The Narrow Interview: Henry Rollins (returns to Gainesville)

The Road Warrior

Henry Rollins returns to Gainesville

By Shelton Hull

The first time I witnessed the work of Henry Rollins, firsthand, was at
the legendary Milk Bar in Jacksonville, FL on July 18, 1996. I was
already five years a fan by that point. My second time was at the
O’Connell Center in Gainesville a year later. I remembered that
because he took time to sit with me and talk after the show, when he was
clearly exhausted, because arguably no man alive gave so much effort
from the lead-singer spot, other than maybe Iggy Pop.

In both cases, I went with my friend from high school, the late great
Sarah Meadows. She drove to Gainesville, but we were late to the show,
because I gave shitty directions. (I’m still bad at navigation. It’s
a personal shortcoming that I will continue to work on.) Rollins was
already doing his spoken-word, and he’d probably done 50 to 100 shows
since the first time I met him. But still, he saw us slink in through
the side door, embarrassed to be late. He looked over at me, smirked,
and nodded; he remembered us, and he seemed to appreciate the effort.

Now, 25 years later, Rollins is back in Gainesville to do spoken-word
at the High Dive. He’s been here countless times before–but, then,
again, he’s been pretty much everywhere countless times before. The
High Dive show will be the 23rd of his “Good to See You” tour, which
encompasses 79 shows in 84 days. The tour covers 34 states, and even
includes 13 dates in Canada. I had the pleasure of interviewing him
recently, via email. These are the highlights.

When was your first time performing in Gainesville?
I have no idea but I suspect it was in the early 1980s, perhaps 1982.
I’ve done a lot of shows in Florida, that’s for sure. Black Flag
played there a lot and I kept going all the way to now.

From the musician’s perspective, do college towns have a consistently
different vibe?
I can’t think of anything that makes a college town stand out as far
as an audience or whatever. When I’m on stage, it’s all about
concentration so the audience, unless they’re antagonistic, I can’t
tell if they’re college educated or what. I’ve noticed regionally
places are different but I can’t tell if that has anything to do with
a place being a college town.

Does the state of Florida have any particular relevance in the history
of punk in the US?
A lot of Punk bands came from there for sure but as far as the
relevance, I don’t know. A lot of states had significant Punk scenes,
California, New York, etc. and Florida was one of them.

Did the pandemic situation cause you to re-assess any aspects of your
own life or career?
Sure. Travel was out almost immediately. Touring was over with. Lack of
mobility for me was quite a change. I dealt with it but it wasn’t
easy. I had to figure out how to do things without going places to do
them. So, a lot of writing projects, etc.

If you could change any random decision you’ve ever made, what would
it be?
Good question. Not sure. I don’t do much that would be considered
random. I do a lot of planning. There were things I did that I had no
idea would fail so completely, like getting an office space in New York
City and hiring people to work there. One of them stole a lot of money
and wrecked things for a while.

What’s your favorite thing that you’ve eaten this year?
I eat a lot of boring food like salad, etc. I’ve had some good sushi
this year, so that would probably be it.

What’s the one show that you most regret not going to? (For me, it
might be the Rollins Band show with Beastie Boys and Cypress Hill at
Plush in Jacksonville.)
I had a ticket to see Queen and Thin Lizzy and opted to get the ton of
homework I had to do finished.

How would you and your peers have utilized today’s streaming and
social media technology, if it had been available in the 1980s?
I can’t speak for anyone else but I suspect it would be exactly what
bands and artist types do with it now. Announce tours, etc., instead of
mailing out thousands of paper notices at great expense only to see
hundreds of them returned.

Do you think that factor would have had a decisive effect on the culture
and society, had it been around, or would things have worked out more or
less the same?
I can’t speculate but I reckon what’s happening now would have
happened then, human behavior being what it is.

Dumb question, but I felt compelled to ask: Do you have any thoughts on
the Will Smith incident at the Oscars? Having witnessed a few incidents
of on-stage violence yourself, do you have tips on de-escalation
yourself?
A rich and talented man, slapped another rich and talented man in a room
full of rich and talented people who made an occasion to celebrate
themselves and let the world watch them be rich and talented, as if
it’s really something to see. Apparently, it’s news. Not to me.
De-escalation? Sure, don’t bring a gun to a riot.