Tim Commerford
| Tim Commerford | |
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 Tim Commerford on stage playing at Big Day Out 2008 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Timothy Robert Commerford |
| Also known as | Timmy C, Y.tim.K., Tim Bob, tim.com |
| Born | February 26, 1968 Irvine, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Rapcore, funk metal, alternative metal/rock |
| Occupations | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Bass, backing vocals |
| Years active | 1991 - Present |
| Labels | Interscope, Epic |
| Associated acts | Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, Puscifer |
| Website | ratm.com |
| Notable instruments | |
| Fender Jazz Bass | |
Timothy Robert Commerford (born February 26, 1968 in Irvine, California), also known by his various monikers/stage names (Timmy C, Y. tim K., Simmering T, Tim Bob, and tim.com) is the bassist/backing vocalist for American rock band Rage Against The Machine and the now-defunct supergroup Audioslave.
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Biography
Tim Commerford was born on February 26, 1968 in Irvine, California, and was youngest of six children. His father, an aerospace engineer, worked on the Space Shuttle and his mother was a teacher/mathematician. He is of French and Irish descent. When Commerford was in fifth grade, he met Zack de la Rocha. Around this time, his mother was diagnosed with cancer. Shortly thereafter Commerford's father divorced and remarried, his mother moved to Sacramento, California to live with her sister, while seeking treatment and Tim remained with his father. Around this time (age 15) Zack introduced Commerford to bass, and Commerford soon found an outlet in music, and poetry. Commerford's mother died of brain cancer in 1988.
In 1993 Commerford was introduced to mountain biking by his future father-in-law Jimbo Insko. Tim has since become an obsessive mountain biker, even going so far as to thank all of his bikes in the liner notes for The Battle of Los Angeles. Tim also featured in Mountain Biking UK magazine issue 242 in an interview/ride. A live show was cancelled due to Commerford breaking a wrist because of this activity in 1995. In 2006 he rode a bike from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara with a group of people (including John McEnroe) to see Pearl Jam and Sonic Youth play at the Santa Barbara Bowl.
In 2001 Commerford married his longtime girlfriend Aleece Dimas, who is an AIDS activist and medical professional. Commerford and Dimas have had two sons together, Xavier and Quentin, the family lives in Malibu, California, which is well-suited for mountain biking.
Commerford is known for his numerous tattoos. His first tattoo was a solid black band around his left arm to remember his mother by. He soon had half of a face tattooed on his back, and various other designs on his arms. In 1993 he began work on an intricate design on his left leg. By 1996 this tattoo covered over 65% of his body (covering his arms, left leg, chest, back, and two swirls on his posterior).
Career
Rage Against the Machine (1991-2000)
In 1991, guitarist Tom Morello quit his band Lock Up, in the hopes of forming a new outfit. He began to frequent local clubs, and viewed Zack de la Rocha rapping. He soon called Brad Wilk, who had auditioned for Lock Up. Zack de la Rocha convinced Tim, who had been a longtime friend at school, to play bass. After frequenting the L.A. club circuit, Rage Against the Machine signed a record deal with Epic Records in 1992. That same year, the band released their self titled debut. They achieved a phenomenal amount of mainstream success and released three more studio albums.
In late 2000, after Tim’s stunt at the VMA’s, the disgruntled de la Rocha quit the band. On September 13, 2000, Rage Against the Machine performed their last concert at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The remaining members formed Audioslave with former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell.
Audioslave (2001-2007)
After Zack de la Rocha left Rage Against the Machine, music producer Rick Rubin suggested the three remaining members of Rage get together with former Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell, and "see what happens."
By May 2001, they had begun to work in the studio, writing their first song “Light My Way.” By April 2002, the newly formed band had split due to “outside” pressures, mainly from management companies. They soon got back together though, and on November 19, 2002 they released their eponymous debut, which would attain triple platinum status. Audioslave attained a large amount of success, and released another two studio albums. On May 5, 2005 Tim & Audioslave played a free concert in front of 65,000 Cuban fans, becoming the first American rock band to play a concert within Cuba.
On February 15, 2007, Chris Cornell officially announced his departure from Audioslave, disbanding the band.
Rage Against the Machine reunion (2007-Present)
On April 29, 2007, Rage Against the Machine reunited at the Coachella Music Festival. The band played in front of an EZLN backdrop to the largest crowds of the festival. The performance was initially thought to be a one-off, this turned out not to be the case. The band played 7 more shows in the United States in 2007 (including their first non-festival concert in 7 years at the Alpine Valley Music Theater in East Troy, Wisconsin), and in January 2008, they played their first shows outside the US as part of the Big Day Out Festival in Australia and New Zealand, and then at the Reading and Leeds festival in the summer of 2008, in England.
The band has since continued to tour around the world, headlining many large festivals in Europe and the United States, including Lollapalooza in Chicago. In 2008 the band also played shows in Denver, Colorado and St. Paul, Minnesota; the locations of the Democratic National Convention and Republican National Convention, respectively.
Side Projects
Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk contributed in Maynard James Keenan's side project Puscifer and his album "V" Is for Vagina on the track "Momma Sed."
Equipment
Basses
Commerford had been a major endorser of Fender basses since the mid 1990s, and is best known for playing personally-modified Fender Jazz Basses with Precision Bass necks [2], hand-wired pickups and Badass II bridges. Commerford's main bass from the early days was a Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay, used almost exclusively until about 1995 when he switched to the Fender Jazz Bass.
From the peak of his career in the mid-1990s, Commerford played Fender basses for 12 years, until he made his switch to Lakland in 2008.
Tim Commerford's current tour basses:
- Lakland Black Joe Osborn Signature - Tim's main tour bass. It is Black and features a Dual Access Bridge (as do all of his other basses). It is used on the majority of songs.
- Lakland 3-Tone Translucent Joe Osborn Signature - Used on songs from The Battle of Los Angeles. Tortoise Shell Pickgaurd and Rosewood fretboard. **This bass was not used on Battle Of LA, as Tim acquired it in early 2008, prior to the AU tour**
- Lakland 3-Tone Translucent Joe Osborn Signature - Pearloid Pickgaurd and Maple fretboard.
- Lakland Blonde Translucent Joe Osborn Signature - Tim's latest bass. Has a Rosewood fretboard with Birdseye Maple blocks and a Black pickgaurd. Used as of August 2008.
Effects
Tim is very secretive of his tone, even going so far as to put effects on his pedalboard that he doesn’t even use, making his own gear, and even removing the labels off some of his effects. Here are some effects which he has used during his career.
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Amplifiers & Cabinets
Throughout his career, Commerford has used Ampeg amplifiers and cabinets live, and presumably in the studio. For his years in Rage Against The Machine, he used two Ampeg SVT-2PRO heads and two Ampeg 8x10 Cabinets. Both the cabinets and heads were mounted in road cases that have graffiti art work presumably done by Commerford himself. One was usually draped with an upside-down American flag which was occasionally burnt during concerts, most notably at the band's 1999 Woodstock performance during "Killing in the Name". Since then, Commerford has continued to use Ampeg as his main amplification, but has also used other equipment from Ashdown and Mesa/Boogie [3]. Currently, he used two Ampeg SVT-VR heads (as of May 2008) and his original two Ampeg Cabinets with graffiti from the 2000-era setup.
Discography
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Rage Against the Machine
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Audioslave
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References
- ↑ http://www.happycow.net/famous/tim_commerford/
- ↑ ”Tim Commerford: Audioslave’s bassist talks Fender, touring, Rage, Rush and the Police …” by Fender News
- ↑ Tim Commerford With Audioslave
External links
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