A Moment With Mr. Intensity
My brief words with Mr. Henry Rollins 10/21/05
By Millie
Henry Rollins
"25 Years of Bullshit" Spoken Word Tour
THU NOV 10 2005 7:00 PM
ALADDIN THEATER 3017 SE Milwaukie [at Powell]
Portland, OR --Tixx available through ticketmaster
Calling from a gray, rainy day in New Jersey, Henry Rollins crossed the country via phone wires to a cold, rainy day in Portland, Oregon. The discussion presented was phenomenal; honestly more information than I could ever have hoped for; and when finished, the curse of Millie reared its ugly head and proved that it owns the phone lines and all technological devices I connect to… the recorder I used only recorded my voice. Yes, only mine. From the unbelievable studied factual outpouring of Mr. Rollins’s mouth, I can quote little, from interview to feature article this writing soon went, and here we are. This feature contains what I remember, a middle-person’s telling of Mr. Rollins’ expressions and embrasures, plans communicated, feelings presented… And guess what?! Although I have no vocal proof now, Henry has to find time to get his own laundry done on his days off hmmm…definitely human.
When interviewed, Henry Rollins was on his “90-something show” amidst a 110 show Spoken Word Tour. He summed up the tour thus far in simple yet strong words, “…the people are great. I like them, they like me, it’s going well.” He cited no particular favorite places to play in the US, excepting Washington DC [his hometown], then explaining [he doesn’t]”necessarily like playing LA county because it’s strange to go home;” throughout the conversation he reiterated how much he loves traveling and reaching people. Crossing the country, Rollins stated that much of his material remains the same, as it’s prepared prior to touring, however, he admitted that with so many shows the material “does get stale,” and that he’s “on the internet literally hours a day” to keep up with current events and media. Henry stating, “I don’t proclaim myself an expert, but I stay up on what’s going on. It’s fascinating to me” and “Our country’s at war right now and that definitely concerns me” opened up an entirely new conversation, one that I was dying to capture his passion on.
Through the USO, Henry Rollins has been on 6 Middle East tours – some to perform for our soldiers serving there, some to just visit and give support to those soldiers. He’s seen, he’s heard, he’s read – and oh-how-he’s-retained information! This is the part of the conversation that I WISH I was able to record verbatim.
I asked Henry if he had any ideas on the concept that we’re fighting the war of the ideal of the dollar vs. the ideal of Allah and he said “Definitely. We went there looking for oil.” Henry tore it down like a history novel, citing acts of congress, particular names and overall actions of both the Clinton and Bush Administrations, pulling out facts from Desert Storm in the early 90’s through things that had happened in the past few weeks. He was asking, “We claim to be fighting terrorism, but we’re [pushing power] in a country that’s [civilization] is 10 times older than us.” He reiterated “How is fighting [just] Al Quaeda a war on terrorism?” The people that are sending our soldiers have never fought a war, so they decide, let’s send people in.”
“I’m not for terrorism,” declared Rollins. “I’m for freedom and democracy.” He just doesn’t agree with the reasons our troops are there, and states that WE termed this terrorism. [
“Our soldiers are my heroes,” stated an emotional HR, “I love the military.” The bravery and strength of our men and women was reiterated numerous times throughout, and we rolled into his upcoming schedule.” I want to go back.” He’s offered his schedule to the USO, wanted to go back to Afghanistan over the Christmas holiday [which would’ve been his 3rd in a row], and was disappointed to learn that the USO had ‘filled’ their Afghani plate for December, then later even more disappointed learning that all of the USO’s December plates were full. HR is already sending his next year’s schedule into the USO planning committees basically screaming, ‘I’M AVAILABLE’. I mentioned meeting a soldier that had met HR near Camp Taji [also known as Camp Cooke] while deployed, and how much the experience meant to him and his unit, and Henry stated bluntly without pride, “that’s why I go.”
So what’s next after this spoken tour? Next year’s schedule he’s sending into the USO already includes the following:
*Writing - Including writing for his TV show, originally ‘Henry’s Film Corner’ changing to the expanded weekly format of ‘The Henry Rollins Show’ = “four times the amount of writing” than he’s been doing this year.
*Music - *A couple of trips, including a Russian tour in the spring or fall, he’d like to hit East Asia [“but not in the summer”], and “maybe take a trip through a remote place in Africa… [to] see if I can survive.” [Lions and tigers and rhinos anyone?]
*Some downtime, which, contrary to popular belief, Henry enjoys. Over the Christmas holiday when his office is closed and no one’s around, “is enjoyable.” “I have a day off… a week from yesterday? Not sure, it’s around there somewhere…” “I definitely enjoy downtime.” “…a couple days in New York or DC, “I can drive around, take in a movie, and get my laundry done…” [and you thought I was kidding…]
Regarding his upcoming trip to Portland, Rollins expressed excitement.
“I’ve always enjoyed Portland.” From Black Flag and Rollins Band to Spoken Word Tours, Rollins ‘likes the people the people like him.’ He cited the Aladdin Theatre being a great venue, and loves to hang out at Powell’s Books. “[Portland]’s a great place.”
Speaking with Henry was nothing like I imagined it would be. I’ve heard him tell reporters off, condescend when he’s felt condescended to, listened as his punk core reached out to strangle someone with words of intelligence and intensity… and yet while the guy I talked to maintained that intelligence, strength, passion and intensity, he also wove a web of dignity laced with a hunger for knowledge – knowledge of the mind, the body, the spirit, not to be satiated with mundane everyday workings that most of us allow to trap us. Reading is not enough. Seeing is not enough. Tasting, feeling, experiencing? Oh no, not even then can he stop. RELATING, IMPARTING, SHARING… his tasks continue, his core strives to be heard. He has fought the mundane to gain the ground that he stands on now – can you hear him? Would you like a map? This is a man that should never be ignored… agree or disagree with him, doesn’t matter. He has the uncanny ability to absorb and nutshell information in a way that all can hear and then research for themselves. He’s sharing, are you listening?
