AUDIOSLAVE Guitarist And SYSTEM OF A DOWN Singer Land Controversial Interview

March 23, 2006

Launch Radio Networks reports: AUDIOSLAVE guitarist Tom Morello and SYSTEM OF A DOWN singer Serj Tankian have conducted a rare interview with convicted killer and controversial author and activist Mumia Abu-Jamal for their Axis of Justice radio program. According to MTV.com, the interview will air on the program tomorrow evening (Friday, March 24) in Los Angeles. The show will be archived at AxisoOfJustice.org and will also be available as a podcast. Morello said that scheduling the talk was a challenge, explaining, "He's a difficult person to interview as he only gets two 15-minute telephone calls a week. So it has to be planned pretty meticulously, but we were able to get it done and it was pretty great."

Abu-Jamal has been on death row since his 1982 murder trial, where he was convicted of fatally shooting a Philadelphia police officer. A member of the Black Panther Party and a journalist, Jamal insisted he was framed, and evidence supporting his claim has surfaced in the years since the trial. A January decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Philadelphia, has opened the door for a possible retrial.

Morello's former band, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, along with the BEASTIE BOYS, STING, MOS DEF and other artists have spoken out in Abu-Jamal's defense or raised money for his legal efforts.

Morello and Tankian's monthly Axis Of Justice program, an offshoot of their activist organization of the same name, has also featured interviews with figures such as Michael Moore and Noam Chomsky.

Morello will perform as the NIGHTWATCHMAN this Saturday (March 25) in San Francisco and later this spring in New York. AUDIOSLAVE is completing its third album for a tentative June release, while SYSTEM OF A DOWN will co-headline Ozzfest this summer.

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