Tim Commerford was born in 1968 to a an aerospace engineer father and a mathematican mother. His dad worked on NASA's space shuttles. Tim is the youngest of 5 children. He grew up in Orange County, California.While attending grade school in his hometown, Irvine, Tim met Zach de la Rocha. Tragically, Tim's mother was diagnosed with cancer when he was a small child. His father divorced her while she was ill and she was compelled to live with Tim's sister in Sacremento. His father then remarried, leaving the family in tatters. Tim lived with his father and has said that he was abused as a child. When Tim was 15, Zach turned him on to playing bass and Tim found an outlet in music. A huge hip hop fan and jazz fan, Tim counted Cypress Hill and NWA among his early influences. When Zach crossed paths with Harvard educated guitar virtuoso Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk, the quartet formed the legendary rap metal outfit, Rage Against The Machine. With their in-your-face politics and bombastic songs, RATM enjoyed and successful career. Commerford established himself as a tour de force and won the respect of his peers. His innovative cross-genre style placed him in a league of his own. The group released 4 studio albums (Rage Against The Machine, Evil Empire, The Battle of Los Angeles and Renegades) and earned two Grammy awards before disbanding in 2000 when Zach left the band to pursue a solo career. At Rick Rubin's suggestion the remaining members of RATM jammed with former Soundgarden frontman and soloist Chris Cornell. The result was so explosive that they decided to form a new band, Audioslave, and released their debut album in November of 2002. Though Audioslave has been dubbed "the supergroup of the millenium", they see themselves more as a "garage band". Audioslave are enjoying a solid platinum status and a 13 week reign at the top spot on Billboard's Rock chart. With his success in both Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave, Tim is proof positive that lightening does strike twice. Tim is married to his longtime girlfriend, Aleece, an AIDS activist and medical professional. The couple have a son, Xavier.