Tom Morello’s ‘Hail Mary’ Moment

Even someone like Tom Morello has had to take a leap of faith.

In a recent interview with AMFM Magazine, the Rage Against the Machine guitarist shared his own take a chance/”Hail Mary” moment.

He shared, “I would say that my ‘Hail Mary’ moment was this. When I was dropped from my record label I was in a band called LOCK UP on Geffen Records. And I had never known anyone that had a record deal before. And I had my chance at the brass ring and it didn’t work out.”

“I had a couple hundred bucks in the bank account,” he continued. “And I had tried. I had listened to what managers and producers and record company people had said to try to be successful. It hadn’t worked out and I was done. I had my one chance and I blew it. And I remember sitting on my couch in my little apartment in Hollywood. And I said, ‘You know what, man? If I’m not gonna be famous, I’m never gonna play another note of music that I don’t believe in.'”

“And I stuck to that for the next 21 albums,” he added. “And it was that shift of north star from trying to be successful to being an authentic artist, which is what created music that ended up connecting with people.”

What do you consider to be your biggest “Hail Mary” moment? What do you think Tom Morello would have done if he stopped making music?