Henry Rollins

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Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins
Background information
Born	February 13, 1961 (age 46) Washington, D.C., USA
Genre(s)	Spoken word Alternative metal Hardcore punk
Occupation(s)	Singer Songwriter Actor Standup comedian
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Years active	1980 to Present
Associated acts	Black Flag Rollins Band
Website	Official site

Henry Rollins (born February 13, 1961 as Henry Lawrence Garfield^[1]) is an American Grammy Award-winning alternative rock singer and songwriter, spoken word artist, book author (prose and poetry), radio and TV personality, occasional movie actor, comedian, and voice-over artist.

He is perhaps best known for his work with the hardcore punk band Black Flag from 1981 to 1986, and for leading the Rollins Band since 1987.

Critic Steve Huey^[2] decribes Rollins as "a post-punk renaissance man ... Rollins [is] relentlessly busy ... and has kept his artistic integrity, becoming a kind of father figure for many alternative bands of the '90s."

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Beginnings in music 1.3 Joins Black Flag 1.4 Forms Rollins Band 1.5 Radio and television work 2 Personal Life 3 Trivia 4 Discography 4.1 Musical releases 4.2 Spoken word releases 4.3 Spoken word DVDs 4.4 State of Alert releases 4.5 Misfits Releases 4.6 Black Flag releases 4.7 Rollins Band releases 4.8 Wartime releases 4.9 Minor Threat releases 4.10 Miscellaneous 5 Books 6 Film and video 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Rollins grew up in Washington, D.C. His parents divorced when he was young, and Rollins was raised primarily by his mother, Iris, who taught him to read before he entered school and who he credits with instilling his lifelong love of reading.^[3]

He was prescribed Ritalin as a child and was sent to the The Bullis School, a Washington, D.C. military school. He disliked the authoritarian atmosphere and the then-boys-only campus, which impeded his early attempts at dating and made him uncomfortable around women for several years. More positively, he said Bullis helped instill in him a sense of discipline and a strong work ethic. It was at military school that he began to develop his muscular build and began writing. In a 2006 interview, Rollins described his early literary efforts:

I would write short stories, and they’re probably horribly written, about blowing up my school and murdering all the teachers. Which I would show to this English teacher who I was friends with, my one ally at this school. And he would go, "Okay, don’t show this to your real English teacher. You know, because you can’t say 'fuck' and hand it in as an essay at this school." I went to a pretty uptight all boys school. But he said, "Show me this stuff." And, "I like that you’re writing creatively. Keep this up. Just don’t show it to your 'teacher-teacher' because you’ll get in trouble."^[4]

[edit] Beginnings in music

After high school, Rollins worked at a number of jobs (including as a laborer at the National Institutes of Health), before becoming the manager of a Häagen-Dazs ice cream store

A longtime music fan with wide-ranging tastes (a fan of Washington D.C.'s funky Go-go music from his teen years^[5]) Rollins became involved in the punk music scene through his close friend Ian MacKaye (who would later head Minor Threat and Fugazi). Bad Brains was one of Rollins' favorite groups; singer H.R. would sometimes coax Rollins on stage to sing with them.

Rollins joined S.O.A. (State of Alert) as a singer; the group released one EP on Dischord Records before disbanding. Rollins' steady employment enabled him to finance the recording and pressing of the S.O.A. EP.

[edit] Joins Black Flag

In 1981, his friend Mitch Parker gave him a copy of Black Flag's Nervous Breakdown EP. Rollins soon became a huge fan and began exchanging letters with the group. When Black Flag toured the East coast, playing Denton and New York City, Rollins attended as many performances as he could. At an impromptu show in a bar, he asked them if they would play "Clocked In," as Rollins had to return to work after the performace. Rollins asked singer Dez Cadena if he could join the band onstage for the song. Unbeknownst to Rollins, Cadena wanted to switch to guitar, and the band was looking for a new vocalist.

Black Flag members were impressed with Rollins' singing and stage demeanor, and the next day, after a semi-formal audition, they asked him to become their permanent vocalist. Despite some doubts, he accepted, due in part to MacKaye's encouragement. His high level of energy and intense personality made him a perfect fit as their frontman.

After joining Black Flag, Garfield changed his surname and got the Black Flag logo tattooed on his arm. It was to be the first of many tattoos (others are punk rock group The Misfits' ghost-faced mascot, and the "stickman" logo of German experimentalists Einsturzende Neubauten.) As Rollins became more heavily tattooed and more heavily-built, he wore less clothing on stage, often hitting the stage barechested and barefoot, wearing only a pair of black shorts.

Rollins toured and recorded with Black Flag from 1981 until their breakup in 1986. During Rollins' tenure, Black Flag's music underwent dramatic changes. Though guitarist Greg Ginn was the primary songwriter, Rollins wrote a number of songs with Black Flag.

Throughout most of his time with Black Flag, Rollins kept a diary of his thoughts and experiences. In 1994 he published these diaries as Get In The Van; the book featured many photographs, as well as Rollins' reminiscences of his time with the group before he kept a diary. Rollins read portions of Get In The Van for an audio book; this recording won a Grammy. On the 1 January 1, 2005 episode of the Henry's Film Corner, Rollins characterized the entire affair as "corny" and said he gave his Grammy statuette to an acquaintance.

Rollins began publishing his own books during his time with Black Flag. His early efforts were self-made volumes (photocopied and stapled), though he quickly began printing chapbooks before moving on to establish 2.13.61, an independent publisher named after his birthday.

Also while in Black Flag, Rollins met Joe Cole, an acquaintance of Ginn. They became close friends and, in December 1991, Rollins and Cole were robbed at the home they shared. Cole was murdered by a gunshot to the head, and Rollins escaped without injury; the crime remains unsolved. Most of Rollins' subsequent efforts have been dedicated to his late friend's memory.

[edit] Forms Rollins Band

After Black Flag broke up in early 1986, Rollins quickly formed a new group and released a solo album and an EP with guitarist Chris Haskett. Soon, he added former Gone members Andrew Weiss and Sim Cain, calling the new group the Rollins Band. They gained popularity through the strength of albums like The End of Silence (1992) and Weight (1994). He also gained roles in movies and television shows (particularly as a VJ on MTV) and recorded a cover of AC/DC's "Let There Be Rock" in 1991 with the Hard-Ons.

Beginning in his later years in Black Flag, he has toured as a spoken-word artist, focusing mostly on social topics, as well as recounting his life experiences. His blend of self-deprecating humor and serious discussion of important social issues has gained him great popularity. He has released nine spoken-word albums through his 2.13.61 publishing company (and several through other record companies); 2.13.61 has also released books by Rollins, Joe Cole, Nick Zedd, Nick Cave and Michael Gira, as well as albums by Rollins Band, Exene Cervenka, Hubert Selby Jr., The Birthday Party, and Gun Club.

Rollins is an avowed free jazz fan, having released albums by Matthew Shipp and Roscoe Mitchell on his 2.13.61 label. In 1990, Rollins guest-hosted a Los Angeles, California college radio program and devoted much of this appearance to saxophone player Albert Ayler's music. [1]

[edit] Radio and television work

On May 17, 2004, Rollins began hosting a weekly radio show, Harmony In My Head (named after a favorite Buzzcocks song) on Los Angeles' Indie 103.1 radio. The show aired every Monday evening, with Rollins playing a variety of rock, punk, rap, and jazz music. He put the show on what would be an indefinite hiatus, with the last show airing on December 27, 2004, to undertake a spoken-word tour in early 2005. An expanded edition of Rollins' song lists and show notes of the first run of the show were published by 2.13.61 in November 2005 by fan demand as the book Fanatic. In late 2005, Rollins announced the return to the airwaves of Harmony in My Head; Internet users can listen online every Tuesday evening from 8 to 10 p.m., PST, at http://www.indie1031.fm, as of December 27, 2005.

Rollins is a co-host of the television program Full Metal Challenge on TLC, as well as the host of a weekly series called The Henry Rollins Show on the Independent Film Channel (IFC) airing every Saturday at 10 p.m. The show is described this way on its official website http://henryrollins.ifc.com/:

"Henry Rollins unveils the independent alternative to late night programming with his unique take on music, film, politics and pop culture with the help from intelligent celebrity guests and the most eclectic musical performances on television."

Before his weekly series on IFC, Rollins was a host of Henry's Film Corner, a monthly look at movies and cinema.

In 2004, he became an outspoken human rights activist, most vocally a crusader for gay rights. He has pinpointed the rights for gays to marry as a "vital issue impeding on the rights of Americans today." He was the host of a benefit concert called "WedRock" to raise money for a pro-gay-marriage organization. During the 2003 Iraq War, he started touring with the United Service Organizations (USO) to entertain troops overseas, despite his personal opposition to the war and the Bush administration.[2] Rollins has also been very active in the campaign to free the "West Memphis Three" — three young men who many believe were wrongly convicted of murder. Rollins appears with Public Enemy frontman Chuck D on Black Flag song "Rise Above" on "Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three," a benefit album to help pay for the West Memphis Three defense fund. He also appears on a cover of Black Flag's "Slip It In" with singer Inger Lorre.

[edit] Personal Life

Rollins was in a relationship with actress Kari Wuhrer, he then dumped her via email.^{[citation needed]}

When questioned about his sexuality, Rollins has said, "Believe me, if I was gay, I wouldn't be hiding it." ^[6]

[edit] Trivia

• Rollins appeared as himself in the video game Def Jam: Fight for NY as the main character's trainer. His Blazing Move in the game is called 2.13.61, which is also the name of his publishing company and his birthday.
• Rollins makes a cameo appearance in the music videos for 3rd Bass "Pop Goes the Weasel" as a "Vanilla Ice" parody character and Urban Dance Squads "Fastlane".
• In an interview with Howard Stern, Rollins answered the query regarding rumours he keeps the remains of his former roommate Joe Cole's "brains in a jar." Rollins explains that he could not bring himself to dispose of the bloodied-earth that was left behind by crime scene investigators. He stated he retained the materials in a container rather than dispose of them.
• Rollins contributed a spoken-word piece to the song "Bottom", which appears on the album "Undertow" by Tool.
• Rollins was the voice of villain Mad Stan in Batman Beyond.
• Rollins wears a police uniform in his video "Liar," which coincided with his role as "Officer Dobbs" in the 1994 movie The Chase.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Musical releases

• 1987 Hot Animal Machine
• 1987 Drive by Shooting

[edit] Spoken word releases

• 1985 Short Walk on a Long Pier
• 1987 Big Ugly Mouth
• 1989 Sweatbox
• 1990 Live at McCabe's
• 1992 Human Butt
• 1992 Deep Throat
• 1993 The Boxed Life
• 1994 Get in the Van: On the Road with Black Flag (Audio book)
• 1996 Everything (Audio Book)
• 1997 Black Coffee Blues (Audio Book)
• 1998 Think Tank
• 1999 Eric the Pilot
• 2001 A Rollins in the Wry
• 2001 Live at the Westbeth Theater
• 2003 Talk Is Cheap Vol I
• 2003 Talk Is Cheap Vol II
• 2004 Nights Behind the Tree Line
• 2004 Talk Is Cheap Vol III
• 2004 Talk Is Cheap Vol IV

[edit] Spoken word DVDs

• 1998 You Saw Me Up There
• 2001 Talking from the Box/Live in London
• 2001 Up for It
• 2003 Live @ Luna Park
• 2006 Shock & Awe
• 2006 Live in the Conversation Pit(Australia)
• 2006 Live in the Conversation Pit(USA)

[edit] State of Alert releases

• No Policy (1981)

[edit] Misfits Releases

• Evilive (1982) (Guest vocals)

[edit] Black Flag releases

• Damaged (1981)
• TV Party (EP) (1982)
• My War (1984)
• Slip It In (1984)
• Family Man (1984)
• Live '84 (1984)
• Loose Nut (1985)
• In My Head (1985)
• Who's Got the 10 1/2? (1986)
• Wasted...Again (1987)
• I Can See You (1989)
• Annihilate This Week (1990)

[edit] Rollins Band releases

• Do It (1988)
• Life Time (1988)
• Hard Volume (1989)
• Turned On (Live)(1990)
• The End of Silence (1992)
• Weight (1994)
• Come In and Burn (1997)
• Insert Band Here: Live In Australia 1990 (1999)
• Get Some Go Again (2000)
• A Clockwork Orange Stage (Live) (2000)
• Yellow Blues (2000)
• Nice (2001)
• A Nicer Shade of Red (2001)
• The Only Way to Know For Sure (Live) (2002)
• Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three (2002)
• Come in and Burn Sessions (2004)
• Get Some Go Again Sessions (2005)

[edit] Wartime releases

• Fast Food For Thought (1994)

[edit] Minor Threat releases

• First Demo Tape (2003) (Backing vocals as "Henry Garfield" recorded 1981)

[edit] Miscellaneous

• Kick Out The Jams (1990) (MC5 cover, recorded with the Bad Brains on the "Pump Up The Volume" Soundtrack".
• Let There Be Rock (1991) (single recorded with the Hard-Ons)
• Bottom (1993) (recorded with Tool on the album Undertow)
• Wild America (1993) (recorded with Iggy Pop on the album American Caesar)
• Sexual Military Dynamics (1995) (recorded with Mike Watt on the album Ball-Hog or Tugboat?)
• Delicate Tendrils (1996) (recorded with Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerel on the album Highball with the Devil)
• T-4 Strain (1997) (Henry Rollins & Goldie) (Available on "Spawn: The Soundtrack").
• War (1998) (feat. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony & Edwin Star) (Available on the music from the motion picture "Small Soldiers")
• Laughing Man (In The Devil Mask) (2000) (recorded with Tony Iommi on the album Iommi)
• I Can't Get Behind That (2004) (recorded with William Shatner on the album Has Been)

[edit] Books

• 20
• 1000 Ways to Die 2.13.61 Publications
• Knife Street 2.13.61 Publications
• High Adventure in the Great Outdoors 2.13.61 Publications
• Pissing in the Gene Pool 2.13.61 Publications
• Bang! 2.13.61 Publications
• Art To Choke Hearts 2.13.61 Publications
• One from None - 1987 Publishers 2.13.61 Publications 1991 ISBN 1-880985-04-7
• End to End 2.13.61 Publications
• Body Bag - Compilation of Two Thirteen Sixy One, End To End and Polio Flesh. Creation Press.
• See A Grown Man Cry 2.13.61 Publications
• Black Coffee Blues 2.13.61 Pubns.
• Now Watch Him Die 2.13.61 Publications, 1993
• Get in the Van: On the Road With Black Flag 2.13.61 Publications (1994) ISBN 1-880985-24-1
• Eye Scream 2.13.61 Pubns, (October 1996) ISBN 1-880985-32-2
• See a Grown Man Cry, Now Watch Him Die 2.13.61 Pubns, (August 1997) ISBN 1-880985-37-3
• Grug and the Green Paint 2.13.61 Pubns
• Henry Rollins: The First Five 2.13.61 Pubns, (October 1997) ISBN 1-880985-51-9
• Solipsist 2.13.61 Publications, (August 1998) ISBN 1-880985-59-4
• The Portable Henry Rollins Villard, (February 10, 1998) ISBN 0-375-75000-2
• Do I Come Here Often? (Black Coffee Blues, Pt. 2), Shannon Wheeler (Illustrator) 2.13.61 Pubns, (December 1998) ISBN 1-880985-61-6
• Smile, You're Traveling (Black Coffee Blues Part 3) 2.13.61 Pubns, (October 1, 2000) ISBN 1-880985-69-1
• Broken Summers 2.13.61 Publications, (November 2003) ISBN 1-880985-75-6
• Unwelcomed Songs Two Thirteen Sixty-One Pubns, (September 2002) ISBN 1-880985-71-3
• Fanatic! Song lists and notes from the Harmony In My Head Radio Show 2.13.61 publications, 2005
• Roomanitarian 2.13.61 publications, Nov. 2005
• A Dull Roar 2.13.61 publications, Nov. 2006
• Fuck You Heroes, Glen E. Friedman photographs 1976-1991, Burning Flags Press, 1994, ISBN 0-9641916-0-1

[edit] Film and video

• 1995 Interview
• Wrong Turn 2 (2007) - Dale Murphy
• American Hardcore (2006) - Himself
• Feast (2006) - Coach
• The Alibi (2005) - Putty
• Punk: Attitude (2004) Documentary - Himself
• The Drew Carey Show (2004) TV Series - Thug from Ebay
• Henry's Film Corner (2004) TV Series - Host
• Teen Titans (2004) (voice) — Johnny Rancid
• Deathdealer: A Documentary (2004) - Vincent
• Def Jam: Fight for NY (2004)(VG) - Himself
• Live Freaky Die Freaky (2003)(voice)
• Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter (2003)(VG)(voice) - Mace Griffin
• A House on a Hill (2003) - Arthur
• Bad Boys II (2003) - TNT Leader
• Psychic Murders (2002) (V) - Johnny Miracle
• Jackass: The Movie (2002) - Himself (cameo)(Offroad Tattoo)
• Shadow Realm (2002)(TV)
• The New Guy (2002) - Warden
• Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001) Documentary - Himself
• Time Lapse (2001) (V) - Gaines
• Scenes of the Crime (2001) - Greg
• Night Visions (2001) TV Series (uncredited) - Host
• The Human Journey (2000) TV special - Narrator
• Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)(V)(voice) - Benjamin 'Ben' Knox/Bonk
• Batman Beyond (1999) TV Series - Mad Stan
• Desperate But Not Serious (1999) - Bartender
• Morgan's Ferry (1999) - Monroe
• Jack Frost (1998) - Sid Gronic
• Lost Highway (1997) - Guard Henry
• Walker: Texas Ranger (1996) TV Series - Credited as the man with no neck
• Heat (1995) - Hugh Benny
• Johnny Mnemonic (1995) - Spider
• The Chase (1994) - Officer Dobbs
• Dennis Miller Live - Guest (1995)
• "Pop Goes The Weasel" - music video from hip-hop group 3rd Bass - cameo as Vanilla Ice (1990)
• The Right Side of My Brain (1984)
• The Henry Rollins Show (2006+) - Host

[edit] References

1. ^ Azerrad, Michael. Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991. Little Brown and Company, 2001. ISBN 0-316-78753-1, pg. 19
2. ^ "Rollins Band" from Allmusic.com; URL accessed February 09, 2007
3. ^ "You can’t dance to a book:" Neddal Ayad interviews Henry Rollins from TheModernWord.com, URL accessed Febraury 09, 2007
4. ^ "You can’t dance to a book:" Neddal Ayad interviews Henry Rollins from TheModernWord.com, URL accessed Febraury 09, 2007
5. ^ Azerrad, Michael. Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991. Little Brown and Company, 2001. ISBN 0-316-78753-1
6. ^ http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_n733/ai_19736020

[edit] External links

• Official site
• Henry Rollins at the Internet Movie Database
• IFC Site for The Henry Rollins Show
• The site for Henry Rollins's radio show
• College Crier Interview of Henry Rollins
• One on One with Henry Rollins
• Henry Rollins Interview
• Henry Rollins Interview-part1 on VBS.tv
• Henry Rollins Interview-part2 on VBS.tv
• Henry Rollins Interview-part3 on VBS.tv
• Henry Rollins Interview-part4 on VBS.tv
• Henry Rollins on Tom Green Live
• Henry does battle w/ Nardwuar the Human Serviette, in '98

Black Flag
Greg Ginn
Vocals: Keith Morris | Chavo Pederast | Dez Cadena | Henry Rollins
Bass: Raymond Pettibon | Spot | Chuck Dukowski | Kira Roessler | C'el Revuelta
Drums: David Horvitz | Brian Migdol | ROBO | Emil Johnson | Chuck Biscuits | Bill Stevenson |Anthony Martinez
Discography
Albums: Damaged | My War | Family Man | Slip It In | Loose Nut | In My Head
Extended plays: Nervous Breakdown | Jealous Again | Six Pack | TV Party | The Process of Weeding Out | Minuteflag | I Can See You
Live: Live '84 | Who's Got the 10½? | Annihilate This Week
Other releases: Everything Went Black | The First Four Years | Wasted...Again | The Complete 1982 Demos Plus More |
Related articles
Rollins Band | Dos | State of Alert | Gone | SST Records | October Faction | Joe Cole