Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine is set to release the solo album, ‘The Fabled City’, September 30th, 2008 via Epic Records.

The 11-song set is the anticipated follow up to the 2007 ‘The Nightwatchman’ debut ‘One Man Revolution’. Now being billed as Tom Morello : The Nightwatchman, the album is the first release to bear the political and social activist’s birth name.

‘The Fabled City’ was produced by Brendan O’Brien (Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam) and features appearances by System Of A Down’s Serj Tankian and Shooter Jennings.

In addition to his career as a critically acclaimed solo artist, Tom Morello is a founding member and guitarist of the rock bands Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave.

The two bands are responsible for multiple Grammy Awards and a combined 30 million albums sold worldwide.

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Widely known for his unique voice as a master electric guitarist, his compositions as Tom Morello : The Nightwatchman have been primarily based around the acoustic guitar. However, as his MySpace page firmly states, “You don’t have to be loud, son, to be heavy as shit,” and the stories and sounds presented throughout the album showcases a depth and intelligence rarely heard in the modern musical climate surrounding it.

With more complex electric arrangements than displayed on ‘One Man Revolution’, ‘The Fabled City’ is the synthesis of his groundbreaking work as an innovative rock guitarist and revolutionary acoustic troubadour.

When describing ‘The Fabled City’, Morello stated, “My goal was to capture the energy and emotion of The Nightwatchman live shows. There is a much more rocking quality to this record, solos and riffs, mixed with darker acoustic songs. I think my singing has come a long way as well. I had a lot of devastating losses of family and friends during the past two years and The Fabled City is a search for hope through music and confronting injustice.”

In the spring of 2008, Morello launched The Justice Tour, a nationwide concert tour formed in celebration of the 60th Anniversary of The Human Rights Declaration. The tour, which featured performances from Perry Farrell, Slash, Dave Navarro, Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains, Wayne Kramer of the MC5, Sen-Dog of Cypress Hill and more, visited cities with a day dedicated to a local charity and a rock show to benefit that charity at each stop. The tour performances were an extension of the periodic residency he has presided over for the past two years at the intimate Los Angeles, CA venue, Hotel Cafe, and included live performances of many songs from ‘The Fabled City’.

Recognized by Rolling Stone Magazine as one of the “100 Greatest Guitar Players of All-Time (#26),” Morello is one of only two guitarists featured as a playable animated character in the overwhelmingly popular Activision video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

Tom Morello graduated from Harvard University with honors as a Political Science major and has been a widely recognized political activist throughout his career. In 2006, he was the recipient of the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award.

Morello’s family has been a constant source of political and social inspiration as his great-uncle, Jomo Kenyatta was the first president of Kenya, and his mother, Mary Morello, founded Parents for Rock and Rap, an anti-censorship counterweight to Tipper Gore’s PMRC (Parents Music Resource Center).

With System of A Down’s Serj Tankian, Morello formed Axis of Justice, an organization whose purpose is to bring together musicians, music fans, and grassroots political organizations to fight for social justice and hosts it’s inspired radio show, The Axis of Justice Radio Network.

As a producer, Morello has worked with The Crystal Method, Anti-Flag, Puff Daddy, and many more. He has also scored compositions for major motion pictures such as the 2008 hit Iron Man (where he can also be seen as an actor), The Matrix, Collateral, Charlie’s Angels, Talladega Nights, XXX: State of the Union and more.

In the summer of 2008, Morello and Rage Against The Machine will headline many European Music Festivals. They also played a headlining performance at the Lollapalooza Festival in Chicago, IL.

Tom Morello : The Nightwatchman will be touring heavily throughout 2008 and 2009 in support of ‘The Fabled City’.

Tom Morello : The Nightwatchman ‘The Fabled City’ Track Listing:

1. The Fabled City
2. Whatever It Takes
3. The King of Hell
4. Night Falls
5. The Lights Are On In Spidertown
6. Midnight In The City of Destruction
7. Saint Isabelle
8. Lazarus On Down featuring Serj Tankian
9. Gone Like Rain
10. The Iron Wheel featuring Shooter Jennings
11. Rise to Power

The Fabled City on amazon.com

Tom Morello : The Nightwatchman MySpace
Tom Morello : The Nightwatchman Official Website

The Shake has become the latest band to join the impressive roster of clients celebrating an endorsement deal with First Act Guitars. Shake guitarists Jon Merkin and Eliad Shapiro bond with the likes of Adam Levine (Maroon 5), Serj Tankian (System of a Down), and Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) to use First Act Guitars.

First Act, a pioneer in musical products, offers an innovative line of musical instruments for all ages and prides itself on enhancing children’s development, and encouraging a lifelong love of music.

Merkin explains “This is a very encouraging step forward for the band because it shows that people out there believe in our music and that they want to support us in making it. Many great guitarists use these guitars, and I’m honored to be part of this family.”

Shapiro echoes his sentiments: “First Act makes beautiful custom guitars used by great groups, such as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Franz Ferdinand, Cheap Trick, the Cure, and so many others. It’s really great to know that we’ve been accepted into the same ranks.”

The Shake will play the initial concert with their new First Act guitars on August 29th 2007 in New York City. The band has been asked by Columbia University to headline their year-opening celebration. The concert, a groundbreaking event for the band, will find them playing for over 1,000 people in the Registry Room of historic landmark Ellis Island. “It’s a really meaningful place for us to play,” says Merkin “We’ve all got family that came to America, passing through the same Hall that we will be performing in. It’s a special opportunity.”

Shapiro concurs, “It’s almost like the Lower East Side circa the early 20th century takes over Ellis Island. Never in a million years could our grandparents have envisioned that their grandchildren would be in a rock band playing in front of thousands of people in that hall. Funny how things can come full circle like that.”

Fans can also find The Shake in record stores and on iTunes, as their track “Let Me Take You Far Away” is included on the Bulletproof Records soundtrack License to Wed from the recent film of the same name starring Robin Williams and Mandy Moore. The CD also features music from The Beach Boys, The Righteous Brothers and Al Green.

The Shake was recently featured on Breakthru Online Radio where they performed a full set live in the Breakthru studio. The performance is available for streaming in www.breakthruradio.com’s archive under DJ Jeff K.

The Shake Official Website
The Shake on Myspace