The Kalamazoo Gazette
From punk rock to Iraq - Rollins through the ages
Friday, February 13, 2004
By Marci Persky
The night before my interview with Henry Rollins, I dreamt I asked him a
stupid
question, and this massively buff, tattooed arm reached through the phone
and
grabbed my pencil-neck and choked the moronic life right out of me. That
didn't
happen. In fact, after assuring me he was not going to reach through the
phone
and kill me, I didn't even have to ask Rollins that many questions. We
just
talked -- and talked -- and talked. He was funny, intellectual, passionate
and
intense. But most im****tantly, he was honest. And sincere. Rollins says
what he
feels and damn the torpedoes.
Rollins was on his tour bus traveling through a "dreadful" snowstorm in
Pennsylvania, enroute to a gig on his "Spoken Word" tour in Philadelphia,
on
night 17 of a three-month leg that lands him at the State Theatre on
Thursday.
He had taken a detour that morning to pick up some more copies of his
latest
book, "Broken Summers" -- not from a publisher or warehouse, but straight
from
the factory where they are actually put together. Despite the weather and
time
restraints, Rollins said he relished hanging out with the folks who play
such a
crucial role in the process of getting his words out and into the hands of
his
fans.
"It was cool," he said. "The people who make books rarely get to meet the
people who write them."
Rollins not only has a new book out, there's also a DVD that was released
on
Tuesday, "Live at Luna Park," and a CD of his spoken material, "Nights
Behind
the Tree Line." Then, of course, there are the many musical releases from
his
punk- rock years with Black Flag, right up to the more contem****ary
Rollins
Band. And if that weren't enough, Rollins played alongside Will Smith and
Martin Lawrence last summer in the big-screen release "Bad Boys 2."
It's no wonder when I acknowledged this article would be running on his
43rd
birthday that Rollins said, "I feel like 49."
But he quickly backed that up with an assurance he is not mourning his
youth,
not even in the slightest.
"What are you going to do? Get younger? I have no fear of another year
going
by," he said. "I'm quite enjoying my 40s. I look at younger people, and I
don't
want what they have.
"(When I was) a youth, you worried about getting a bloody nose and the
humiliation of getting punched out in front of your friends. You didn't
see
gunshot wounds or have *** that could potentially kill you. The future is
rough
if you're 18 now. Getting out into the working world is a rough hustle, I
think."
Rollins is quick to admit he is "enamored with this crazy life." That life
includes touring, producing and publi****ng and a deep involvement in civil
activism. His activism embraces a wide range of interests, from children's
charities to local music in his hometown of Wa****ngton D.C., from
anti-drug
messages to keeping awareness alive of the fates of three Arkansas
teenagers
convicted of murder under highly questionable cir***stances.
In addition, he's preparing for a second USO tour in a couple of months.
Although he is vehemently against the war in Iraq, Rollins has great
respect
and sup****t for the young men and women serving our country.
"There are a lot of confused and frustrated young people over there," he
said.
Rollins went to Afghanistan in December and his show and overall attitude
received rave reviews from the troops. "After speaking to the crowd,
Rollins
signed autographs and took pictures with service members late into the
night.
Although he was tired and suffering from jet lag, he stayed until the very
last
service member had left the building," Sgt. Greg Heath, a journalist with
the
4th Public Affairs Detachment in Afghanistan, wrote for the Army News
Service
of Rollins' visit to the Bagram Air Base.
With so much going on in his life, Rollins has remained single and
unattached,
but stops short of calling himself "available."
"The girls at my office call me a middle-aged loser," he said. "I'm not
chasing
ladies all over the place. I do enjoy reading what I want at night without
someone around competing for attention.
"Right now, the less people I am responsible for, the better. If I want to
go
somewhere, I just go. I'm living my life like an adventure book. Plus, my
job
keeps me vigorously on the move and I like it like that, at this point."
A squishy profile of Rollins on the Salon Web site called him "a cute and
lovable monster." Rollins, himself, prefers the description "a selfish b-
- - -
- d."
"For a guy with a potty mouth, covered in tattoos, who makes a living
being
loud, I'm a bookish person," he said.
He spends his infrequent and valuable time off reading and learning. He
practically drinks in the news and gets the most pleasure out of settling
down
with a good book.
"Being able to know what is going on around the world is a luxury," he
said.
"Every night off, I go on the Internet. I learn everything I can, so when
someone shoots at me, I can fire back intellectually and informed. I know
that's a luxury. I can dig it."
But at the same time, he decries a superficial American culture that
"looks at
the world through a pea-shooter" and values looks and anti-intellect over
education and logic.
"Only in America, being smart or pursuing knowledge will get you picked
on," he
said. "The idea that someone would rather go to Hooters than (read), I
don't
get that.
"We have this, 'So you're a reader, huh?' attitude," he said. "In Europe,
if
you're not seen with a book, somebody will come up to you and ask what the
problem is."
Don't even get him started on our nation's leader, who has made it known
that
he is not all that crazy about reading and rarely, if ever, picks up a
newspaper. In fact, we'll just leave the George W. Bush material for
Rollins'
stand-up show.
But it is im****tant to note that if "by the end of the day, Bush has a
flat on
the side of the road," Rollins would be among the first to stop and help
him
out.
"I want him out of office, but he is my countryman and I will protect
him,"
Rollins said of his foil. "That, to me, is just looking out, and that is
where
I see myself as I get older," he said.
An avowed liberal, Rollins' contempt for many conservative values and
particularly Fox News' "fair and balanced" re****ting is tempered by his
respect
for freedom of speech.
"Everyone in this country is entitled to their opinion and long may Bill
O'Reilly wave," he said. "He can have half my sandwich anytime. I would
never
let a countryman starve."
That, however, does not mean he would never question a countryman's
motives.
Case in point, his friend and formerly his sometimes "partner in crime,"
Dennis
Miller.
"I've known Dennis since 1992. He put me on his (HBO) show and helped the
band
big time," Rollins said. "He had a rapier wit, ridiculously fast."
But after watching Miller's new show on CNBC, Rollins said his initial
thought
was, "Whoa!"
"Anyone who says, 'Clinton was a chess guy, and I like Bush because he's a
checkers guy,' are you kidding me? Dennis was a chess guy. I guess he's
being
well-moneyed and I still admire his mind. But some magazine just needs to
step
in and ask, 'Dennis? Dude?' "
Despite his strong political feelings, Rollins has no designs on jumping
into
the political arena.
"I would never enter politics knowing what I know, being born in D.C.," he
said. "Plus, I'm just a high school graduate. But I know I can do good
things
continually."
"I really enjoy working at the civic level," he continued. "I like looking
at
something and saying, 'That sucks. Let's make a dent in that.'
"I'm not changing the world, but I'm certainly addressing the problem by
being
proactive. I think that should be prerequisite Americana. Look out for
your
fellow countryman."
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