Biography
Right after the storied punk and hardcore act Black Flag disbanded in 1987, frontman Henry Rollins launched his initial solo projects with Hot Animal Machine and the EP Drive By Shooting, the latter issued under the name Henrieta Collins & the Wifebeating Childhaters. Guitarist Chris Haskett, bassist Bernie Wandel, and drummer Mick Green all participated. Seeking the camaraderie of a proper group once more, Rollins assembled the Rollins Band, whose Sabbath-esque riff-heavy hardcore metal approach mirrored the Flag’s later trajectory. Ex-Gone members Sim Cain on drums and Andrew Weiss on bass joined the retained Haskett, while soundman Theo Van Rock became so integral that he was routinely listed as a fifth member.
A succession of recordings ensued, beginning with the 1988 album Life Time produced by Fugazi’s Ian MacKaye, then Do It and Hard Volume in 1989, and the 1990 concert document Turned On. That year also brought the one-off experimental collaboration Fast Food for Thought by Rollins and Weiss under the name Wartime. The Rollins Band gained major exposure when Perry Farrell added them to the inaugural Lollapalooza tour in summer 1991 alongside Nine Inch Nails, Living Colour, Ice-T, Siouxsie & the Banshees, and headliner Jane’s Addiction. Early-afternoon sets in sweltering heat tested the untested audiences, yet the performances introduced thousands to the band’s gripping, thought-provoking heavy rock.
Growing attention accompanied the 1992 release The End of Silence, their first for Imago Records, which became their strongest seller to that point and yielded MTV videos for “Low Self Opinion” and “Tearing”; Rollins also appeared regularly as a guest VJ. After the supporting tour, Weiss exited for subsequent work with the Butthole Surfers, Helios Creed, Yoko Ono, Pigface, and Ween, and was replaced by New York City funk bassist Melvin Gibbs, recommended by Living Colour’s Vernon Reid. The 1994 album Weight achieved their greatest commercial success, propelled by heavy rotation of Anton Corbijn’s striking video for “Liar,” in which Rollins donned assorted costumes and appeared covered head to toe in red paint. A standout performance at Woodstock ’94 followed amid continued relentless touring.
Their 1997 DreamWorks debut Come in and Burn arrived, yet creative stagnation prompted Rollins to dismiss his bandmates after the tour concluded. Haskett later played on David Bowie’s Hours and maintained a solo career, while the others contributed to additional artists’ recordings. The archival live set Live in Australia 1990 surfaced in 1999 as Rollins recruited an entirely new lineup from L.A. rockers Mother Superior, whose first album together, Get Some Go Again, appeared in 2000.
A succession of recordings ensued, beginning with the 1988 album Life Time produced by Fugazi’s Ian MacKaye, then Do It and Hard Volume in 1989, and the 1990 concert document Turned On. That year also brought the one-off experimental collaboration Fast Food for Thought by Rollins and Weiss under the name Wartime. The Rollins Band gained major exposure when Perry Farrell added them to the inaugural Lollapalooza tour in summer 1991 alongside Nine Inch Nails, Living Colour, Ice-T, Siouxsie & the Banshees, and headliner Jane’s Addiction. Early-afternoon sets in sweltering heat tested the untested audiences, yet the performances introduced thousands to the band’s gripping, thought-provoking heavy rock.
Growing attention accompanied the 1992 release The End of Silence, their first for Imago Records, which became their strongest seller to that point and yielded MTV videos for “Low Self Opinion” and “Tearing”; Rollins also appeared regularly as a guest VJ. After the supporting tour, Weiss exited for subsequent work with the Butthole Surfers, Helios Creed, Yoko Ono, Pigface, and Ween, and was replaced by New York City funk bassist Melvin Gibbs, recommended by Living Colour’s Vernon Reid. The 1994 album Weight achieved their greatest commercial success, propelled by heavy rotation of Anton Corbijn’s striking video for “Liar,” in which Rollins donned assorted costumes and appeared covered head to toe in red paint. A standout performance at Woodstock ’94 followed amid continued relentless touring.
Their 1997 DreamWorks debut Come in and Burn arrived, yet creative stagnation prompted Rollins to dismiss his bandmates after the tour concluded. Haskett later played on David Bowie’s Hours and maintained a solo career, while the others contributed to additional artists’ recordings. The archival live set Live in Australia 1990 surfaced in 1999 as Rollins recruited an entirely new lineup from L.A. rockers Mother Superior, whose first album together, Get Some Go Again, appeared in 2000.
Albums
