[ t e x t . o n l y . v e r s i o n ] [ b y . c h r i s . m u r r a y ]
Fame is an unusual state of being. Some attain public recognition by
pursuing a rehearsed personality; others by sheer circumstance. Then
there's Henry Rollins, a man renowned for simply being himself. When
speaking with Rollins -- or 'Hank' as friends call him -- you're always
aware of one thing. Henry Rollins doesn't mince words nor attitude.
Henry agreed to a brief chat from Los Angeles while taking a studio break
from mixing his new album, due later this year. A good start was to
actually throw the ball straight at him and ask what HE thought all the
fuss was about, and why people have such an interest in his life and
personal feelings.
'I think ... um ... that's an interesting question because I have to answer
it in a way that's not self-congratulatory,' Rollins pauses, then continues
in his very calm yet intense tone of voice.
'I think because of the nature of what I do -- I come from a very
"everyman" point of view. I came from the $3.50 an hour working world and
went into music with not a whole lot of fear or trepidation ... I just let
it rip! That's the way I went into acting and all that other stuff -- just
like your buddy down the street; he's gonna go in and turn on all the
lights to see what happens. I think a lot of people look at that and go,
"well there goes our boy, y'know".'
'I'm going through all this stuff as an art concept -- let's see what this
guy does with the music. Let's see what happens if I go to Hollywood and
try to make a movie. [Laughing] it's almost like one of those half-hour TV
shows where they send a truck driver in to audition for Broadway. And he
makes it! You kinda go, "damn man, who'da thought?" You see I don't have
talent for any of this, I just have a lot of "want to" and not a whole lot
of fear about the outcome.'
Henry's lack of fear has resulted in him getting the shit beaten out of him
by Al Pacino in "Heat", as well as a somewhat ironic appearance as a prison
guard in David Lynch's "Lost Highway", not to mention the publishing
company 2.13.61 (his birthday) and a multitude of musical and spoken word
recordings. Then, of course, there are the numerous books and spoken word
performances that have made Rollins a much sought after source of
inspiration and social commentary -- yet it's all "just Henry".
'It's my truth. See I've never been afraid of the truth. I might not always
like it -- you know it might really suck sometimes -- but I reckon if you
tell the truth you'll always be okay. If someone doesn't like you for it,
well ... that's that!'
Rollins' tenacity is legendary -- he's the guy who auditioned for his
favourite band Black Flag, got the job and underwent a baptism of fire.
'I used to live in Washington DC, on the other side of America from where
Black Flag came from in California. I was a working stiff, you know 60 to
70 hours a week scooping ice-cream. I thought I worked hard, and I did, but
then I joined Black Flag and learnt what real hard work's all about on no
budget, and food became a luxury. All of a sudden you learn about burning
lean tissue to get something going and what it really takes to put
something across. Luckily the guys in Black Flag [Gregg Ginn and Chuck
Dukowski] were real individuals who thought differently. I learnt a lot
from them.'
People often wonder where Rollins gets that unrelenting aura of intensity.
Just read or listen to his diary account of the days he spent with Black
Flag entitled "Get In The Van" -- all the answers are there! So what are
the main differences in Rollins' personality from the violent world of
Black Flag, to the man we now see gracing prestigious stages the world
over, sharing anecdotes?
'I haven't mellowed. I'm more tolerant -- in the hope people will be
tolerant with me when I fail or fall off. If you are unforgiving, you build
a bridge that you must some day cross yourself. So I've become not so
judgemental.'
But what keeps Rollins going? Is it more for the sake of learning
information or sharing life experience?
'Both. You know the acquiring of information and telling the story. I live
to tell the story via lyric or onstage in a raconteur kind of form. Once
I'm up on stage, I pretty much set myself up as the 'straight man' in my
own comedy.' Giving a brief chuckle, Henry pauses then concludes with the
kind of tone that instantly conjures up the image of his face, broken open
by a wide smile, 'there are a lot of stories where the joke's on me, as
well it should be.'
'Work is what I crave ... I like to do stuff. I like to work with different
kinds of people and face different kinds of challenges, so I've basically
worked my whole life around getting to that ... I don't do any of this
stuff for the money or the glory, I do it for the experience.'
Continuing at hyper-speed, clearly on a roll and passionate, Rollins' voice
becomes more and more forceful.
'I think I'm able to focus more 'cause I work harder by putting less ego
into what I do. When you work with a lot of ego, as a young man will do, it
obscures a lot of the reasons why you're doing something. Why do you want
to do a song, to be "the man" or to put something across? If you're
thinking "It's about me, me, me" you lose sight of the goal, which is
really not a "me" thing at all. It's about walking away from the "me" thing
and letting that fall out of your grasp. Then you get a hold on something
else.'
Apart from playing the international tour circuit with his spoken word
shows, Rollins has also been working on his next musical venture -- an
album of twenty four songs due out later this year -- and rediscovering the
people who made 'timeless music', especially The Beatles.
'It was just the sheer genius of how much music those guys accomplished in
that amount of time -- it is truly staggering. No one really did that! It
was around seven, eight or nine years! It's kinda scary. They assimilated
the culture around them and you can hear them mutating; to me it's all
good. There's no bad Beatles records ... I've just started to appreciate
people that have made timeless music. I do a lot of thinking about music, a
lot of reading books about these people and looking at music criticism, and
I listen to a lot of contemporary music to hear what's going on. Also I've
been trying to understand the impact of MTV and how the industry dictates
the music rather than the music dictating the industry. So now I'm trying
to get back to music that was an artform and labels had to adjust to the
artform; labels like Bluenote Recordings and Impulse. There are too many
bands now that just go: "OK what suits do you want us to wear?". The music
is suffering and it's like going to a church and pissing in the aisle --
it's a sacred place, have some respect. A lot of music right now is very
anonymous, so you have an anonymous culture with anonymous thoughts and
aspirations. I'm not hearing what I want from modern records anymore.
That's what the next record I'm working on is all about, I'm just doin'
music that I want to hear and I honestly don't care what people think about
it -- I stopped thinking about what people care about a couple of years
ago.'
Speaking with Henry Rollins is like talking to the ultimate sound board
with an opinion that can cut diamonds. The topics are vast and ever
changing, the tone always honest -- and more revealing than you think.
The consistent 'trendy' rumours floating around as to whether Rollins is
indeed gay or not, he actually finds very amusing -- if not a little
tiring. A very vocal speaker on the dangers of homophobia and racism, Henry
opens himself up to this type of speculation. So after consulting with some
gay friends, Rollins discovered the two main reasons for the continued
rumours -- his 'disciplined attitude and appearance' plus just simple
'wishful thinking' from the gay community!
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