Current radio host Diane to front Rage Against the Machine tribute: ‘I have a lot to get off my chest’

She’s become a fixture on the local radio dial with her chill, congenial demeanor. She’s been seen around town a lot performing as a fun, funky songwriter. She was all smiles and good cheers waving to crowds in last year’s Twin Cities Pride Parade.

So what is the affable Diane Miller doing fronting a tribute to Rage Against the Machine, one of the angriest, most manic aggro-male hard-rock bands of all time?

You can probably guess.

“Especially as a queer woman living under the current administration, and the daughter of an immigrant, I feel like I have a lot to get off my chest,” the 38-year-old rocker said.

Known from her “Local Show” hosting duties on the Current and her many local gigs billed simply by her first name, Diane is heading up a tribute to the ’90s rap/rock giants at the Turf Club on Friday.

The all-starry show — billed as “Rage Against the Regime” — is doubling as her birthday party. It will feature her frequent bandmate Al Church on guitar and guests including Meghan Kreidler of Kiss the Tiger, Lizzo cohort Sophia Eris and the Suburbs’ guitarist Jeremy Ylvisaker.

Diane has actually led several previous Rage tribute shows before this one, going back to her roots as the bandleader of D Mills & the Thrills and a well-known rapper in Fargo a decade ago. Even she was a bit surprised at how well those early tributes went.

Pressed to explain why she makes a good stand-in for Rage frontman Zack de la Rocha, the rapper-turned-rocker recounted how she also used to cover Jay-Z and OutKast before going down the RATM hole.

“I’ve always had a good skill for matching rappers rhythmically,” she said. “Zack is as great as any MC, and he’s excellent about syncopation and cadence, which are things I think I’m good at.”

Diane put aside her Raging capabilities for most of the past half-decade to focus on her original music. But then … well, you know.

“With everything going on with Trump right now, it just felt like everything was aligned to do it again,” she said.

Last seen in Minnesota performing at Target Center during the Republican National Convention in 2008, RATM was a famously political and topical protest band with firebrand radio hits such as “Killing in the Name,” “Guerrilla Radio” and “Bulls on Parade.” The Los Angeles rockers never formally aligned with any party; they also played a protest gig during the Democratic Convention in ’08. However, their lyrics railed against fascism, racism, corporate greed and any infringement on human rights — all hot topics of late in America.

She and Church will be joined by bassist George Hadfield and drummer Mike Gunvalson, all of whom also recently served as ex-Replacement Tommy Stinson’s backing band for some shows and recordings. Church confirmed that his new cohort has a knack for delivering RATM’s music.

“Diane brings such a sick energy and is so good at rapping, she’s a perfect fit for the Rage band,” said Church, who singled out hearing her sing/scream the NSFW refrain in “Killing in the Name” as “an absolutely cathartic experience.”

Diane, in turn, praised Church’s technical know-how and versatility — which has seen him pull off Radiohead tributes and the Hall & Oates tribute band Private Oates in addition to Tom Morello’s high-wiry guitar work — another ultra-distinctive aspect of RATM’s music.

“You give Al an assignment, and he’ll fulfill it,” she said.

One glaring difference in Friday’s tribute is the fact that a woman is taking on the assignment of lighting up Rage’s fiery music. In Diane’s mind, though, that gender flip might make this show even better or at least more meaningful than the real thing.

When: 8:30 p.m. Fri.

Where: Turf Club, 1601 W. University Av., St. Paul.