Henry Rollins

  • Washington, DC
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  • 1980
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About Henry Rollins

Official Site: http://rollinsband.co.uk/


In the '90s, Henry Rollins emerged as a post-punk renaissance man, without the self-conscious trappings that plagued such '80s artists as David Byrne. Following Black Flag's breakup in 1986, Rollins was been relentlessly busy, recording albums with the Rollins Band, writing books and poetry, performing spoken word tours, writing a magazine column in Details, acting in several movies, and appearing on radio programs and, less frequently, as an MTV VJ. The Rollins Band's records are uncompromising, intense, cathartic fusions of hard rock, funk, post-punk noise, and jazz experimentalism, with Rollins shouting angry, biting self-examinations and accusations over the grind. On his spoken word albums, he is remarkably more relaxed, showcasing a hilariously self-deprecating sense of humor that is often absent in his music. All the while, he has kept his artistic integrity, becoming a kind of father figure for many alternative bands of the '90s.

Rollins was born Henry Garfield in Washington, D.C., on February 13, 1961. He performed in local hardcore bands as a teenager, and one night when his heroes Black Flag came to town, he leaped up on-stage and began singing with them. Shortly thereafter, when Flag vocalist Dez Cadena decided to switch to guitar, the band invited Rollins to audition, and he became their new lead singer. By the time Black Flag broke up in 1986, Rollins had not only garnered a reputation as one of the fiercest performers in hardcore punk, but had already begun touring as a spoken word performer. Rollins made his recording debut as a solo artist in 1987 with Hot Animal Machine and also issued his first spoken word album, Big Ugly Mouth, that year (as well as the Drive by Shooting EP, recorded as Henrietta Collins & the Wifebeating Childhaters).

Following Hot Animal Machine, Rollins assembled a backing unit, the Rollins Band, which featured soundman Theo Van Ronk, guitarist Chris Haskett, and the former rhythm section of Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn's side project Gone: bassist Andrew Weiss and drummer Simeon "Sim" Cain. Not counting several live recordings made in Holland in 1987, the Rollins Band made their studio debut with 1988's Life Time, followed quickly by the outtakes/live collection Do It. 1989 saw the release of a new Rollins Band album, Hard Volume, and the spoken word set Sweatbox; they were followed in 1990 by the live set Turned On and yet another lengthy spoken word release, Live at McCabe's.

1991 was a pivotal year for Rollins, for better and worse. The Rollins Band inked a deal with Imago that promised much-improved distribution, and they also appeared on the Lollapalooza tour. But in December of that year, Rollins and his best friend, Joe Cole, were held up by gunmen waiting outside of Rollins' L.A. home. Cole was fatally shot in the head; the devastating trauma of the incident never quite left Rollins and occasionally (though indirectly) informed his subsequent work. In 1992, with Human Butt, Rollins began releasing his spoken word albums through 2.13.61, the publishing imprint he'd founded in 1984. In addition to Rollins' own work, both recorded and written, 2.13.61 grew during the '90s to include literary works by rock artists like Exene Cervenka and Nick Cave, plus material by acclaimed authors like Henry Miller and Hubert Selby, Jr., among others. 1992 also saw the Rollins Band debut for Imago with The End of Silence, which some found to be his most focused music yet and gave Rollins his first charting album. The spoken word double disc The Boxed Life appeared in 1993, and toward the end of the year, Rollins Band bassist Weiss was replaced by Melvin Gibbs.

1994 became Rollins' breakout year thanks to the one-two punch of Weight -- the best-reviewed and most popular Rollins Band album to date, which cracked Billboard's Top 40 -- and Get in the Van: On the Road with Black Flag, a double-disc set of readings from Rollins' memoir of the same name that won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Recording. Additionally, the Rollins Band performed a well-received set at Woodstock '94. With all the increased visibility, Rollins became a genuine phenomenon; Details magazine chose him as their Man of the Year in 1994 and wound up making him a contributing columnist. Primed by appearances on MTV and VH1, Rollins also made his film debut that year in The Chase and went on to appear in movies like Johnny Mnemonic, Heat, and Lost Highway over the next few years.

Unfortunately, Imago was out of business by 1995, leaving the Rollins Band in temporary limbo until they secured a deal with DreamWorks in 1997. In the meantime, Rollins undertook a jazz/poetry experiment with Everything, which featured musical backing by avant-garde luminaries Charles Gayle (saxophone) and Rashied Ali (drums). The Rollins Band debuted for DreamWorks in 1997 with Come in and Burn, which failed to earn the acclaim of the group's previous few albums. Black Coffee Blues appeared the same year, and like Get in the Van, it featured a series of readings from a Rollins book of the same name. In 1998, Rollins released Think Tank, his first true set of non-book-related spoken word material in five years.

By this point, Rollins felt that his partnership with the Rollins Band had run its course, as their music grew more experimental and less unremittingly intense. He had been producing a Los Angeles hard rock trio called Mother Superior and wound up inviting the band -- guitarist Jim Wilson, bassist Marcus Blake, and drummer Jason Mackenroth -- to back him as a brand-new incarnation of the Rollins Band. The first fruits of this new collaboration were released in 2000 as the album Get Some Go Again. It was followed in 2004 by Weighting. A new spoken word release, Rollins in the Wry, followed in 2001, culling performances from Rollins' residency at the L.A. club Luna Park during the summer of 1999. Another live album, The Only Way to Know for Sure, appeared in the summer of 2002. Three volumes of Talk Is Cheap, taken from a two-night stand in Sydney, Australia, were released in 2003 and 2006. A fourth volume followed in 2007, this time recorded at San Jose State University in California. ~ Steve Huey, Rovi

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Music

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  • Henry Rollins On Getting Involved
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    Henry Rollins On Getting Involved
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    • Money [Feat. Henry Rollins]
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/0/7/4/9/5/535059470.mp3
    • Van Halen
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/8/1/3/3/8/107083318.mp3
    • Kids
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/9/3/8/1/8/107081839.mp3
    • On The Run [Feat. Henry Rollins]
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/6/0/7/9/5/535059706.mp3
    • The Great Gig In The Sky [Feat. Peaches and Henry Rollins]
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/8/6/0/9/5/535059068.mp3
    • Us and Them [Feat. Henry Rollins]
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/4/2/8/9/5/535059824.mp3

Interviews & Exclusives

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  • 120 Minutes: Henry Rollins + The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (4/7/1997)
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    120 Minutes: Henry Rollins + The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (4/7/1997)

Photos

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  • Musician Henry Rollins arrives on the red carpet of the Los Angeles premiere of "Anvil! The Story Of Anvil" at The Egyptian Theatre on April 7, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.
    Henry Rollins
    Musician Henry Rollins arrives on the red carpet of the Los Angeles premiere of "Anvil! The Story Of Anvil" at The Egyptian Theatre on April 7, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.
    John Shearer/WireImage
  • Henry Rollins in the audience during the 22nd Annual Film Independent Spirit Awards held at Santa Monica Beach in Santa Monica, California.
    Henry Rollins
    Henry Rollins in the audience during the 22nd Annual Film Independent Spirit Awards held at Santa Monica Beach in Santa Monica, California.
    Kevin Winter/Getty Images
  • Singer Henry Rollins arrives at the 22nd Annual Film Independent Spirit Awards held at Santa Monica Beach on February 24, 2007 in Santa Monica, California.
    Henry Rollins
    Singer Henry Rollins arrives at the 22nd Annual Film Independent Spirit Awards held at Santa Monica Beach on February 24, 2007 in Santa Monica, California.
    Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
  • Henry Rollins
    Courtesy of Sanctuary
  • Dreamworks
    Henry Rollins
    Dreamworks
    Alison Dyer

News

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  • Henry Rollins
    Iggy Pop, Henry Rollins Talk Rock & Roll Vampire Film “Suck”
    www.rollingstone.com
    , 'Yeah!' " he said before the worldwide premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where he hoped to land a U.S. distributor. Jessica Paré ...
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  • Henry Rollins
    Henry Rollins Interviews Nick Cave
    prefixmag.com
    Despite some recentmisguided outbursts, Henry Rollins remains an interesting and intelligent entertainer. So when he sits down for an interview with a...
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  • Henry Rollins
    Bonnaroo Adds G. Love, Ben Sollee, Henry Rollins And More
    American Songwriter
    Shpongletron Experience Daniel Lanois' Black Dub Allen Toussaint (w Dr. John and The Original Meters) Anthony B Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears Ben S...
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  • Henry Rollins
    Dinosaur Jr., Henry Rollins, Pierced Arrows @ The Fillmore, San Fr | Prefix
    www.prefixmag.com
    Tweet Dinosaur Jr., Henry Rollins, Pierced Arrows at The Fillmore in San Francisco (December 15, 2011)Previous · Next Dinosaur Jr., Henry Rollins, Pie...
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  • Henry Rollins
    Listen to Ian MacKaye's 2-Hour KCRW Set With Henry Rollins | Prefix
    www.prefixmag.com
    Jimmy Page's record collection look like? Or Kanye's? While this isn't exactly the same as going through a rockstar's record collection, it's close. R...
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  • Henry Rollins
    Henry Rollins Embarks on 50-State Tour
    Paste
    Henry Rollins' booking agent deserves a raise--and a slow clap--for scheduling a tour of all 50 state capitals and calling it the Capitalism tour. The...
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  • Henry Rollins
    Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Patti Smith, Band of Horses, Bob Dylan, Henry Rollins Featured on West Memphis Three Documentary Soundtrack
    pitchfork.com
    Earlier this year, it was reported that Bad Seeds/Grinderman bandmates Nick Cave and Warren Ellis were scoring another film together. Now, the full so...
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  • Henry Rollins
    Exclusive: Henry Rollins Talks Involvement with West of Memphis
    Paste
    In 1994, three teenagers were convicted of the murder of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas. Serving life sentences, the teenagers sat immobile whil...
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  • Henry Rollins
    Watch Actor James Urbaniak and Henry Rollins in the Video for Dinosaur Jr.'s "Pierce the Morning Rain"
    pitchfork.com
    The new video for Dinosaur Jr.'s "Pierce the Morning Rain"-- from last year's I Bet on Sky-- stars actor James Urbaniak ("The Venture Bros.", American...
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  • Henry Rollins
    Dinosaur Jr. - "Pierce The Morning Rain" Video (Feat. Henry Rollins)
    stereogum.com
    show up in their video for "Pierce The Morning Rain," a bleary jam from their 2012 album I Bet On Sky. Instead, director Scott Jacobson gives us actor...
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Tour Dates

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  • Jun 15 Saturday
    Claremont, CA, US Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden
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Discography

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  • Provoked (2008)
    Henry Rollins
    Provoked (2008)
  • Talk Is Cheap, Vol. 4 (2007)
    Henry Rollins
    Talk Is Cheap, Vol. 4 (2007)
    2.13.61
  • Talk Is Cheap, Vol. 3 (2006)
    Henry Rollins
    Talk Is Cheap, Vol. 3 (2006)
    2.13.61
  • Weighting (2004)
    Henry Rollins
    Weighting (2004)
    2.13.61
  • Live at the Westbeth Theater (2004)
    Henry Rollins
    Live at the Westbeth Theater (2004)
    2.13.61
  • Nights Behind the Tree Line (2004)
    Henry Rollins
    Nights Behind the Tree Line (2004)
    2 13 61 Records
  • A Clockwork Orange Stage (2003)
    Henry Rollins
    A Clockwork Orange Stage (2003)
    2.13.61
  • Yellow Blues (2003)
    Henry Rollins
    Yellow Blues (2003)
    2.13.61
  • A Nicer Shade of Red (2003)
    Henry Rollins
    A Nicer Shade of Red (2003)
    2.13.61
  • Talk Is Cheap, Vol. 2 (2003)
    Henry Rollins
    Talk Is Cheap, Vol. 2 (2003)
    2.13.61
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