; VIP lounge tickets to the Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals; guitars autographed by Jeff Beck, Coldplay, Katy Perry, Tom Petty, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Slash, among others; and music memorabilia autographed by Adele, Jason Aldean, Jay-Z, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Dolly Parton, Barbra Streisand, Usher, and Eddie Vedder, among others.

To place your bid on items featured in the GRAMMY Charity Online Auctions, visit www.ebay.com/grammy. All proceeds will benefit MusiCares and the GRAMMY Foundation.

Follow GRAMMY.com for our inside look at GRAMMY news, blogs, photos, videos, and of course nominees. Stay up to the minute with GRAMMY Live. Check out the GRAMMY legacy with GRAMMY Rewind. Keep track of this year's GRAMMY Week events, and explore this year's GRAMMY Fields. Or check out the collaborations at Re:Generation, presented by Hyundai Veloster. And join the conversation at Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

GRAMMYs

Bruce Springsteen

Photo: Mark Davis/WireImage.com

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bruce-springsteen-fire-musicares

Bruce Springsteen Is On Fire For MusiCares

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THE GRAMMYs
GRAMMYs
Dec 2, 2014 - 3:22 pm

By Steve Hochman

Bruce Springsteen, the 2013 MusiCares Person of the Year, strode into the vast ballroom of the Los Angeles Convention Center on Feb. 8 and picked up a signature cream-colored Fender Telecaster and gave the first of his performances of the night … without playing a single note.

This was early in the event and the guitar, which was signed by various artists on hand (including Sting and Tim McGraw, two of the night's tribute performers) was being auctioned off to benefit MusiCares, the  health and human services organization affiliated with The Recording Academy. Producer David Foster was doing OK in his role as the Person of the Year dinner auctioneer, but as the Boss came in it only got better.

"With this guitar comes one free guitar lesson," Springsteen declared, "with me."

And the bids started to go up.

"And," Springsteen added, "a ride in the sidecar of my Harley-Davidson."

Then he added eight tickets and a backstage tour conducted by him at any upcoming concert, if the bidding reached "200,000 [expletive] dollars." Then he topped himself again.

"And lasagna made by my mom! Stand up, mom!"

Springsteen's mom, Adele Springsteen, stood up. That did the trick. A woman came forth with a bid of a whopping $250,000 — a Jersey girl, as it turned out. Of course.

And that little display set the bar for the night: high expectations, low pretensions. Get the job done, but get it done in an inspiring, entertaining fashion. It's Bruce Springsteen, after all.

Host Jon Stewart spoke of his own New Jersey origins, telling of driving home from his job at a sleezy liquor store in a "1976 off-brown Gremlin" with Springsteen tunes cranked up high, from which he learned, "that I am not a loser. I am a character in an epic poem — about losers."

And the performers honoring Springsteen in the concert portion that followed — superstars and new stars alike — stepped up to meet the standards.

A growling, urgent "Adam Raised A Cain" performed by Best New Artist GRAMMY nominees Alabama Shakes kicked it off. Patti Smith followed with her yearning hit "Because The Night," which she co-wrote with Springsteen. An acoustic trio featuring Natalie Maines, Ben Harper and harmonica great Charlie Musselwhite did "Atlantic City" from a small rotating stage in the center of the hall.

Other highlights included Zac Brown teamed winningly with Mavis Staples for a gospel-charged "My City Of Ruins"; Mumford & Sons gathered around one microphone for a tenderly brittle "I'm On Fire"; Jackson Browne teaming with guitar ace Tom Morello (who later also paired with My Morning Jacket's Jim James); Elton John's soulful "Streets Of Philadelphia" and  Juanes' half-Spanish, half-English reworking of “Hungry Heart." 

Arguably the most arresting were John Legend transforming "Dancing In The Dark" with spare jazzy runs on a baby grand piano on the small stage, Sting bringing soul fire to "Lonesome Day" and Neil Young, joined by longtime associate and current E Street Band member Nils Lofgren on keyboards (and two cheerleaders) for a dark, angry "Born In The U.S.A."

Each artist made the performance their own, creating a sound that would make one think they've been playing the songs for years.

And then Bruce topped it again, and again without playing a note. His speech after being given his award by President/CEO of The Recording Academy and MusiCares Neil Portnow was a reflection of his art: touching and humble and bold and funny and all about the frailty of the people who make music (leading to the need for MusiCares, he noted) and the unshakable power of the music they make.

He also thanked the performers.

"John Legend made me sound like Gershwin, which I love," he said. "Neil Young made me sound like the Sex Pistols, which I love."

And then his usual generosity: "I owe you all one," he told the night's performers.

No one, though, can sound like Springsteen but Springsteen, and so he did with an exuberant five-song set in the course of which the outstanding house band was joined by most of his E Street Band companions. With much of the crowd following his request that they come close to the stage, he launched into "We Take Care Of Our Own," which has only grown more meaningful in the course of the tragic events of late, then "Death To My Hometown," a triumphant "Thunder Road," an elevating "Born To Run" and a, well, glorious "Glory Days" with nearly every one of the night's performers joining in.

As he finished, it was beaming faces all around the hall, none more so than the one belonging to his mother. The lasagna can wait.

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Some of the content on this site expresses viewpoints and opinions that are not those of the Recording Academy and its Affiliates. Responsibility for the accuracy of information provided in stories not written by or specifically prepared for the Academy and its Affiliates lies with the story's original source or writer. Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by the Recording Academy and its Affiliates.