Rage Against The Machine is known as a controversial protest group. It’s truly their entire thing. Therefore, they were the perfect band to combat the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). This political pressure group was formed in 1985 by prominent Washington, D.C., politicians’ wives, such as Tipper Gore, former Senator Al Gore’s wife. This group aimed to censor music by increasing parental control over children’s access to music that included violence, sex, or any drug-related themes. They published the infamous “Filthy Fifteen,” a list of 15 songs deemed the most inappropriate for children.
Artists such as Frank Zappa, Dee Snider, and John Denver testified against the group in a set of hearings with the US Senate in September 1985. Additionally, Danzig famously penned his 1988 hit “Mother” in response to the group.
By 1993, the group had wound down quite a bit, yet it remained an active lobbying force in Washington, D.C. Members of Rage Against The Machine decided they were next to take on this group, but they didn’t do so in a courtroom. They did it their own way, which, in some ways, backfired.
In a recent interview with NME, guitarist Tom Morello reflected on their infamous naked protest at Lollapalooza in 1993. Instead of performing, the band stood completely naked on stage in Philadelphia for 15 whole minutes, with each letter of the acronym PMRC painted on each of their chests.
Morello Describes a ‘Murderous Outpouring’ FROM The AUDIENCE
Morello told NME, “We were going to do it in Washington, DC, but there was disagreements about what the protest was going to be, so we did it in Philadelphia. The record company had brought down everybody to be like ‘Here’s Rage Against The Machine’. Lollapalooza was a phenomenon – that year, it had sold out before they announced the bill.”
“We were the first band on. Our tour manager was the only person who knew what we planned to do, and he’d worked out we had 15 minutes before the cops arrived, and we’d have to get the hell out of there. Backstage, we have our clothes on, and Layne Staley – whose band Alice In Chains is headlining – said to me: ‘I came early today. I heard you guys are great. I can’t wait to see you.’ I reply: ‘You’re going to see us all right!”
The band stepped out in front of the massive crowd, who went wild instantly. But after nearly seven minutes, they realize the band isn’t performing at all. “During the last five minutes, it’s hostile – they’re throwing quarters at our dicks! People are booing. They now realize they’ve stepped into a pile of political art. Then we leave without playing a single song, and there’s a murderous outpouring from the crowd!”
When The Cops Came, Naked Morello Hid ON Fishbone’s TOUR BUS
Tom Morello wraps up the story with quite the mental image. “Now we’re scrambling backstage naked. The cops have arrived, and it’s every man for himself! Layne Staley probably took my clothes because he was so p***ed off! I’m running around in my sneakers and my birthday suit, so I go to the only place that a naked Black man might find refuge – on Fishbone’s tour bus! It’s 1:45 p.m., and they’re all smoking weed, so I sit down buck-a** naked and watch Star Wars!”
Photo by Gie Knaeps/Getty Images
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