Unleashing Fury: The Car’s Controversy Behind Closed Doors After ‘SNL’ Performance

Rage Against The Car’s Notable SNL Performance

The rage against the car found themselves locked in a room with Secret Service agents after their memorable performance on Saturday Night Live in 1996.

The band was featured as musical guests during the episode “Sketch Show,” hosted by billionaire Steve Forbes, who was then a recent Republican presidential candidate.

Behind The Scenes Drama

In a new documentary titled Ladies and gentlemen … 50 years of music SNL, guitarist Tom Morello reflected on the incident following the group’s rendition of “Bulls on Parade.” Morello recalls that the band had hung American flags upside down on their amplifiers, but these were removed by the SNL crew just before they began their performance. They never got to play their second song “Bullet in the Head” and were not invited back to the show.

“One thing that I think is very important is to weave your beliefs into your calling, no matter what it is, whether you’re shooting a film, working a camera, or playing guitar in a rock band,” Morello explained in the documentary.

“For a band like Rage, SNL was a great opportunity to do this. Being on SNL was something that was cherished; it was part of the DNA of American culture and entertainment.”

Morello continued, “When the proposal came to us, we thought, ‘We would be happy.’ But Rage has never done anything normal. So, we thought, how can we turn this into something crazy?”

“We heard that Steve Forbes would be hosting. He was just a Republican candidate for the presidency, the publisher of Forbes, one of the wealthiest individuals in America, and also one of the most dry and boring people to ever exist… let’s see how this plays out.”

During rehearsal, RATM displayed their upside-down American flags on the amplifiers, only to be asked to remove them for advertising considerations. Morello noted the “strange atmosphere” surrounding Forbes throughout the SNL episode.

“We told them: ‘You invited Rage Against The Machine, fuck you, we’re not doing what you tell us,’” he added.

“As showtime approached, we were ready to perform ‘Bulls on Parade,’ with our inverted flags on amplifiers. Suddenly, the stage manager was instructing his crew to ‘get rid of them now!’ Our crew reported that security was being tight.”

“There were just 35 seconds until we went live. The stage manager sent in SNL crew members, leading to a chaotic scene. Unfortunately, strong New York men managed to remove the flags from the amplifiers just seven seconds before we were set to go live.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpwufvpovae

Morello recalled the atmosphere in their dressing room as “tense” after the performance. “Our dressing room was located just across the hall from Steve Forbes’,” he said. “As time passed, a representative from SNL approached and said, ‘It seems the show is running a bit long, so we’ll cut your second song.’ And then they left us alone, which was their mistake.”

“(Bassist) Timmy (Kommerford) doesn’t take these things lightly. He expressed his emotions by taking one of the American flags, ripping it up, and tying it into a ball. You could say he weaponized it and headed towards Steve Forbes’ dressing room.”

“Forbes wasn’t in, but his family was. So, Timmy threw his ‘American rocket’ ball into the room, aiming for his aunts, cousins, wives, and kids. Thankfully, the aim wasn’t so precise, so nobody ended up hurt.”

Morello added, “However, let’s not forget that Steve Forbes had just been a presidential candidate. Suddenly, the hallway was filled with Secret Service agents. And just like that, we were locked in our dressing room while they guarded Forbes and his family.”

“We were escorted and placed on the sidewalk outside 30 Rock. You might notice that Rage didn’t say goodbye after this particular show. I still managed to make it to the after-party,” he laughed.

In other news, Timothée Chalamet hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live last weekend (January 25) and performed a trio of Bob Dylan songs to promote his new film Beyond Unknown.

Meanwhile, Rage Against The Machine responded to President Joe Biden’s decision to grant clemency to activist Leonard Peltier, stating that “justice will finally prevail.”