Lock Up

Lock Up was a rock band that featured Tom Morello on guitar before Rage Against the Machine was formed. The band was founded by the original guitar player Mike Livingston (formerly of The Mau-Mau's) and Kevin Wood on bass. They had previously played together in the band Ella and the Blacks, which also included Brian Grillo and Brendan Mullen (founder of The Masque, the first L.A. punk rock club). Grillo became Lock Up's lead singer. Grillo had worked several years before with Martin Atkins in the latter's Brian Brain project, and then was known in Los Angeles for fronting Brian Grillo's Wild Coyote Review. The original drummer was Michael Lee, (later drummer with Sylvia Juncosa and with The Homebillies), who quit and was replaced briefly by D. H. Peligro, formerly of the Dead Kennedys and later in Red Hot Chili Peppers. After Peligro left, he was replaced by Vince Ostertag . In early 1987, Lock Up signed a production deal with Third Story Music, which was the company associated with Herb Cohen, by Evan Cohen, who later ran Manifesto Records. Cohen brought the band to the attention of Anna Statman, who was an A & R person at Slash Records. In 1988, Statman moved to a new job at Geffen Records, and Lock Up was her first signing at Geffen, in mid-1988.