Henry Rollins: Hardcore Punk, Writer, Actor, Fundraiser, Spoken Word Artist, Publisher, Renaissance Man.
No
one can deny that Henry Rollins is a renaissance man. The man is the
famous singer of the 80s punk vanguards, Black Flag, and the loud and
in your face, Rollins Band. The man has been on singing or talking
tours since he left his sucky straight world job at the age of 20. He
started his own publishing company 2.13.61 to publish his dozen
manuscripts and those of other great musician/writers like Nick Cave
and Exene Cervenka.
Henry can be seen in The Chase, Johnny Mnemonic, Heat, Lost Highway and
other movies, some great, some just another credit to this mans manic
work ethics. He is a spoken word artist, comedian, social commentator,
benefit fundraiser and USO entertainer. Hes been called a jackass of
tirades and a low budget renaissance man by Big Brother. Henry Rollins
is The Man.
He is currently on tour, sharing his comedic and
political spoken word with Canadians, the wisecracking East Coast, the
laid back West Coast, and God save us, hellish Middle America. I got
the chance to see Citizen Rollins tell us good ole Americans about his
USO stint, his universal leftist opinions on Bush, and to celebrate our
freedoms and rights here in the USA. He delivers his intelligent and
crude banter with hard intensity that makes you shake in your seat with
laughter at his intransigent take on the absurdity of life.
Rollins has pegged the universal feelings of despair, disgust,
revulsion and straight out denial of the worst of the human experience
in his varied bodies of work.
Before we go into the show,
which was the best three hours I spent sitting down in the last couple
of months, for sure, I want to give you some insight on why I wanted to
feature The Man. I grew up in LA and punk rock was always in the
background of my upbringing. I was never a punker, because if I tried,
I would most likely come off as a poser, at best. I appreciated the
hard sensibilities of punk and it made sense to my pissed-off
adolescent self. I heard Black Flag in high school and whenever my
family took off shopping for the day, I would listen to my shitty
cassette copy as I vented in my "poems" journal. I liked Henrys simple
lyrical structure. Lyrics such as "There was a girl I knew, She saw the
prison inside, She cursed her keeper, And swore shed get free," and "
It hurts to be alone" and "Love, nothing left inside," all made sense
to my estranged upbringing.
[BB]
Then, I go to college. I make
some interesting friends. They are interested in Rollins and we share
some tapes and books. I remember reading Now Watch Him Die and being
floored by Rollins rage and disgust with the world. The man lost his
best friend to random shitty crime. "Life can be fucked," he says. Keep
your guard up. The Mans honesty and intensity had me enthralled, though
some of his writing is downright scary. Rollins has pegged the
universal feelings of despair, disgust, revulsion and straight out
denial of the worst of the human experience in his varied bodies of
work. You might be turned off by his depressing interpretation of
humanity but The Man has pegged the worst of human nature,
straightforward and simple.
I recommend you check out
Rollins' 2-volume Rise Above CD, featuring Chuck D, Iggy Pop, Cedric
Bixler Zapata of Mars Volta, Dean Ween, Nick Olivieri of The Queens of
the Stone Age and other talented folks lending their voices for the
benefit of three wrongfully imprisoned young men.
So, this man
has me intrigued for years. I have not been keeping up on his work,
trying to be all positive and shit. Then, I open up The Stranger,
Seattles great sarcastic free weekly, and there is the ad for Rollins
spoken word tour, Shock and Awe My Ass. Wow, The Man is still around. I
wonder what he has to say nowadays. Does he have anything worthy of
hearing. Who knows. It could be some unevolved bullshit. But I hope
not. I go online to do some searching.
I am reading some
emails from www.kexp.org, the website to one of the best independent
radio station in the world; they have a link to an article written
about them on www.thecitybeat.com, a weekly based out of Cincinnati.
So, I am reading the review and thinking that I need to focus on my
Rollins research. Then, Synchronicity rears her head in my direction. I
am a firm believer in Synchronicity: The Police showed me the way to
her altar 20 years ago. I click on the entertainment page of The City
Beat, and there is an article on Rollins, written by the talented music
journalist, Chris Baker. As I am reading Bakers article, the Aha! light
in my head shines at 100 watts. BLING! Now I must find a way to contact
Rollins.
I link directly to The Official Henry Rollins Website
at www.21361.com (both website and publishing company are named after
Rollins birth date.) I read Henrys words to his fans, outdated; man, he
must be busy. I check out his store; if I had some extra twenties in my
bank account, I would buy a few books hes got up for sale. But, I dont.
Too bad for me. I like the little summaries he has for each CD. I
recommend you check out the 2-volume Rise Above CD, featuring Chuck D,
Iggy Pop, Cedric Bixler Zapata of Mars Volta, Dean Ween, Nick Olivieri
of The Queens of the Stone Age and other talented folks lending their
voices for the benefit of three wrongfully imprisoned young men.
[BB]
I
email Henry blindly using the contact email found on his website. I
don't think he will acknowledge my attempt, but The Man graciously
replies that he will answer a few short questions. I bite into my
pillow with excitement. WHY? I am just a hot-blooded fan, man. I am
excited because I love Black Flag, I love Henry Rollins, and the man is
willing to be asked random questions.
I got a million
questions to ask him. I keep it to a few short ones, which he answered
promptly; the Q&A is at the end of the article. I am a bit
disappointed with Rollins curt comments, but hey, I can't take it
personally. The Man is busy; The Man hates most people, especially
journalists.
I spend the last two weeks listening to Henrys
memoirs of touring with Blag Flag in his Get in the Van journal tapes.
I read his photographic lyrics book, Unwelcomed Songs: Collected Lyrics
1980-1992. I quickly browse through his anthology printed on Villard
Books. Wow. I am back in that dark world. I love it. Sychronicity rears
her pretty-ugly head my way again. I am going through a period of
negative communication once again. I dont know what to do or say.
Henrys elucidations jacks up my refusal to put up with other people's
bullcrap; I just say Go Get Fucked to most of it. Its that easy.
Rollins' gregarious deliverance disarms the audience while he informs, charms, and guffaws.
So,
I am broke the night Henry rolls into Seattle, this March 2004. I am
about to settle in at home to pout and count my pennies, but there is
no way I can miss his show. The Man emailed me! I must see Rollins.
I
go to the venue not really knowing what I am going to do. I dont want
to scam on his road management to get in; it somehow seems cheap and
wrong to do that to Henrys crew. I luck out when a drunk fan gets
thrown out. He gives me his ticket when he sees me, and I decide to use
it to get in since Providence bestowed me with this gift. The door
staff knows that the ticket has been used before, but the security at
this awesome venue lets me in regardless. Thanks, cohort of The Moore
Theatre and The Showbox.
Henry Rollins is The Man. I told you
that already, right? He is so funny. The Man does not do drugs, he does
not drink, and he is sexually frustrated from this straight living. The
jokes he told about jerk-off hell and the crash helmet he uses as
protection during his "enthusiastic refractory period" had this
feminist rolling in her seat. I was nuzzled in between two single men,
who kept elbowing me as if I should understand and connect to the
feeling. Ive been there boys, no need to tickle my ribs so roughly. You
know, Rollins is definitely a mans man but he is also beyond gender
constructions; he is absolutely adorable and sexy when he lets loose
his "gay" affectations. His gregarious deliverance disarms the audience
while he informs, charms, and guffaws.
[BB]
The Man rips into
Bush and entourage. He appropriately criticizes the puppet president
about his mangling of the English language, his backwards sex education
policy, his unwarranted attack on gay marriage, and his
swept-under-the-rug' cocaine drug charge of 72. Yeah, the man is
well-read and well-informed. He straight out demands that the Prez
admits he is a homophobe, robber, and uncaring murderer. And Rollins
hides those rectitudinal demands well in his comedy. Damn, he is smart
and potent.
The State of California has spawned two
entertainer-governators. There seems to be a civics cheerleader urging
bodybuilders and wrestlers to match strength in the political arena.
Me, well, I wish Henry Rollins would put on his proverbial brass
knuckles and kick some presidential ass. I am sick of wimpy arrogant
chimps running my country, my money, and what's left of my civil
rights. Citizen Rollins is the keen and mean biting underdog to go
alpha on the Bush clan.The Man is not interested, but I think that is
his self-effacing doubts talking. If Reagan the Cowboy can do it, so
can Rollins the Hardcore Punk Hunk.
Rollins puts his talents
where his heart and mouth rambles. He has raised money for the West
Memphis Three, three young men who may have been imprisoned unfairly.
Rollins recommends you visit www.WM3.org to learn more about a
contemporary example of unlawful imprisonment in the U.S. He also
donates a dollar from every CD he sells from his record label, District
Line, off of his 21361 website store, to the HollyGrove Children
Services Center in Los Angeles. Please check out www.21361.com for more
information on Rollins. I leave you to happy searching and my brief
Q&A with Rollins. Rock out hard this week and keep it real raw.
Cheers,
Valeria Valiente
V.V.:
Last year, you raised $10,000 dollars for the West Memphis 3 Defense
Fund. Are there any other organizations you are
supporting/fundraising/raising awareness for?
Rollins:
Actually We raised about 120 grand for them. We raise a lot of money
for the Hollygrove Childrens Services Center in LA as well as the
Southern Poverty Center.
V.V.: Do you have any other leadership aspirations beyond entertainment or fundraising for causes?
Rollins: No.
V.V.: How would you summarize the American presidential race so far?
Rollins: Two men talking trash about each other.
V.V.:
Do you think that our current capitalistic and democratic republic
works as an effective political, legal and socio-economic system?
Rollins: Sure,
it works better than anything or as well as anything else out there.
Capitalism is scary though. Money doesn't care who owns it.
[BB]
V.V.: Whom do you support in our current roster of political leaders?
Rollins: I will make my vote the most anti-Bush vote I can.
V.V.: What are some solutions you would share with world leaders if given the chance to speak to them face to face?
Rollins: Less
sanctions and more give and take. Africa needs help, Eastern Europe
needs help. A lot of places need help. There needs to be a unilateral
fund for landmine clearance if there isn't one already. There's a ton
of that kind of thing.
V.V.: Any music plans for 2004?
Rollins: Later in the year when I get a minute. I am up-to-here with the tour at the moment. Thanks. Henry
Remaining Rollins' Shock and Awe My Ass tour dates for March and April 2004:
March 23 - Calgary, Canada - MacEwan Hall
March 24 - Edmonton, Canada / Francis Winspear Centre
March 26 - Winnipeg, Canada / Burton Cummings Theatre
March 28, 2004 - Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre
March 29, 2004 - Buffalo, NY - Tralfamadore
March 30 - London, Ontario, Canada - Centennial Hall
March 31, 2004 - Waterloo, Canada - Humanities Theatre
April 1, 2004 - Hamilton, Canada - Hamilton Place
April 2, 2004 - Toronto, Canada - Convocation Hall
April 7, 2004 - Allentown, PA - Crocodile Rock
Rollins Discography
Black
Flag Albums: Damaged (1981), My War (1984), Live EP (1984), Slip It In
(1985), Family Man (1985), Who's Got the 10 1/2? (1986), In My Head
(1986).
Solo Album: Hot Animal Machine and Henrietta Collins Drive By Shooting EP
Rollins
Band Albums: Life Time (1986), Hard Venture (1987), Turned On (1990),
The End of Silence (1992), Electro Convulsive Therapy (1993), Weight
(1994), Come In and Burn (1997), Insert Band Here-Live in Australia
(1999), Get Some Go Again (2000), Nice (2001), A Clockwork Orange Stage
(2001), Yellow Blues (2001), A Nicer Shade of Red (2001), Weighting
(b-sides and previously unreleased material), End of Silence Demos
Rollins Books
High
Adventure in the Great Outdoors ('82-'85 Collection), Bang! (1991), One
From None (1991), Black Coffee Blues (1992), See a Grown Man Cry
(1992), Now Watch Him Die (1992), Get in the Van (1994), Eye Scream
(1996), Do I Come Here Often? (1997), The Portable Henry Rollins
(1997), Solipsist (1998), Smile, You're Traveling (2000)
Spoken Word Discs/Audio Books
Big
Ugly Mouth (1987), Sweatbox (1988), Live at McCabe's (1989), Human Butt
(1990), The Boxed Life (1993), Get in the Van (1994 and a Grammy
Winner!), Everything (1996), Black Coffee Blues (1996), Think Tank
(1996), Eric the Pilot (1999), A Rollins in the Wry (2001), Talk Is
Cheap, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (20010, Nights Behind the Tree Line (2003)
Rollin's VHS and DVD
Talking
from the Box (1993), You Saw Me Up There (1998), Talking From the
Box-Henry Rollins Goes to London (2001), Up For It (2001), Live at Luna
Park (2003)
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