Pheaturring Tom Morello

 

Hey, kids, welcome to the Phile for a Monday, it's Presidents Day. Let's celebrate Presidents Day with the reckless abandon of a local appliance store. I wanna start with a story about the present president. It’s not looking well for us, people. Apparently, President Joe Biden suggested during a speech at the National Institute of Health Complex in Bethesda, Maryland, that Americans may need to wear face masks through the next year. According to Fox News, “Health officials have stressed that even with effective vaccines, many of the same safety protocols will have to remain in place until there is “clear herd immunity.” Sharon Peacock, Director of the COVID-19 Genomics U.K. Consortium stated that there are growing concerns that the virus mutations will slow down the process. In the conference along side Dr. Anthony Fauci, Biden stated, “I had a little discussion with my friends behind me, Dr. Collins and Dr. Fauci, about whether or not I should take my mask off, and the truth is, although we’re more than 10 feet away, I think it’s important that I not. It’s critically important the message... and I realize I’m speaking to a vast majority... at least, I hope I am... of the folks out here at NIH. You know that wearing this mask through the next year here can save lives... a significant number of lives.” Biden went on to say that the United States remained in the “teeth of the pandemic” noting that January 2021 was the deadliest month that we have had. There have been over 100,0000 deaths so far, and we are “on track to cross 500,000 dead Americans this next month.” He stated that the coronavirus vaccination program he inherited from former President Donald Trump was in “much worse shape” than he expected. Calling it a patriotic responsibility, Biden referred to the coronavirus as being in the middle of a war, calling it a patriotic responsibility not only for the ones we cared about but about other fellow Americans. He also reminded the public about social distancing, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends. Health officials emphasised that even with effective COVID-19 vaccines, many of the current safety protocols will have to remain in force. The Democrat continued, “Do you realize more people have died in the last 12 months... in the last 12 months than died in all four years in World War Two? All four years. That’s why I asked what the full extent of my authority as president of the United States could be. I signed an executive order that required masking on all federal property, on modes of travel like planes, trains, and buses across interstate commerce.” The CDC stated that at least 26 million doses have been administered in Biden’s first three weeks while in office. Mass vaccination sites, which are supported by federal troops and healthcare workers, are set to open in New York, Texas, and California in coming weeks. Still, the Biden Administration is pushing Governors (both Republicans and Democrats) as well as Mayors and local health officials to order mask mandates within their jurisdiction to protect public health. Biden also noted he had signed the final contracts for 100 million more Moderna and 100 million more Pfizer vaccines. He’s hoping he’s able to move up with delivery dates with an additional 200 million vaccines to the end of July. This means that the U.S. could have enough supply for 300 million Americans by the end of July.  

In the last blog entry I interviewed Gurinder Chadha who directed the movie Blinded by the Light which  was inspired by the life of journalist Sarfraz Manzoor and his love of the works of Bruce Springsteen. The same day news came out that Springsteen was arrested for a DWI in New Jersey. Oh man, I wish we could see the mugshot for this. I would pay serious money to see Bruce Springsteen lined up in jail. Turns out the singer was arrested for a DWI and reckless driving in his home state of New Jersey. The news was revealed on Wednesday after he appeared in a Super Bowl commercial for Jeep. The 71-year-old icon was arrested on November 14th at Gateway National Recreation Area in Sandy Hook, New Jersey, according to a spokesperson for the National Park Service. This spokesperson really wanted to create some chaos, didn’t they? Springsteen was charged with DWI, reckless driving, and consuming alcohol in a closed area. According to the spokesperson, “Springsteen was cooperating throughout the process.” Because well, he probably knew that he was going to go to jail ASAP. What do you do at that moment? According to TMZ, Bruce Springsteen has a court appearance in the coming weeks and has no known prior arrests for DWI. Springsteen’s representatives have not responded to a request for a comment. News of the rocker’s arrest surfaced a few days after Springsteen appeared in a narrated Super Bowl commercial for Jeep, in which he urged Americans to move toward the political “middle” in the spirit of unity amid a bitter division. Springsteen stated, “There’s hope on the road up ahead.” Last November, the Boss' album "Letter to You" debuted at number two on the new Billboard 200 chart. He became the first musician to have a new top five charting album and each of the last six decades. In his autobiography Born to Run, the musician admitted that he had avoided drugs and didn’t try alcohol until he was 22-years-old, in part because of how drinking had affected his father. He also revealed that he had a long history of depression, which is a surprise to many fans. He has been heavily praised by fans and bandmates (E Street Band) for his healthy living habits such as avoiding drugs and alcohol, hitting the gym, and giving him credit for the stamina to perform long concerts throughout the decade. 

During former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial, another banner was spotted flying over his Mar-a-Lago estate, and it definitely made a statement. According to CNN, “Convict Trump and lock him up!” was seen flying across his residence in Florida, while Trump’s lawyers, like Bruce Castor, David Schoen, and Michael van der Veen, were defending the former Republican president in Washington, D.C. The banner comes after two other banners that had been seen flying over the estate, also insulting Trump for his time in the White House. One had read, “Trump Worst President Ever,” and trailing behind it was another that said, “Trump You Pathetic Loser Go Back to Moscow.” It’s still unsure who was behind all of these banners, but we can guarantee that it’s probably not the work of any GOP senators. The second impeachment trial is the Senate hearing that came after the House impeachment trial, where lawmakers voted in favor of holding Trump responsible for the incitement of the siege of the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump rioters. As Trump’s defense teamwork to counter-act House Impeachment managers in Congress working to fully impeach the former president, Trump hasn’t helped his own cause, as he and his relationship with former Vice President Mike Pence seemingly went down in flames in front of the American people. Although Rep. Jamie Raskin had called on Trump to come to testify under oath, even over the possibility of a phone call Trump made on the day of the riot. But Trump decided otherwise. However, with only needing a two-thirds vote in favoring how inciting the U.S. Capitol riot did not fall under any sort of constitutionality, Trump has already been impeached by the House. Meanwhile, newly Democratic President Joe Biden has been busy and has already signed numerous amount of executive orders in changing the way the U.S. has been run in the past. 

"The Mandalorian" star Gina Carano is currently under fire on social media after sharing a post implying that being a Republican today is like being Jewish during the Holocaust. Carano previously starred in the successful Disney + series "The Mandalorian" alongside co-star Pedro Pascal. A spokesperson for Lucasfilm released a statement of the incident, noting, “Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future. Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.” The actress, who has been very vocal about her political views, has also been dropped as a client by UTA, according to an agency spokesperson. On Wednesday, the hashtag #FireGinaCarano was trending on Instagram and on Twitter following a post from the conservative actress and former mixed martial artist that caused a severe backlash. The post has since been deleted, but several screenshots were widely shared by users on social media, who heavily called out for her firing from the Disney + Star Wars show. This isn’t the first time that Carano, who played former Rebel Alliance soldier Cara Dune on "The Mandalorian," has been the focus of social media for her transparent political comments. Last November the actress issued several controversial tweets, one in which she mocked mask-wearing people amid the coronavirus pandemic and another in which she suggests that voter fraud occurred during the 2020 presidential election. According to a source with knowledge of Lucasfilm, the company had been looking for a reason to fire the actress for 2 months, and this recent comment was the final straw. "The Mandalorian" debuted on Disney + in November 2019 and helped power the successful streaming service to an impressive subscription number. For her character, Carano became an instant fan favorite and was praised for bringing in a calm strength to the role. But, unfortunately, her tweets have also made her a social media controversial figure among the popular Star Wars fandom. According to The Hollywood Reporter, there were talks by LucasFilm of creating a show that focused fully on Carano’s character, but they quickly scraped the plants following her tweets. Multiple Mandalorian spinoffs are currently in the works from executive producers Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau, including "Rangers of the New Republic," which could have potentially starred Carano. But, after the latest social media post, the decision to cut ties with the actress came quickly. Carano first came to light as an MMA fighter and has appeared in high-profile projects such as Deadpool and Fast and Furious 6. She was cast in 2011 by Steven Soderbergh in Haywire, which is a film that launched her acting career. Her representatives have not released any comments on the situation. 

First of all, let’s get something straight: Gorilla Glue Spray Adhesive is not the same thing as hairspray. Using it as such could spiral into a medical disaster that horrifies the country… if you post a cringey, viral TikTok about it. The Gorilla Glue Girl posted a TikTok video six days ago explaining her dire hairstyling mishap. When Brown ran out of her usual Got2b Glued hairspray Brown reached for... what she thought was... the next best thing. Brown put Gorilla Glue adhesive spray directly on her scalp. And, it did work. Too well. As Brown demonstrates in her video, seemingly nothing can remove the super glue sheen. “It don’t move!” she insists, and goes on to use shampoo and conditioner on her head while on camera. Brown’s hair had been frozen like that for about a month by the time she posted on TikTok. Though Brown has not confirmed this, many social media users wondered if she had confused the prominent glue brand with an actual hair gel called Gorilla Snot Gel from the Moco de Gorila line. On Instagram, Brown explained that she had also tried using coconut oil, olive oil, and tea tree oil, to no avail. Eventually, she went to the emergency room where nurses scrubbed her scalp with acetone wipes (essentially nail polish remover) that burned. The injury was then treated with sterile water. Listen to her radio interview about the experience. The response from Gorilla Glue is pretty straightforward: read the warning labels on products. Using glue for any cosmetic purposes is always a bad idea. But the company did suggest “soaking the affected area in warm, soapy water or apply[ing] rubbing alcohol to the affected area.” The plight of Tessica Brown is trending once again as the now-famous Gorilla Glue Girl receives real medical treatment. A Beverly Hills plastic surgeon offered to removed the glue from Brown’s head for free and according to TMZ, Brown took him up on the offer. She left her home in Louisiana to travel to Los Angeles for the extensive procedure which would have normally cost $12,500. Hopefully this will finally put an end to the hairstyle from hell. Although it leaves me to wonder what will happen to the more than $18,000 that Brown has collected her through her Go Fund Me.

Instead of doing this blog thing I should be listening to this album... 

Nah. Maybe not. Do you know what makes me chuckle? When families reenact photos from their, like this one...

Awe. If I had a TADIS I would go back in time to see Marilyn Monroe, but knowing my luck she'd be too busy talking to Ella Fitzgerald at the the Mocambo, a popular Hollywood night club at the time. 

They would not book Ella because of segregation. Marilyn told the manager that she would reserve a front row table every night Ella performed there. Ella performed a week later in 1955. So, I had a thought... this is how you keep Tom Brady form getting another ring...

Hahahahahaha. Okay, so, when two parents come together to marry after a prior marriage, a complex dynamic is in store. Their children from the prior marriage are forced to collide and, ideally, mix comfortably to form a new, expanded family. For that to work, the newly married parents must be very deliberate about how they handle the attention they give, the priorities they exemplify, and the patience they show. One mixed family recently hit a bump in the road when it geared up for even further expansion. The mother of that family eventually consulted the feedback of the Phile. She mapped out the key moving parts in the recent ordeal. 

“Background: I have been in a relationship with my partner for 5 years. He has 2 daughters from a previous relationship and we had out first daughter together about 1 and a half years ago. I found out I was pregnant a few months ago and have been putting off making any baby announcements. I’m due in 3 months and the only people that know are our parents and siblings. I decided to order a ‘big sister’ shirt for my daughter and snapped a few pictures to send to my extended family (aunts/uncles/cousins). The pictures came out cuter than I expected, and I asked him if it was okay with him if I posted them to social media. He said that not having the older girls in the picture made him feel like he has two separate families. I pointed out that, in a way, he does. All four of the girls are his daughters, but they aren’t all mine. The older girls are very close to their mom, and I explained to him, that although they are part of our family, I am not their mom and they will never view me as such, and being a step-mom is very different than being a mom. At the end of day it’s not really a huge deal to me, I don’t post on social media frequently, but this whole situation has me feeling upset. I feel like he wants to pretend that we are not a blended family. I mean he does have two kids with one women and two kids with another. And I feel like he doesn’t acknowledge that, or the fact that, although the girls are all equal, they are different because they don’t have the same moms. Am I wrong?" I think so. He wants he’s older girls to be included with his younger girls. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. By keeping them separate, YOU’RE the one pretending you don’t have a blended family. You have to be together to blend. If its not a big deal to you, why can’t you include your step children? I mean, it's no a big deal, right? His daughters are part of your marriage, and your children are their half-sisters, not step-siblings. And going out of your way to exclude them? When you decided be with him and have children with him, you became one family, he doesn’t have two separate families at all. The eldest girls might not share your blood and DNA, but they do with your other children. The girls are probably closer to their mom because you won’t even give them a chance. With your approach moving forward, it’s likely that photo ops in the future will be far more inclusive. If you have a problem and you'd like my opinion on it then email me at thepeverettphile@gmail.com. 

Hahaha. If you spot the Mindphuck let me know. Let's take a live look at Port Jeff, shall we?

Looks nice and the ferry is there, heading out to Bridgeport, Connecticut. Now from the home office in Port Jefferson, New York here is...

Top Phive Things Said Yesterday On Valentine's Day From Quarantine

5. This will be the first year I'm spending Valentine's Day alone because of hotel quarantine. Usually I spend it alone because of my personality. r

4. Normal Valentine's Day: Oh, it's Valentine's Day? I forgot. Pandemic Valentine's Day: These flowers will be the only beautiful thing I get to look at this weekend so make them fucking count. 

3. Manager scheduled me 10-6:30 on Valentine's Day. Do I have plans? No. But she could've asked. 

2. Me in the 20s: boyfriend breaks up with me and not plans for Valentine's Day. Me in my 40s: Husband stays maid to me and no plans for Valentine's Day. 

And the number one thing said on Valentine's Day from quarantine was...

1. Do I have to get COVID and a Valentine's Day AND an anniversary gift? 

Christmas wreath

Christmas bagel

Larry Flynt 

November 1st, 1942 — February 10th, 2021 

He called himself a "smut peddler." He has a solid gold wheelchair, won a case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, found and then lost Jesus, and was depicted by Woody Harrelson in a movie about his life. Hero? You be the judge. 

George Shultz 

December 13th, 1920 — February 6th, 2021 

His wife was married 3 times and all of her husbands died of cancer. Coincidence? Yeah, probably. 

Leon Spinks 

July 11th, 1953 — February 5th, 2021 

The only boxer to beat Ali in the ring for a championship, and undefeated lifetime worldwide against dentists.

Today's guest is an American musician, singer, songwriter, actor, and political activist. He is best known for his tenure with the rock band Rage Against the Machine and then with Audioslave. his book Whatever It Takes is the 145th book to be pheatured in the Phile's Book Club. Please welcome to the Phile... Tom Morello. 

Me: Hey, Tom, welcome to the Phile, sir. How are you? 

Tom: Hello, thank you for having me. 

Me: So, Rage Against the Machine broke up, right? 

Tom: Yeah, but a Rage Against the Machine tour was supposed to be happening now but it's not. At some point in the future I hope that we are able to have concerts once again. I'll be there. 

Me: What do you miss the most about touring? 

Tom: Different incarnations has different relevance. Touring with my solo act has a real like intimate connection, with fans both new and life long. When I'm touring with Rage Against the Machine of course it has the endless sea of bouncing fans, there's no other feeling like that with the adrenalin rush that I get from that. I also selflessly miss seeing live shows as well so I'm hopeful in the to too distant future we'll be able to reboot all of that. 

Me: Is there a show that they saw as a kid that made you want to be a musician? 

Tom: Yeah, Kiss in 1975 changed my life. 

Me: How so, Tom? 

Tom: A number of shows changed my life but the first concert I saw was Kiss. I was 11 or 12-years-old, I saw them at the Chicago Stadium. I was a comic book collector and they comic book heroes come to life. With the huge heavy metal riffs and the mythology really swept me away, so going to a concert then my seat was behind a pole on the side of the stage and still it was the most cathartic and euphoric two hours of my existence that I really felt inhabited of the holy spirit of rock and roll. In my photo memoir there's actually a picture from that night, I had just returned home from the Chicago Stadium, I was clutching some program in my hand and with my bootleg t-shirt on and you could see I really had come inhabited. My path was now marked. 

Me: So, what was it like when you first started to play guitar? 

Tom: I didn't start playing guitar until I was 17-years-old. I only heard of one guitarist ever who made albums who began playing that late and that was Robert Johnson. He had to sell his soul to the devil to get good. Me with my Catholic upbringing that was not an option on the menu so I really had to devote myself to the instrument and while pursuing an Honors Major in an ivy league university I was practicing six to eight hours EVERY single day. Reflecting on that I realized there a lot of things in the world that I don't have control over but I had control over that. It was just a matter of nothing else but my WILL that would be the determining factor that if I got better on the guitar or not. I had a considerable amount of will so I dove all the way in and found this relationship and the security almost in that relationship that it's just me and the guitar and I'm the determiner of how that relationship goes. By applying myself holy to that process I saw this kind of rising tide o technique and ability that I just wanted to see how high that tide could arise. 

Me: What were you practicing? 

Tom: At the time it was all guitarists when we first pick up he guitar we admire other guitar players and wanted to emulate them and I was very on board with that. So it was two hours a day of nothing but technique. Then it was two hours a day of music theory, of course I was behind. I stumbled upon a lot of music theory, my playing was two hours a day of writing songs and coming up with unique sounds. My favorite two hours of the day was improvisational jamming. I would basically take the radio dial and go to a random station, classical, jazz, new age, metal, pop, and just try to fit in with whatever music was coming out of the speakers and just keep flipping the dial and try and be in these different bands and that really helped my growth. 

Me: I did the same with the kazoo. Ha! Just kidding. I do play the kazoo but not eight hours a day. So, you were very regimented from the beginning? 

Tom: I was very regimented. Regimented may be a very good word. I will say it wasn't until years later that I began finding my voice as an artist. It was a very short amount of time, I was putting that much time into it, I was developing a technique, I was able to jam impressively, play the Van Halen or the Yngwie Malmsteen licks and whatnot. I was able to write a song which I didn't particularly like but I was able to write and understand song structure. It was really until the beginning of Rage Against the Machine where I began to find my own unique voice on the instrument and play and write music that sounded like me. 

Me: Okay, we have to talk about Rage Against the Machine. What was there first show with that band? I think I saw you guys in concert. 

Tom: At Cal State Northridge, being introduced by Johnny Sabella, a student at Cal State Northridge. Every band has that fifth member, she's the one that helped us drive to gigs. We couldn't make it without a Johnny Sabella, you know what I mean? She was ours and she booked that gig and that was the first time we played in public. We opted up with an instrumental version of "Killing in the Name." Here's a photo from that gig... 

Me: That's cool, man. Why the instrumental version? 

Tom: That song did not have lyrics at the time. That video has been on YouTube forever and the one thing I always noticed about that concert is the band arrived pretty mic already fully formed. 

Me: Why do you think that is? 

Tom: As much as I love to over intellectualize rock and roll music it's simply a matter of chemistry and it is beyond explanation. A few of the riffs that became Rage songs from that first record I'd been carrying around for a while and I jammed with different Hollywood musicians, some of whom later became notable musicians and they never sounded anything like that. It was those four guys and in a way it's chemistry. It's great musicians who played greater together. 

Me: When did you realize you can do a bunch of new stuff with the guitar that has never been done before? 

Tom: It was really at the beginning of Rage where I self identified as the DJ in the band. We played an early gig at someplace else in the Valley with two cover bands. We were opening up for two cover bands and each of those cover bands had a smolten shredding guitar player in it and I was like if I'm the third jackass molten shredding guar player at this absolutely worthless gig on a Wednesday night in the Valley I don't need to run on that same hamster wheel. I began practicing my eight hours a day, practicing my playing and along with that came the revelation that the electric guitar is a relatively new instrument on the planet. It's just a piece of wood with some wires and some electronics. The thing that mystified me prior to that was all my favorite guitarists in the guitar magazines, etc said it's all been done before. I was like has it? How did we? Is that scientifically verifiable? I began to listening to and practicing non guitar oriented things, I would practice the soundscapes of Public Enemy's production. I bagged to practice DJ stuff, I began practicing animal noises and helicopters, stuff I would hear from my apartment in Hollywood out of the window where it was leaf blowers or whatever. When I practice that stuff it may not sound like a leaf blower but if I'm practicing leaf blower sounds eight hours a day I'm not going to sound like Eddie Van Halen or Keith Richards. 

Me: Was that annoying or exciting? 

Tom: I was in a lane by myself. So the combination of the big heavy Zeppelin/Sabbath riffs and the R2-D2 music I thought this was a unique voice I'm developing on the instrument. And a vocabulary of sounds that was beginning to write a new language. It was exciting. 

Me: A lot of your fans became political I think because of Rage... what do you think of that and when did you become so political? 

Tom: One as a confirmation when people say can music change the world obviously the answers yes. It changed your world, it changed my world. That's the mission. Music was made absolutely uncompromisingly and unapologetically and I think that's why it resonated as true. I can't go to a grocery store without meeting someone, whether it'd a public defender to brick throwing anarchist, who didn't have some connection to those records. For me it was artists like the Clash and Public Enemy. The difference was that rather those artists exposing me to a new set of ideas they were artists that I felt were harmonized wit ideas that I had that were unrepresented in the place that I grew up. It made me feel less alone in my anti-imperialist convictions. As a 16 and 17-year-old I grew up in a very conservative suburb of Chicago where the idea was I worked at a Dairy Queen, I go to the University of Illinois, I get a nice cubicle job... the end. Joe Strummer and Chuck D were telling truths in a way the teachers in my school weren't, broadcasters on the TV weren't, and it really made me realize there was a world beyond Dairy Queen and U of I and that cubicle that I might be a part of. 

Me: Were you surprised the band go so big? 

Tom: I was surprised that we were able to book a club gig. It's hard to paint a picture in 1991. There were no neo-marxist, multi ethnic, rap punk metal band. It wasn't a thing. Literally there was zero commercial ambition. We wrote those songs with the only goal was to make a cassette demo to make a record. I had a record deal before with a band with more commercial leanings and I knew a record deal didn't mean shit. Like my life got worse not better when I had a record deal so that didn't matter. So we just made music as a means of self expression, with Zack's tremendous lyrics and the bands musical chemistry and that was it. I remember the first time that anyone outside the four of us heard a note of our music. We were rehearsing in this industrial complex and this worker guy would pass buy every once in a while and said, "What are you guys doing?" I said, "We're a band." He said, "Can I listen?" I said, "I suppose so." At the time we only had a few songs together so he sat down in our rehearsal room, he was the first guy to ever hear Rage Against the Machine and we didn't have a name or anything and we played him a few songs and the cymbals died away at the end of the last song and we asked him what did he think. He stood up and he said, "Your music makes me want to fight." 

Me: Haha. What did you think of that? 

Tom: I don't know, that probably was some indicator that we probably should have out it on a poster. 

Me: Ha. So, you didn't think you'd make it big? 

Tom: The answer is no, but I will say the very first time we performed in public it was obvious that there was a connection to an audience that was very different than anything I've ever been around. 

Me: Isn't it a bit surprising that you'd find guys for the band that you'd get along so well with? 

Tom: Yeah, its when lightning strikes and can count that bands in history that had that. I just feel very fortunate and honored with Tim and Brad and Zack to be fortunate enough to make their acquaintance and here we are talking about those records 30 years later. 

Me: I think I remember hearing that cops showed up and shut you guys down outside the Democratic National Convention. Am I right? 

Tom: Yeah, we were filming the video for "Sleep Now In the Fire," the director Michael Moore got arrested. 

Me: What was that like for you guys? Was that exciting or stressful? 

Tom: That part wasn't stressful. Being in a band is stressful. I always felt that for me the north star was always the music and the mission. I felt like I didn't chose to be a guitar player, that chose me. I had these deep radical and political ambitions for like the world and I'm stuck being a guitar player. And so I was like how do I find a way by being in a rock band to manifest those ideas? That was the challenge for all four of us. 

Me: Your music became protest chants after the murder of George Floyd, did you think how happy you are that your music lasted this long or did you think how sad it must be? Does that make sense? 

Tom: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't know that we ever anticipated a three and half minute song would end racism on a global scale but it is a testament that music, not just Rage Against the Machine, but music is an important component of social movements. And there's a unique thing in song that music pre-dates spoken language. Something deep in the human DNA and the reptilian brain that resumes to the gathering of a tribe and the chanting of a lyric or a beat or whatever feels like there truth that very little else does. I'm happy that Rage music and some of my own music and other music has been heard in the streets in 2020 and I suspect it'll be heard in the streets this year, in 2021 as well. 

Me: I have to mention Audioslave that you were in with Chris Cornell What was Chris like? I was supposed to have him on the Phile before his death. 

Tom: He was this mythical guy. I never stopped being a fan of Chris, he was a friend before he was a band mate. He was a mysterious dude. I had run into Chris at gigs or at a barbecue or something, but when Tim and Brad and I had spoke Rick Rubin who was our friend and knew was going to make our record or whatever it was. So Rick and I went up to Chris's house and there was darkening skies and it was kind of woodsy and almost Transylvania like. Of course Chris lives in the last lonely Spanish castle like thing at the last loneliest hill. We pull up into the driveway where there are some motorcycles around, and there is this long stairway. The doors open like Addams Family style, with no one opening the doors and out comes Chris's lanky six foot two form and he slowly lumbered down the stairs and Rick turns to me and says, "Let's get the fuck outta here!" Ha ha ha. We thought our souls were imperiled. There was certainly something in Chris that I think the significant part is his artistic genius was interwoven with these demons that were baked in from an early age. I felt that in his music, in his lyrics and in his life. There were definitely corners that I never had access too. I think about him every day. I think about him every single day. 

Me: That's cool. Thanks so much for being on the Phile, Chris. This was cool. 

Tom: Thanks very much for having me.

That about does it for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to Tom for a cool interview. The Phile will be back on Friday with actor Bill Nighy. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye. Kiss your brain.

Give me some rope, tie me to dream, give me the hope to run out of steam, somebody said it could be here. We could be roped up, tied up, dead in a year. I can't count the reasons I should stay. One by one they all just fade away...