the man in black

and in the end I saw the man in black...Henry Rollins himself! I was sitting on the 5th row in an big auditorium and to my surprise; full house! the audience was predominantly white, male and 30 - 40 years old and there was I: short, brown and with my victory rolls eagerly awating for what he had to say / y al final vi al hombre de negro...Henry Rollins! Me senté en la 5ta fila en un auditorio grandisimo y para mi sorpresa: casa llena! la audiencia fue predominantemente masculina, blanca y de 30 a 40 años y ahí estaba yo: pequeñita, marroncita y con mis victory rolls esperando ansiosa por lo que el tenia que decir. 

The show did not dissapoint. The minute he went on the stage everyone smiled. He only had words to entertain us, he was against a plain background, under the spotlight,  fully dressed in black and shooting words as fast as he could. His striking energy lasted for over 3 hours but we, the audience, did not feel that the show lasted that long - I talked to some other people about it and they all agreed-. One can tell Punk still flows through his veins and a series of anecdotes from the Black Flag era and suggesting the Ramones + Pizza can solve any problems people may have were the evidence. He talked extensively about politics, the US government and his trips. As I said before, the world needs more people like him and he should keep on talking.../ El show no decepcionó. En cuanto salió al escenario todo el mundo sonrió. Sólo tenía palabras para entretenernos porque se paró en un escenario de un solo color, bajo la luz, vestido todo de negro y disparando palabras lo más rápido que pudo (sólo apto para gente con buen nivel de inglés). Su energía se mantuvo por más de 3 horas y nosotros, la audiencia no sentimos que el show duró tanto - hablé después con otra gente y estuvieron de acuerdo-. Uno se da cuenta que el Punk todavía corre por sus venas y una serie de anécdotas sobre la era Black Flag y la sugerencia de usar pizza y los Ramones para resolver cualquier problema fueron la evidencia. Habló extensivamente sobre política, el gobierno de USA y sus viajes. Como dije antes, el mundo necesita más gente como él y debería seguir hablando....

this the fustration face when talking about the US. this is what I wore to go to the show. I finally had the chance to match the skirt and the shoes with the help of thermal leggins, both from Think Twice, a vintage shop here in Leuven.

WHAT is Henry Rollins?

Henry Rollins is coming to Leuven and I already got my ticket in hand but eveytime I tell my friends about how excited I am to see  him the reactions range from: "I know his name but I don´t know why" to "What exactly is Henry Rollins?".

In the past, I’ve found myself trying to explain my friends who a number of artists or bands are but in my opinion knowing who Henry Rollins is goes beyond basic musical knowledge. I spent the good first half of my high school years listening to different kinds of genres, from new metal to black metal to 60s music in some sort of musical solitary road (cause in Venezuela most of the people are into tropical music) . Even though I started listening to rock and punk before my brother, it was him who  pushed Black Flag and Henry Rollins on me, along with Minor Threat, Teen Idles, Circle Jerks, Bad Brains among others.

It is difficult to translate in one sentence or two the exntesion of what Henry Rollins is or even what he meant to me while growing up. The following video is about the history of harcore in America, kind of a crash course if you are interested...

Fronting the band Black Flag, Henry took the streets of the Regan-era suburbia and took a bunch of youngsters along for the ride. BF was one the first significant hardcore/punk bands on the West Coast scene in the 80’s. Around 3:00 in the following video he talks about how making music was and how different it is from todays music business.

After BlACK FLAG (1986), he formed the ROLLINS BAND, this band had more of a commercial success and "Liar" is one of the most well-known songs of the band with Rollins´ signature voice and pitch...talking straight at you. The band released 7 albums between 1987-2001, with the height of their popularity peaking in the mid-90’s.

 

 this is an interview in which he exposes some his opinions and stories from his life after The Rollins Band

 

A significant part of Rollins’ life is his "spoken word" performances, but what does that mean? If i had to summarize it I´d say: stand-up comedy + storytelling based in his adventures as a frontman and as a traveler. If you think hes gonna be singing, you are wrong. I ve been a follower for so many years now so I decided I wanted to know a bit more and I emailed him and to my surprise, he replied! Henry Rollins, himself! He was very kind to take some time to answer a few questions: 

 1- What do you want your audience to take away from your performance? ====== Hopefully, they were interested in what I had to say and that I didn’t bore them. That’s as good as it gets. Anything past that, like someone being inspired or something is a nice extra. 

 2- You've captured some beautiful and shocking images. How do you convince people to let you take pictures of them? Did you have any training? =======I just ask. Some say yes and many say no. If they say no, I don’t. I have no training.

 3- Do people recognize you when you travel to non-western countries? ===== Not much. In Indonesia sometimes because of films but past that, not much.

 4-Have you considered going back on stage with a band ever again? ======= No.

 5- Who is your current literary influence(s)? ====== I don’t really read literature any more. I read a lot of history and political stuff. Eric Foner’s new book on Lincoln is extremely good. 

 6-Have your feelings about getting married and women changed as you are getting older? ===== No. The last thing I would ever to is get married. Women are fine with me but I am the solitary type.

7- I saw a show called THE MAN SHOW. It is a very old show but the conlcusion is that you come across as a very masculine man but your opinion about yourself leans towards the feminine side. Do you think this has changed with time? ====== I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about there.

I know this a very long post but there´s so much writing needed if anyone wants to talk about what he has done -there are some things that im omitting-.

Despite his movie and television appearances and his moderate fame, punk still flows through his veins. He remains faithful to his ethics, he doesn’t get high, doesn’t get drunk and keeps a rigorous schedule. Hardworking, clear as water and as PI as anyone can be, the world needs more people like him and he should keep on talking...