Rage Against The Machine vocalist Zack de la Rocha is hoping the growing popularity of Turnstile will encourage a new generation of listeners to explore the bands and artists who helped shape hardcore punk.
De la Rocha recently made a rare public appearance at photographer Glen E. Friedman’s Burning Flags exhibition in Barcelona, Spain. The showcase features photographs Friedman has taken throughout his career, including images of Rage Against The Machine. While there, the vocalist spoke with Binaural alongside Friedman, discussing Turnstile’s recent activism and the band’s growing cultural reach.
Turnstile recently attracted approximately 60,000 people to an event at the Washington Monument, where the band helped raise more than $280,000 for humanitarian aid in Gaza, Sudan and Lebanon. The gathering also drew comparisons to the activism of Fugazi, who previously staged an event at the same landmark.
De la Rocha sees Turnstile’s position in the current hardcore landscape as an opportunity to connect younger fans with the genre’s influential earlier acts, including Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Negative Approach and The Clash.
“It’s interesting to see this style resurfacing. I don’t know if it will have the same impact, but again, there are a lot of kids discovering it for the first time. And they do so through their first experience with bands like Turnstile. Then they start discovering Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Negative Approach, The Clash… So these bands occupy a really interesting place, like a kind of bridge. I hope that through them, people will turn their attention back to the original groups.”
He also credited Friedman with helping bring underground hardcore bands to a wider audience, pointing specifically to the photographer’s role in raising the profile of Bad Brains.
“Personally, I don’t think a band like Turnstile could exist without something like Bad Brains. And I also don’t think Bad Brains would have achieved the visibility they have without Glen’s persistence and perseverance in promoting them. Many people would never have discovered that band if it hadn’t been for him.”
De la Rocha went on to reflect on the broader relationship between music and social movements, describing how artists can give expression to tensions and frustrations that exist within society.
Friedman also weighed in, arguing that musicians should feel empowered to speak out and use their platforms to push for change.
“An artist has to do what they want to do. And I think everyone should raise their voice to try to make the world a better place. There are too many problems. Too much is happening. You can’t just stand by and do nothing. And hopefully, these bands are playing… I mean, first and foremost they’re musicians, but they’re also activists. They pick up their instruments to carry out that activism and make themselves heard. So it’s complicated…”
De la Rocha further expanded on how music can channel collective frustration and help foster a culture of resistance, referencing demonstrations and activist movements in Barcelona, Paris and the United States.
“Music has the power to become a kind of antenna, a vehicle that projects that antagonism, that fury. An understandable, dignified, and legitimate fury. And when you see new generations of bands observing what’s happening and wanting to incorporate all of that into their work, that’s where a truly revolutionary culture is born. For our generation, it was Bad Brains, Public Enemy, MC5, and other artists who were giving voice to what was happening in the world.”
He concluded by emphasizing the influence those artists and movements have had on his own work, pointing toward Friedman’s exhibition as a reminder of the cultural history that helped shape Rage Against The Machine.
“That’s why all of us, and Rage Against The Machine in particular, feel indebted to what’s happening right next door.”
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