See Young Zack de la Rocha Play Guitar in His First Band

We were supposed to see Zack de la Rocha hit the stage with Rage Against the Machine this year for the first time since 2011. But, thanks to the global pandemic, the tour has been postponed until next year. For now, we can watch this footage of de la Rocha’s pre-RATM band, Hard Stance.

The vocalist joined the straight edge band in 1987, where he was actually the guitarist, rather than the frontman. A 30-minute video was posted on YouTube today from one of the band’s shows in 1990, watch it below.

Hard Stance didn’t have any official releases until 2018, when Indecision Records released their full discography, titled “Foundation.” It can be purchased here as either a digital download or an LP.

As noted in Joel McIver’s Know Your Enemy: The Story of Rage Against the Machine, when de la Rocha became Hard Stance’s vocalist in 1988, they hired Vic DiCara on guitar and renamed themselves Inside Out. The group released the EP No Spiritual Surrender in 1990, but disbanded the following year because de la Rocha wanted to move toward a more hip-hop influenced musical style. Inside Out had an unreleased track called “Rage Against the Machine,” and once he met Tom Morello, the rest was history.

Luckily, Rage Against the Machine’s story isn’t over yet, and we’ll get to see them reunite next year.