Hey Kids! It’s Henry Rollins: An Interview
Read Time:4 Minute, 50 Second
In the 1970’s, American punk rock was everywhere. The Ramones, Husker Du, The Dead Milkmen, The Plasmatics and Black Flag created havoc in the music industry. Born out of the British punk scene, American punk rock was blaring from radios and tape decks by teenagers too young to understand Vietnam, but old enough to understand we were angry. One front man stood out. He was handsome, he was loud and brash and he didn’t take any shit from anyone, including audiences. That was Henry Rollins.
Rollins has gone on to a career as a spoken word performance artist. He has his own radio show, he tours around the world and yes, the hair is grayer, the anger is a bit more controlled. Henry Rollins was the spokesperson for a generation, my generation, and when he agreed to an interview with Mad Mike’s America, we were bowled over. Rollins is an artist of the highest caliber, and if you’ve never heard Black Flag or The Rollins Band, or heard Henry Rollins speak, you’re missing out on true genius.
Here we go:
Q) You were the lead singer for Black Flag, one of the most well-known punk rock bands in America. During that period of time, a lot of bands jumped onto the punk scene, some deserving of the title “punk” and some not. What do you think made Black Flag so popular, and what were some of the more enjoyable aspects of being a punk rock deity?
A)I think Black Flag had a unique sound and message. That was due to the creative genius of Greg Ginn and Chuck Dukowski. They had a very unorthodox approach to things that was quite often terrifying. The band stood out. The band was very good live, that was of great importance that in the live setting the band could deliver. A lot went into that. As to your other question, I have no idea what to say.
Q) In the 1980’s, you produced an album of acoustic songs for Charles Manson that was never released to the public. What compelled you to work with Manson? Did you ever meet with, or speak with him?
A) Greg Ginn wanted to put out some cassettes of Manson’s music his lawyer sent to SST. I was put in charge of making the edit. I ended up working on the project. I never met or talked to the man. The album was never released.
Q) “Get in the Van,” a spoken word album about your time and travels with Black Flag, won a Grammy award in 1994. For a man who started his career as an anti-establishment punk rocker, what was that experience like for you?
A) It was somewhat ironic, I guess. I gave the Grammy trophy away. I have no idea where it is. I guess that is your answer.
Q) Your best friend, Joe Cole, was murdered in front of you in 1991. That experience is the subject of your book “Now Watch Him Die.” You were also held for questioning by police in Cole’s death. Does his passing still impact you, and if so, in what way?
A) am sad about the complete pointlessness of his death. It is an endlessly frustrating thing to think about. I am sure that won’t get any better.
Q) For quite a few years, you have focused on spoken-word performing, and in a 2011 interview, told a publication you “swore off music.” Do you find performing with simply the spoken word as fulfilling as performing in a band? Have you generated a new fan base with your performances and radio show?
A) I am not a musician. So, when all the lyric ideas I had passed through me to songs, I was done. I didn’t see the value of standing on a stage singing old songs. Life is too short for me to do that. The talking shows are much more challenging than the band stuff ever was and I like being alone backstage, onstage, etc. There is a truth to it that I enjoy. As to your other question, I have no idea. My shows usually sell out. I don’t know where people find out about me from. I just do the work.
Q) Your assistant, Heidi May, who is pretty popular in her own right. What is the strangest thing she has to deal with, other than the rodents in your freezer?
A) I guess the strangest thing she has to deal with all the time is me. I am pretty crazy and she keeps everything in a line. I am sure I frustrate her at every turn. She is one of the best people I have ever met and I am very lucky to have her holding things down.
Q) Do you consider yourself a poet, a performance artist, or a combination of both; what inspires your spoken word performances?
A) I just work. All the titles really have hold no interest to me. I just get it done.
And for all of us who went bat shit insane over Ted Nugent, got our panties in a bunch, freaked out and said he should be arrested, we close this interview with what may be the best perspective on Nugent:
Q) Ted Nugent has been in the news lately, for what many are calling inflammatory and violent statements made against the current administration and Democrats. Do you feel he crossed the line, or were his statements blown out of proportion?
A) He’s a gun loving draft dodger, why does anyone take him seriously?
Thank you to Henry Rollins for his generosity and for taking the time to answer my questions.
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Fun interview. While I enjoyed his Black Flag stuff his best work, for sure, is “I Can’t Get Behind That” on William Shatner’s massively unappreciated album, Has Been 🙂
I was never into the punk rock scene but had heard of Henry Rollins, and when I saw the pic I knew who he was. I like his take on Terrible Ted, and find he summed him up quite nicely. Thanks for the interview Mr. R.
My man except for his comment about Ted N. and his other liberal shit. Entertainers need to stick to their own stuff without messing in politics.
Love him, and his letter to Ann Coulter I think it is brilliant. If you haven’t seen it, you have got to get thee to you tube and see for yourself.
Great interview, I grew up in the Caribbean so I did not know of this gentleman or the band, but I will now, thank you Erin.