By Henry Rollins. The name brings forth many different opinions from living legend to sell out hack. Love him or loathe him, you ought to respect him.
Why respect? Rollins is one of most active people in media today. His professional activities span the range of modern diversion and entertainment. As the lead singer of Rollins Band for over 10 years, an author of over ten books, a spoken word performer, a voice over talent of growing popularity, and an actor who has appeared in several films (including a growing number of major motion pictures and television jobs,) it is growing more difficult to say you’ve not heard his name. He is also a successful businessman with his own publishing company (2.13.61) with print, music, and video releases and a new CD division. In the mid-90s he became the co-owner (w/Rick Rubin) of a CD re-issue label called Infinite Zero. At one time he also had a deal with London Records to release new groups under his Human Pitbull label. His five years of recording and touring with Black Flag and work with various groups such as the Hard-Ons and the Bad Brains included into the mix and it’s safe to say that he’s worked very hard to get where he is today.
An essential key to the appeal of Rollins is his honesty. Most evident in his spoken word, this honesty brings out the base thoughts and raw pain that many of us feel but do not normally discuss. His ability to open up about these difficulties so easily and with his simultaneous and uncanny flair for entertainment has created a phenomenon. His spoken word performances are reaching venues of increasing size and diverse location: he has been doing shows all over North America and Europe for years, but has recently taken these to Russia and Israel for the first time.
This page is meant as more of a springboard for those of you who might not have any clue who Rollins is or what he is about. It will give a decent base of things that he has put out that you might want to investiage in your own time to make you better appreciate what is available. If you are really interested in learning more about the man and his life, an unauthorized biography has been released.
The book focuses primarily on his time in Black Flag, although there is a good deal of info about his childhood as well. Sources include many of those who knew him from the DC scene as well as a large number of those involved with SST throughout the mid-1980s. It is available only in the UK; neither Amazon nor Barnes and Noble have listings on it yet. If you’d like to contact the publisher, the address is:
Phoenix House Press
5 Upper St. Martins Lane
London
WC2 9EA
UK