'Street Sweepin' into Overdrive

Step 1: Take one serving of Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, the Nightwatchmen).

Step 2: Take one serving of Boots Riley (The Coup).

Step 3: In a ‘metal’ bowl, mix Morello and Riley with a bit of rap-rock and alternative.

Step 4: Bake on ‘High’ until a Jane’s Addiction or Nine Inch Nails consistency is reached.

Step 5: Sprinkle in a bit of funk. Prepare and serve your Street Sweeper Social Club!

It’s a recipe concocted by one of rock’s greatest chef’s, Tom Morello and has been around longer than you may think. The band, Street Sweeper Social Club, at first, was a leisurely project that both Morello and Riley collaborated on. They formed in 2007 and played at benefits and several Nightwatchmen tours, but after a phone call from Nine Inch Nails front man, Trent Reznor, the band’s ‘work-at-your-own-pace’ production pulled a one-eighty when Reznor asked the guys to be the opening act for the Nails and Jane’s Addiction’s summer tour. The members of the Street Sweeper Social Club accepted the offer and are currently opening for every Nails/Addiction show in North American.

Their self-titled, debut album will be released on June 16, filled with 11-tracks of what Morello describes as, “revolutionary party jams. It’s got huge steamroller riffs combined with depth, charge, funk, while Boots unloads clip after clip of incendiary rhymes rich with satire and venom.” Morello’s socio-political views are expressed through Riley’s lyrical flow, and of the band’s overall message Riley explains, “This is a time when the working class is being fleeced left and right. More families will be homeless and more people will be jobless. They’ll need something to listen to on their ipods while storming Wall Street.” Fans can buy the first single, “100 Little Curses” on Itunes and if you want to hear more from the guys, check out their Myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/streetsweepersocialclub.

- Jessica Cole

Currently Listening to: "That's the Way" by Led Zeppelin from the album Led Zeppelin III

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