Biography
In the 1990s Henry Rollins surfaced as a post-punk polymath, free of the affected mannerisms that burdened 1980s figures such as David Byrne. After Black Flag dissolved in 1986, he maintained an unceasing schedule that encompassed albums with the Rollins Band, volumes of prose and verse, spoken-word tours, a Details magazine column, several film roles, radio appearances, and occasional turns as an MTV VJ. The Rollins Band’s releases deliver unyielding, visceral, purifying blends of hard rock, funk, post-punk abrasion, and jazz exploration, Rollins bellowing furious, lacerating self-scrutiny and indictments above the rhythmic assault. His spoken-word recordings find him far more at ease, revealing a comically self-mocking wit seldom evident in his songs. Throughout, he preserved his creative autonomy, emerging as a paternal presence for numerous alternative acts of the decade.
Henry Rollins entered the world as Henry Garfield in Washington, D.C., on February 13, 1961. As a teenager he sang in local hardcore groups; one evening, when his idols Black Flag played nearby, he jumped onstage and joined their vocals. Soon after, when vocalist Dez Cadena moved to guitar, the band asked Rollins to try out, and he assumed the frontman position. By Black Flag’s 1986 split, Rollins had already earned renown as one of hardcore punk’s most ferocious live performers and had launched his own spoken-word career. His first solo recordings appeared in 1987 with Hot Animal Machine and the spoken-word set Big Ugly Mouth, alongside the Drive by Shooting EP issued under the name Henrietta Collins & the Wifebeating Childhaters.
After Hot Animal Machine, Rollins formed the Rollins Band, enlisting soundman Theo Van Ronk, guitarist Chris Haskett, and the former rhythm section of Greg Ginn’s side project Gone—bassist Andrew Weiss and drummer Simeon “Sim” Cain. Setting aside several 1987 live documents from Holland, the group’s studio bow came with 1988’s Life Time, followed swiftly by the outtakes and concert collection Do It. Hard Volume arrived in 1989 together with the spoken-word album Sweatbox; 1990 brought the live recording Turned On and another extended spoken-word release, Live at McCabe’s.
For Rollins, 1991 proved decisive in both positive and negative ways. The Rollins Band signed with Imago, securing stronger distribution, and joined the Lollapalooza tour. Yet that December, Rollins and his closest friend Joe Cole were ambushed by armed assailants outside Rollins’ Los Angeles residence; Cole was killed by a gunshot to the head. The shattering impact of that night stayed with Rollins and surfaced, sometimes obliquely, in later work. Beginning with 1992’s Human Butt, he issued spoken-word albums through 2.13.61, the publishing company he had started in 1984. In addition to his own recordings and writings, the imprint expanded during the decade to encompass literary works by rock figures such as Exene Cervenka and Nick Cave, as well as writings by Henry Miller and Hubert Selby, Jr. Also in 1992 the Rollins Band delivered its Imago debut, The End of Silence, widely regarded as his most concentrated musical statement to date and his first album to chart. The spoken-word double album The Boxed Life followed in 1993, and late that year bassist Weiss was replaced by Melvin Gibbs.
Rollins achieved widespread recognition in 1994 with the simultaneous impact of Weight—the Rollins Band’s most favorably received and commercially successful album, which reached Billboard’s Top 40—and Get in the Van: On the Road with Black Flag, a double-disc spoken-word set drawn from his memoir that earned a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Recording. That year the band also delivered a warmly received performance at Woodstock ’94. The surge in visibility turned Rollins into a genuine cultural figure; Details named him Man of the Year in 1994 and appointed him a contributing columnist. After MTV and VH1 exposure he made his screen debut in The Chase and subsequently appeared in Johnny Mnemonic, Heat, and Lost Highway.
Imago ceased operations by 1995, placing the Rollins Band in brief hiatus until they signed with DreamWorks in 1997. In the interim Rollins pursued a jazz-and-poetry collaboration, Everything, supported by avant-garde musicians Charles Gayle on saxophone and Rashied Ali on drums. The band’s DreamWorks debut, Come in and Burn, appeared in 1997 yet failed to match the acclaim of earlier releases. Black Coffee Blues was issued the same year, again featuring readings from a Rollins book of the same title. Think Tank followed in 1998, marking his first substantial spoken-word collection unrelated to a book in five years.
Eventually Rollins concluded that his long association with the Rollins Band had reached its limit, as the music grew increasingly experimental and less consistently ferocious. While producing the Los Angeles hard-rock trio Mother Superior—guitarist Jim Wilson, bassist Marcus Blake, and drummer Jason Mackenroth—he invited the group to become the new Rollins Band lineup. Their initial recordings surfaced in 2000 as Get Some Go Again, followed in 2004 by Weighting. The spoken-word collection Rollins in the Wry arrived in 2001, drawn from performances at the Los Angeles club Luna Park during summer 1999. Another live album, The Only Way to Know for Sure, appeared in summer 2002. Three volumes of Talk Is Cheap, recorded over two nights in Sydney, Australia, were released across 2003 and 2006, with a fourth volume issued in 2007 from a performance at San Jose State University in California.
Henry Rollins entered the world as Henry Garfield in Washington, D.C., on February 13, 1961. As a teenager he sang in local hardcore groups; one evening, when his idols Black Flag played nearby, he jumped onstage and joined their vocals. Soon after, when vocalist Dez Cadena moved to guitar, the band asked Rollins to try out, and he assumed the frontman position. By Black Flag’s 1986 split, Rollins had already earned renown as one of hardcore punk’s most ferocious live performers and had launched his own spoken-word career. His first solo recordings appeared in 1987 with Hot Animal Machine and the spoken-word set Big Ugly Mouth, alongside the Drive by Shooting EP issued under the name Henrietta Collins & the Wifebeating Childhaters.
After Hot Animal Machine, Rollins formed the Rollins Band, enlisting soundman Theo Van Ronk, guitarist Chris Haskett, and the former rhythm section of Greg Ginn’s side project Gone—bassist Andrew Weiss and drummer Simeon “Sim” Cain. Setting aside several 1987 live documents from Holland, the group’s studio bow came with 1988’s Life Time, followed swiftly by the outtakes and concert collection Do It. Hard Volume arrived in 1989 together with the spoken-word album Sweatbox; 1990 brought the live recording Turned On and another extended spoken-word release, Live at McCabe’s.
For Rollins, 1991 proved decisive in both positive and negative ways. The Rollins Band signed with Imago, securing stronger distribution, and joined the Lollapalooza tour. Yet that December, Rollins and his closest friend Joe Cole were ambushed by armed assailants outside Rollins’ Los Angeles residence; Cole was killed by a gunshot to the head. The shattering impact of that night stayed with Rollins and surfaced, sometimes obliquely, in later work. Beginning with 1992’s Human Butt, he issued spoken-word albums through 2.13.61, the publishing company he had started in 1984. In addition to his own recordings and writings, the imprint expanded during the decade to encompass literary works by rock figures such as Exene Cervenka and Nick Cave, as well as writings by Henry Miller and Hubert Selby, Jr. Also in 1992 the Rollins Band delivered its Imago debut, The End of Silence, widely regarded as his most concentrated musical statement to date and his first album to chart. The spoken-word double album The Boxed Life followed in 1993, and late that year bassist Weiss was replaced by Melvin Gibbs.
Rollins achieved widespread recognition in 1994 with the simultaneous impact of Weight—the Rollins Band’s most favorably received and commercially successful album, which reached Billboard’s Top 40—and Get in the Van: On the Road with Black Flag, a double-disc spoken-word set drawn from his memoir that earned a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Recording. That year the band also delivered a warmly received performance at Woodstock ’94. The surge in visibility turned Rollins into a genuine cultural figure; Details named him Man of the Year in 1994 and appointed him a contributing columnist. After MTV and VH1 exposure he made his screen debut in The Chase and subsequently appeared in Johnny Mnemonic, Heat, and Lost Highway.
Imago ceased operations by 1995, placing the Rollins Band in brief hiatus until they signed with DreamWorks in 1997. In the interim Rollins pursued a jazz-and-poetry collaboration, Everything, supported by avant-garde musicians Charles Gayle on saxophone and Rashied Ali on drums. The band’s DreamWorks debut, Come in and Burn, appeared in 1997 yet failed to match the acclaim of earlier releases. Black Coffee Blues was issued the same year, again featuring readings from a Rollins book of the same title. Think Tank followed in 1998, marking his first substantial spoken-word collection unrelated to a book in five years.
Eventually Rollins concluded that his long association with the Rollins Band had reached its limit, as the music grew increasingly experimental and less consistently ferocious. While producing the Los Angeles hard-rock trio Mother Superior—guitarist Jim Wilson, bassist Marcus Blake, and drummer Jason Mackenroth—he invited the group to become the new Rollins Band lineup. Their initial recordings surfaced in 2000 as Get Some Go Again, followed in 2004 by Weighting. The spoken-word collection Rollins in the Wry arrived in 2001, drawn from performances at the Los Angeles club Luna Park during summer 1999. Another live album, The Only Way to Know for Sure, appeared in summer 2002. Three volumes of Talk Is Cheap, recorded over two nights in Sydney, Australia, were released across 2003 and 2006, with a fourth volume issued in 2007 from a performance at San Jose State University in California.
Albums
Shatner Claus
2018
Music Must Destroy
2016
Metal Avenger
2015
Spoken Word Guy: 11-03-08 Alexandria, VA
2010
Spoken Word Guy 2: 10-13-07 Ann Arbor, MI
2010
The Flaming Lips And Stardeath And White Dwarfs With Henry Rollins And Peaches Doing Dark Side Of The Moon
2009
The Boxed Life - Double-length Live Performance
1995
Ball-Hog Or Tugboat?
1995
The Fundamental Hymnal 1989
1989