86-530: Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins , is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, comedian, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1980, Rollins fronted the California hardcore band Black Flag from 1981 to 1986. Following the band's breakup, he established the record label and publishing company 2.13.61 to release his spoken word albums, and formed
172-470: A swing beat into their style. Rollins then abandoned his State of Alert "bark" and adopted the band's swing. Rollins later explained: "What I was doing kind of matched the vibe of the music. The music was intense and, well, I was as intense as you needed." In both incarnations of the Rollins Band, Rollins combined spoken word with his traditional vocal style in songs such as " Liar " (the song begins with
258-466: A "macho asshole". A legal dispute with Unicorn Records held up further Black Flag releases until 1984, and Ginn was slowing the band's tempo down so that they would remain innovative. In August 1983, guitarist Dez Cadena had left the band; a stalemate lingered between Dukowski and Ginn, who wanted Dukowski to leave, before Ginn fired Dukowski outright. 1984's heavy metal music -influenced My War featured Rollins screaming and wailing throughout many of
344-605: A 1982 show in Anacortes, Washington , Sub Pop critic Calvin Johnson wrote: "Henry was incredible. Pacing back and forth, lunging, lurching, growling; it was all real, the most intense emotional experiences I have ever seen." By 1983, Rollins's stage persona was increasingly alienating him from the rest of Black Flag. During a show in England, Rollins assaulted a member of the audience who attacked Ginn; Ginn later scolded Rollins, calling him
430-487: A Black Flag concert, Rollins repeatedly punched a fan in the face who had continuously reached for his microphone. Rollins became increasingly alienated from the audience; in his tour diary, Rollins wrote "When they spit at me, when they grab at me, they aren't hurting me. When I push out and mangle the flesh of another, it's falling so short of what I really want to do to them." During the Unicorn legal dispute, Rollins had started
516-620: A Dream ", Sojourner Truth 's " Ain't I a Woman? ", and Booker T. Washington 's "Cast Down Your Buckets" incorporated elements of oration that influenced the spoken-word movement within the African-American community. The Last Poets was a poetry and political music group formed during the 1960s that was born out of the Civil Rights Movement and helped increase the popularity of spoken word within African-American culture. Spoken word poetry entered into wider American culture following
602-516: A Grown Man Cry , Now Watch Him Die , Smile, You're Traveling , Get in the Van , Eye Scream , Broken Summers , Roomanitarian , and Solipsist . For the audiobook version of the 2006 novel World War Z , Rollins voiced the character of T. Sean Collins, a mercenary hired to protect celebrities during a mass panic caused by an onslaught of the undead. Rollins' other audiobook recordings include 3:10 to Yuma and his own autobiographical book, Get in
688-458: A contributing columnist to the magazine. With the increased exposure, Rollins made several appearances on American music channels MTV and VH1 around this time, and made his Hollywood film debut in 1994 in The Chase playing a police officer. In 1995, the Rollins Band's record label, Imago Records, declared itself bankrupt. Rollins began focusing on his spoken word career. He released Everything ,
774-734: A deadly threat to the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club . In 2009, Rollins voiced "Trucker" in American Dad! ' s fourth season (episode eight). Rollins voiced Benjamin Knox/Bonk in the 2000 animated film Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker . In 2010, Rollins appeared as a guest judge on season 2 episode 6 of RuPaul's Drag Race . In 2011, he was interviewed in the National Geographic Explorer episode "Born to Rage", regarding his possible link to
860-622: A distribution deal with Imago Records and appeared at the Lollapalooza festival; both improved the band's presence. However, in December 1991, Rollins and his best friend Joe Cole were accosted by two armed robbers outside Rollins's home. Cole was murdered by a gunshot to the head; Rollins escaped without injury but police suspected him in the murder and detained him for ten hours. Although traumatized by Cole's death, as chronicled in his book Now Watch Him Die , Rollins continued to release new material;
946-454: A fan of the band, exchanging letters with bassist Chuck Dukowski and later inviting the band to stay in his parents' home when Black Flag toured the East Coast in December 1980. When Black Flag returned to the East Coast in 1981, Rollins attended as many of their concerts as he could. At an impromptu show in a New York bar, Black Flag's vocalist Dez Cadena allowed Rollins to sing "Clocked In",
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#17331049788921032-829: A forerunner of the genre. In the UK, musicians who have performed spoken-word lyrics include Blur , The Streets and Kae Tempest . In Zimbabwe , spoken word has been mostly active on stage through the House of Hunger Poetry slam in Harare , Mlomo Wakho Poetry Slam in Bulawayo as well as the Charles Austin Theatre in Masvingo . Festivals such as Harare International Festival of the Arts , Intwa Arts Festival KoBulawayo and Shoko Festival have supported
1118-538: A job as a courier for kidney samples at the National Institutes of Health . In 1987, he said that he had not seen his father since the age of 18, and, in 2019, wrote, "What my father thinks of me, or if he is still alive, I have no idea." Initially into hard rock acts like Van Halen and Ted Nugent , Rollins soon developed an interest in punk with his friend Ian MacKaye . "We wanted something that just kicked ass ," he says. "Then one of us, probably Ian, got
1204-428: A one-minute spoken diatribe by Rollins), barked his way through songs (such as "Tearing" and "Starve"), and employed the loud-quiet dynamic. Rolling Stone ' s Anthony DeCurtis names Rollins a "screeching hate machine" and his "hallmark" as "the sheets-of-sound assault". With the Rollins Band, his lyrics focused "almost exclusively on issues relating to personal integrity", according to critic Geoffrey Welchman. In
1290-500: A radio show. In 2006, Rollins appeared in a documentary series by VH1 and The Sundance Channel called The Drug Years . Rollins appears in FX's Sons of Anarchy ' s second season, which premiered in the fall of 2009 in the United States. Rollins plays A.J. Weston , a white supremacist gang leader and new antagonist in the show's fictional town of Charming, California, who poses
1376-451: A recording of a chapter of his book Eye Scream with free jazz backing, in 1996. He continued to appear in various films, including Heat , Johnny Mnemonic and Lost Highway . The Rollins Band signed to Dreamworks Records in 1997 and soon released Come In and Burn , but it did not receive as much critical acclaim as their previous material. Rollins continued to release spoken-word book readings, releasing Black Coffee Blues in
1462-484: A reputation for fighting in shows. He later said, "I was like nineteen and a young man all full of steam and loved to get in the dust-ups." By this time, Rollins had become the assistant manager of the Georgetown Häagen-Dazs ice cream store; his steady employment had helped to finance the S.O.A. EP. In 1980, a friend gave Rollins and MacKaye a copy of Black Flag's Nervous Breakdown EP. Rollins soon became
1548-401: A result. Rollins later said: "That really scared me. It freaked me out that an adult would do that. ... My little eyes were opened big time." Before concerts, as the others of the band tuned up, Rollins would stride about the stage dressed only in a pair of black shorts, grinding his teeth; to focus before the show, he would squeeze a pool ball. His stage persona impressed several critics; after
1634-674: A retired Marine Corps officer who hosts his own show which tests the contestants' will to survive. Rollins has also appeared in Punk: Attitude , a documentary on the punk scene, and in American Hardcore (2006). In 2012, Rollins appeared in a short documentary entitled "Who Shot Rock and Roll" discussing the early punk scene in Los Angeles as well as photographs of himself in Black Flag taken by photographer Edward Colver. Rollins also inspired
1720-604: A semi-regular podcast with his longtime manager Heidi May, titled Henry & Heidi . In describing the show, Rollins stated, "One day Heidi mentioned that I've told her a lot of stories that never made it to the stage and we should do a podcast so I could tell them ... I thought it was a good idea and people seem to like how the two of us get along. We've been working together for over 20 years and are very good friends." The podcast has received positive reviews from Rolling Stone and The A.V. Club . Rollins began his film career appearing in several independent films featuring
1806-516: A solo spoken-word artist. He released two solo records in 1987, Hot Animal Machine , a collaboration with guitarist Chris Haskett , and Drive by Shooting , recorded as "Henrietta Collins and the Wifebeating Childhaters"; Rollins also released his second spoken word album, Big Ugly Mouth , in the same year. Along with Haskett, Rollins soon added Andrew Weiss and Sim Cain , both former members of Ginn's side-project Gone , and called
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#17331049788921892-620: A song Rollins had asked the band to play in light of the fact that he had to drive back to Washington, D.C., to begin work. Unbeknownst to Rollins, Cadena wanted to switch to guitar, and the band was looking for a new vocalist. The band was impressed with Rollins's singing and stage demeanor, and the next day, after a semi-formal audition at Tu Casa Studio in New York City, they asked him to become their permanent vocalist. Despite some doubts, he accepted, in part because of MacKaye's encouragement. His high level of energy and intense personality suited
1978-473: A song either by the Beastie Boys or British group The Fall . Rollins put the show on a short hiatus from early to late 2005, to undertake a spoken-word tour. Upon resuming the show, Rollins kicked off his return by playing the show's namesake Buzzcocks song. In 2008, the show was continuing each week, despite Rollins's constant touring, with new pre-recorded shows between live broadcasts. The show ended when
2064-464: A vocalist, Rollins has adopted a number of styles through the years. He was noted in the Washington, D.C. hardcore scene for what journalist Michael Azerrad described as a "compelling, raspy howl". With State of Alert, Rollins "spat out the lyrics like a bellicose auctioneer." He adopted a similar style after joining Black Flag in 1981. By their album Damaged , however, Black Flag began to incorporate
2150-461: A weight-lifting program, and by their 1984 tours, he had become visibly well-built; journalist Michael Azerrad later commented that "his powerful physique was a metaphor for the impregnable emotional shield he was developing around himself." Rollins has since replied that "no, the training was just basically a way to push myself." Before Black Flag disbanded in August 1986, Rollins had already toured as
2236-473: Is a 20th-century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of recitation and word play , such as the performer's live intonation and voice inflection. Spoken word is a "catchall" term that includes any kind of poetry recited aloud, including poetry readings, poetry slams , jazz poetry , pianologues, musical readings, and hip hop music , and can include comedy routines and prose monologues . Unlike written poetry,
2322-491: Is also abundant on college campuses, YouTube, and through forums such as Button Poetry. Some spoken-word poems go viral and can then appear in articles, on TED talks , and on social media sites such as Twitter , Facebook , and Instagram . State of Alert State of Alert (often abbreviated to S.O.A. ) was an American hardcore punk group formed in Washington, D.C. , in October 1980, and active until July 1981. S.O.A.
2408-610: Is also involved in social work and issues. In Ghana , the poetry group Ehalakasa, led by Kojo Yibor Kojo AKA Sir Black, holds monthly TalkParty events (collaborative endeavour with Nubuke Foundation and/ National Theatre of Ghana ) and special events such as Ehalakasa Slam Festival and end-of-year events. This group has produced spoken-word poets including Mutombo da Poet, Chief Moomen, Nana Asaase, RhymeSonny , Koo Kumi , Hondred Percent, Jewel King, Faiba Bernard, Akambo, Wordrite, Natty Ogli, and Philipa. The spoken-word movement in Ghana
2494-561: Is credited with starting the poetry slam in November 1984. In 1990, the first National Poetry Slam took place in Fort Mason, San Francisco . The poetry slam movement reached a wider audience following Russell Simmons ' Def Poetry , which was aired on HBO between 2002 and 2007. The poets associated with the Buffalo Readings were active early in the 21st century. In San Francisco in
2580-515: Is explicitly written to be performed aloud and consciously shuns the written form. "Form", as Donald Hall records "was never more than an extension of content." Performance poetry in Africa dates to prehistorical times with the creation of hunting poetry, while elegiac and panegyric court poetry were developed extensively throughout the history of the empires of the Nile, Niger and Volta river valleys. One of
2666-604: Is of Irish descent, and his father was from a Jewish family. Rollins's paternal great-grandfather, Henach Luban, fled to the U.S. from Rēzekne , Latvia, (then part of the Russian Empire ) and changed his first name to Henry. When Rollins was three years old, his parents divorced and he was raised by his mother in the Washington neighborhood of Glover Park . As a child and teenager, Rollins was sexually assaulted, and he suffered from depression and low self-esteem. In fourth grade, he
Henry Rollins - Misplaced Pages Continue
2752-402: Is one that is conveyed primarily by speech as opposed to writing, in predominantly oral cultures proverbs (also known as maxims ) are convenient vehicles for conveying simple beliefs and cultural attitudes. "The hearing knowledge we bring to a line of poetry is a knowledge of a pattern of speech we have known since we were infants". Performance poetry , which is kindred to performance art,
2838-527: Is primarily oral utterance, to be said aloud, to be heard." Poetry, like music , appeals to the ear, an effect known as euphony or onomatopoeia , a device to represent a thing or action by a word that imitates sound. "Speak again, Speak like rain" was how a poet of the Kikuyu people, an East African people, described her verse to author Isak Dinesen , confirming a comment by T. S. Eliot that "poetry remains one person talking to another". The oral tradition
2924-565: Is rapidly growing that individual spoken-word artists like MEGBORNA, are continuously carving a niche for themselves and stretching the borders of spoken word by combining spoken word with 3D animations and spoken-word video game, based on his yet to be released poem, Alkebulan. In Kumasi , the creative group CHASKELE holds an annual spoken-word event on the campus of KNUST giving platform to poets and other creatives. Poets like Elidior The Poet, Slimo, T-Maine are key members of this group. In Kenya , poetry performance grew significantly between
3010-440: Is to be read aloud by someone's voice, whoever reads a poem aloud becomes the proper medium for the poem." "Every speaker intuitively courses through manipulation of sounds, it is almost as though 'we sing to one another all day'." "Sound once imagined through the eye gradually gave body to poems through performance, and late in the 1950s reading aloud erupted in the United States." Some American spoken-word poetry originated from
3096-590: The Home Journal wrote about concerts that combined spoken word recitations with music, as demonstrated by actresses Sophie Schroder and Fanny Kemble . Vachel Lindsay helped maintain the tradition of poetry as spoken art in the early twentieth century. Composers such as Marion Bauer , Ruth Crawford Seegar , and Lalla Ryckoff composed music to be combined with spoken words. Robert Frost also spoke well, his meter accommodating his natural sentences. Poet laureate Robert Pinsky said: "Poetry's proper culmination
3182-546: The Mark of Cain 's third full-length album Ill at Ease . As Rollins rose to prominence with the Rollins Band, he began to present and appear on television. These included Alternative Nation and MTV Sports in 1993 and 1994 respectively. Rollins also co-starred in The Chase with Charlie Sheen. In 1995 Rollins appeared on an episode of Unsolved Mysteries that explored the murder of his best friend Joe Cole and presented State of
3268-625: The Rollins Band , which toured with a number of lineups from 1987 to 2003 and in 2006. Rollins has hosted numerous radio shows, such as Harmony in My Head on Indie 103 , and television shows such as The Henry Rollins Show and 120 Minutes . He had recurring dramatic roles in the second season of Sons of Anarchy as A.J. Weston , in the final 2 seasons of the animated series The Legend of Korra as Zaheer , and has also had roles in several films. He has campaigned for various political causes in
3354-529: The Sex Pistols record. I remember hearing that and thinking 'Well, that's something. This guy is pissed off , those guitars are rude .' What a revelation!" From 1979 to 1980, Rollins was working as a roadie for D.C. bands, including Teen Idles . When the band's singer, Nathan Strejcek, failed to appear for practice sessions, Rollins convinced the Teen Idles to let him sing. Word of Rollins's ability spread around
3440-691: The 1980s, Rollins has toured around the world doing spoken word performances and his shows frequently last for over three hours. His spoken word style encompasses stand-up comedy, accounts of experiences he has had in the world of music and during his extensive travels around the globe, self-deprecating stories about his own shortcomings, introspective recollections from his own life (such as the death of his friend, Joe Cole), commentaries on society and playful anecdotes. "The talking shows are more demanding, because it's only me on stage", Rollins explained in regards to his spoken word shows. "It's like comparing surgery with construction – one requires super concentration and
3526-458: The 1980s, Rollins produced an album of acoustic songs for convict Charles Manson titled Completion . The record was supposed to be released by SST Records , but the project was canceled because the label received death threats for working with Manson. Only five test presses of Completion were pressed, two of which remain in Rollins's possession. In 1995, Rollins produced Australian hard rock band
Henry Rollins - Misplaced Pages Continue
3612-505: The 70s. These volumes Stay Fanatic!!! Vol. 1 , Stay Fanatic!!! Vol. 2 and Stay Fanatic!!! Vol. 3 were published in 2018, 2021 and 2022, respectively. In September 2008, Rollins began contributing to the "Politics & Power" blog at the online version of Vanity Fair magazine. Since March 2009, his posts have appeared under their own sub-title, Straight Talk Espresso . His posts consistently criticize conservative politicians and pundits, although he does occasionally target those on
3698-561: The Awards were for audiobooks to people such as Hillary Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and Michelle Obama. In response to the many petitions, the Recording Academy sponsored several open forum webcasts to discuss the possibility. Many Spoken Word artists including COPUS participated. In 2022 Spoken Word Poetry successfully became an official Grammy Award genre with the first award being presented to J.Ivy in 2023. https://copusmusic.com Outside of
3784-460: The Black Flag logo tattooed on his left biceps and also on the back of his neck, chose the stage name of Rollins, a surname he and MacKaye had used as teenagers. Rollins played his first show with Black Flag on July 25, 1981, at Cuckoo's Nest in Costa Mesa, California. Rollins was in a different environment in Los Angeles; the police soon realized he was a member of Black Flag, and he was hassled as
3870-663: The MAOA gene ( warrior gene ) and violent behavior. In 2012, he hosted the National Geographic Wild series "Animal Underworld", investigating where the real boundaries lie in human-animal relationships . Rollins also appeared in the Hawaii Five-0 episode "Hoʻopio" that aired on May 6, 2013. In November 2013, Rollins started hosting the show 10 Things You Don't Know About on the History Channel's H2 . In 2014, he voiced
3956-600: The Union Undressed on Comedy Central . Rollins began to present and narrate VH1 Legends in 1996. Rollins, busy with the Rollins Band, did not present more programs until 2001, but made appearances on a number of other television shows, including Welcome to Paradox in 1998 in the episode "All Our Sins Forgotten", as a therapist who develops a device that can erase the bad memories of his patients. Rollins also voiced Mad Stan in Batman Beyond in 1999 and 2000. Rollins
4042-583: The United States, artists such as French singer-songwriters Léo Ferré and Serge Gainsbourg made personal use of spoken word over rock or symphonic music from the beginning of the 1970s in such albums as Amour Anarchie (1970), Histoire de Melody Nelson (1971), and Il n'y a plus rien (1973), and contributed to the popularization of spoken word within French culture. In 2003, the movement reached its peak in France with Fabien Marsaud aka Grand Corps Malade being
4128-488: The United States, including the promotion of gay rights , World Hunger Relief , the West Memphis Three , and an end to all war . He currently hosts a weekly radio show on KCRW , is a regular columnist for Rolling Stone Australia , and was a regular columnist for LA Weekly . Rollins was born Henry Lawrence Garfield in Washington, D.C. , on February 13, 1961, the only child of Iris and Paul Garfield. His mother
4214-551: The Van , for which he won a Grammy Award . In early 2005, with his weekly show on hiatus, Rollins posted playlists and commentary on-line; these lists were expanded with more information and published in book form as Fanatic! in November 2005. In 2007 and 2008, Rollins published Fanatic! Vol. 2 and Fanatic! Vol. 3 , respectively. Rollins continued to take notes of the music featured on his show, and wanted to preserve them in book form along with scans of set lists, flyers and other music-related materials he had been collecting since
4300-920: The antagonist Zaheer in the third season of the animated series The Legend of Korra . Rollins played the part of Lt. Mueller in episodes 1-3 of the fourth season of the TV series Z Nation , which originally aired on Syfy in 2017. In 2019, Rollins began appearing as a disillusioned poisons instructor in the TV series Deadly Class . On May 19, 2004, Rollins began hosting a weekly radio show, Harmony in My Head , on Indie 103.1 radio in Los Angeles. The show aired every Monday evening, with Rollins playing music ranging from early rock and jump blues to hard rock , blues rock , folk rock , punk rock , heavy metal and rockabilly , and touching on hip hop , jazz , world music , reggae , classical music and more. Harmony in my Head often emphasizes B-sides, live bootlegs and other rarities, and nearly every episode has featured
4386-532: The band Black Flag. His film debut was in 1982's The Slog Movie , about the West Coast punk scene. An appearance in 1985's Black Flag Live followed. Rollins's first film appearance without Black Flag was the short film The Right Side of My Brain with Lydia Lunch in 1985. Following the band's breakup, Rollins did not appear in any films until 1994's The Chase . Rollins appeared in the 2007 direct-to-DVD sequel to Wrong Turn (2003), Wrong Turn 2: Dead End as
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#17331049788924472-403: The band's style, but Rollins's diverse tastes in music were a key factor in his being selected as singer; Black Flag's founder Greg Ginn was growing restless creatively and wanted a singer who was willing to move beyond simple, three-chord punk. After joining Black Flag in 1981, Rollins quit his job at Häagen-Dazs, sold his car, and moved to Los Angeles. Upon arriving in Los Angeles, Rollins got
4558-582: The best known griot epic poems was created for the founder of the Mali Empire , the Epic of Sundiata . In African culture, performance poetry is a part of theatrics, which was present in all aspects of pre-colonial African life and whose theatrical ceremonies had many different functions: political, educative, spiritual and entertainment. Poetics were an element of theatrical performances of local oral artists, linguists and historians, accompanied by local instruments of
4644-610: The characterization of Negan in The Walking Dead comic and auditioned to play the character in the television series , but eventually lost the role to Jeffrey Dean Morgan . Rollins has written a variety of books, including Black Coffee Blues , Do I Come Here Often? , The First Five (a compilation of High Adventure in the Great Outdoors , Pissing in the Gene Pool , Bang! , Art to Choke Hearts , and One From None ), See
4730-674: The genre for a number of years. In Trinidad and Tobago , this art form is widely used as a form of social commentary and is displayed all throughout the nation at all times of the year. The main poetry events in Trinidad and Tobago are overseen by an organization called the 2 Cent Movement. They host an annual event in partnership with the NGC Bocas Lit Fest and First Citizens Bank called "The First Citizens national Poetry Slam", formerly called "Verses". This organization also hosts poetry slams and workshops for primary and secondary schools. It
4816-571: The griots. The poet and ethnographer Jerzy Ficowski has studied and written extensively about the Polska Roma tradition of spoken word. Though the vast majority of Polish-Romani people of that generation did not read or write, oral folk traditions were very strong. The most famous example is Papusza , who Ficowski discovered when he was following gypsy caravans on the road. Ficowski had her work translated and published, and she went on to become one of Poland's most iconic poets. In ancient Greece ,
4902-501: The group recorded the 10-song 7-inch EP No Policy at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia , produced by Skip Groff and engineered by Inner Ear owner Don Zientara . It was released on Dischord Records in March 1981, as the label's second release. No Policy was financed by Rollins, as Dischord was tied up in releasing Minor Threat 's debut EP. Circa April 1981, drummer Jacobsen
4988-536: The late 1990s and early 2000s. This was through organisers and creative hubs such as Kwani Open Mic, Slam Africa, Waamathai's, Poetry at Discovery, Hisia Zangu Poetry, Poetry Slam Africa, Paza Sauti, Anika, Fatuma's Voice, ESPA, Sauti dada, Wenyewe poetry among others. Soon the movement moved to other counties and to universities throughout the country. Spoken word in Kenya has been a means of communication where poets can speak about issues affecting young people in Africa. Some of
5074-535: The late 1990s poet Royal Kent and composer Wendy Loomis formed COPUS (band) to create a unique mix of Spoken Word and Music that continues to the present day. As a voting member of the Recording Academy, Ms. Loomis submitted a petition in 2021 to separate Spoken Word Poetry from Audiobooks in the Grammy® Awards. Between 1987-2020 only three times did the Award go to a poet: Maya Angelou in 1993, 1995 and 2002. The rest of
5160-489: The left. In August 2010, he began writing a music column for LA Weekly in Los Angeles. In 2012, Rollins began publishing articles with HuffPost and alternative news website WordswithMeaning! In the months leading up to the 2012 United States Presidential election , Rollins broadcast a YouTube series called "Capitalism 2012", in which he toured the capital cities of the US states, interviewing people about current issues. Since
5246-473: The main catalyst of his " anti-homophobia ". Rollins frequently speaks out on justice on his spoken word tours and promotes equality, regardless of sexuality. He was the host of the WedRock benefit concert , which raised money for a pro-gay-marriage organization. Spoken word Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It
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#17331049788925332-416: The new group Rollins Band. The band toured relentlessly, and their 1987 debut album, Life Time , was quickly followed by the outtakes and live collection Do It . The band continued to tour throughout 1988; in 1989 another Rollins Band album, Hard Volume , was released. Another live album, Turned On , and another spoken word release, Live at McCabe's , followed in 1990. In 1991, the Rollins Band signed
5418-507: The other is just physical." Rollins was a playable character in both Def Jam: Fight for NY and Def Jam Fight for NY: The Takeover . Rollins is also the voice of Mace Griffin in Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter . Rollins has become an outspoken human rights activist, most vocally for gay rights . In high school, a gay classmate of Rollins' was bullied by classmates to the point of attempting suicide. Rollins has cited this as
5504-413: The people such as the kora , the xalam , the mbira and the djembe drum. Drumming for accompaniment is not to be confused with performances of the "talking drum", which is a literature of its own, since it is a distinct method of communication that depends on conveying meaning through non-musical grammatical, tonal and rhythmic rules imitating speech. Although, they could be included in performances of
5590-498: The poetic text takes its quality less from the visual aesthetics on a page, but depends more on phonaesthetics , or the aesthetics of sound. Spoken word has existed for many years; long before writing, through a cycle of practicing, listening and memorizing, each language drew on its resources of sound structure for aural patterns that made spoken poetry very different from ordinary discourse and easier to commit to memory. "There were poets long before there were printing presses, poetry
5676-748: The poetry of the Harlem Renaissance , blues , and the Beat Generation of the 1960s. Spoken word in African-American culture drew on a rich literary and musical heritage. Langston Hughes and writers of the Harlem Renaissance were inspired by the feelings of the blues and spirituals , hip-hop , and slam poetry artists were inspired by poets such as Hughes in their word stylings. The Civil Rights Movement also influenced spoken word. Notable speeches such as Martin Luther King Jr. 's " I Have
5762-599: The punk rock scene in Washington D.C.; Bad Brains singer H.R. would sometimes have Rollins on stage to sing with him. In 1980, the Washington punk band the Extorts lost their frontman Lyle Preslar to Minor Threat . Rollins joined the other members of the band and formed State of Alert (S.O.A.) and became its frontman and vocalist. He put words to the band's five songs and wrote several more. S.O.A. recorded their sole EP, No Policy , and released it in 1981 on MacKaye's Dischord Records . Around April 1981, drummer Simon Jacobsen
5848-455: The release of Gil Scott-Heron 's spoken-word poem " The Revolution Will Not Be Televised " on the album Small Talk at 125th and Lenox in 1970. The Nuyorican Poets Café on New York's Lower Eastside was founded in 1973, and is one of the oldest American venues for presenting spoken-word poetry. In the 1980s, spoken-word poetry competitions, often with elimination rounds, emerged and were labelled " poetry slams ". American poet Marc Smith
5934-436: The same topic, Rollins more recently said in 2016 "For me, music was a time and a place. I never really enjoyed being in a band. It was in me and it needed to come out, like a 25-year exorcism. One day, I woke up, and I didn't have any more lyrics. I just had nothing to contribute to the form, and I was done with band practice and traveling in groups." Rollins is a guest star on Damian Cowell 's 2017 album Get Yer Dag On! As
6020-415: The same year. In 1998, Rollins released Think Tank , his first set of non-book-related spoken material in five years. By 1998, Rollins felt that the relationship with his backing band had run its course, and the line-up disbanded. He had produced a Los Angeles hard rock band called Mother Superior , and invited them to form a new incarnation of the Rollins Band. Their first album, Get Some Go Again ,
6106-524: The sitcom The Drew Carey Show as a man Oswald found on eBay and paid to come to his house and "kick his ass". He co-hosted the British television show Full Metal Challenge , in which teams built vehicles to compete in various driving and racing contests, from 2002 to 2003 on Channel 4 and TLC . He has made a number of cameo appearances in television series such as MTV ' s Jackass and an episode of Californication , where he played himself hosting
6192-517: The songs were all like 40 seconds... and the rest of the time we were going, 'Are you ready? Are you ready?' Those gigs were poorly played songs in between 'Are you readys?" Three S.O.A. songs ("I Hate the Kids", UK Subs cover "Disease" and Boyce and Hart cover " Stepping Stone Party ") were posthumously included on the influential Dischord compilation Flex Your Head , issued in January 1982. No Policy
6278-436: The songs; the band's members also grew their hair to confuse the band's hardcore punk audience. Black Flag's change in musical style and appearance alienated many of their original fans, who focused their displeasure on Rollins by punching him in the mouth, stabbing him with pens, or scratching him with their nails, among other things. He often fought back, frequently dragging audience members on stage and assaulting them. During
6364-403: The spoken word was the most trusted repository for the best of their thought, and inducements would be offered to men (such as the rhapsodes ) who set themselves the task of developing minds capable of retaining and voices capable of communicating the treasures of their culture. The ancient Greeks included Greek lyric , which is similar to spoken-word poetry, in their Olympic Games . In 1849,
6450-538: The spoken-word album Human Butt appeared in 1992 on his own record label, 2.13.61 . The Rollins Band released The End of Silence , Rollins's first charting album. The following year, Rollins released a spoken-word double album, The Boxed Life . The Rollins Band embarked upon the End of Silence tour; bassist Weiss was fired toward its end, and replaced by funk and jazz bassist Melvin Gibbs . According to critic Steve Huey, 1994
6536-463: The station went off the air in 2009. On February 18, 2009, KCRW announced that Rollins would be hosting a live show on Saturday nights starting March 7, 2009, which has since been moved to Sunday nights at 8:00 p.m. As of Aug 2023, Rollins has hosted 748 episodes. In 2011, Rollins was interviewed on Episode 121 of American Public Media's podcast, The Dinner Party Download , posted on November 3, 2011. In February 2015, Rollins began recording
6622-465: The well known poets in Kenya are Dorphan, Kenner B, Namatsi Lukoye, Raya Wambui, Wanjiku Mwaura, Teardrops, Mufasa, Mumbi Macharia, Qui Qarre, Sitawa Namwalie, Sitawa Wafula, Anne Moraa, Ngwatilo Mawiyo, Stephen Derwent. Spoken-word poetry is often performed in a competitive setting. In 1990, the first National Poetry Slam was held in San Francisco. It is the largest poetry slam competition event in
6708-710: The world, now held each year in different cities across the United States. The popularity of slam poetry has resulted in slam poetry competitions being held across the world, at venues ranging from coffeehouses to large stages. Spoken-word poetry is typically more than a hobby or expression of talent. This art form is often used to convey important or controversial messages to society. Such messages often include raising awareness of topics such as: racial inequality, sexual assault and/or rape culture , anti-bullying messages, body-positive campaigns, and LGBT topics. Slam poetry competitions often feature loud and radical poems that display both intense content and sound. Spoken-word poetry
6794-746: Was Rollins's "breakout year". The Rollins Band appeared at Woodstock 94 and released Weight , which ranked on the Billboard Top 40. Rollins released Get in the Van: On the Road with Black Flag , a double-disc set of him reading from his Black Flag tour diary of the same name; he won the Grammy for Best Spoken Word Recording as a result. Rollins was named 1994's "Man of the Year" by the American men's magazine Details and became
6880-747: Was a host of film review programme Henry's Film Corner on the Independent Film Channel , before presenting the weekly The Henry Rollins Show on the channel. The Henry Rollins Show is now being shown weekly on Film24 along with Henry Rollins Uncut . The show also lead to a promotional tour in Europe that led to Rollins being dubbed a "bad boy goodwill ambassador" by a NY reviewer. He also hosted Fox 's short-lived 2001 horror anthology series Night Visions . The show's creators wanted Gary Oldman to host this show, but Fox insisted on having Rollins instead. In 2002, Rollins guest-starred on an episode of
6966-551: Was diagnosed with hyperactivity and took Ritalin for several years to focus during school. Rollins attended The Bullis School , then an all-male preparatory school in Potomac, Maryland . According to Rollins, the school helped him to develop a sense of discipline and a strong work ethic. It was at Bullis that he began writing. After high school, he attended American University in Washington for one semester, but dropped out in December 1979. He began working minimum-wage jobs, including
7052-430: Was fronted by Henry Rollins , then using his original surname Garfield. S.O.A. was formed in October 1980, after the members of a previous group, the Extorts, lost their vocalist Lyle Preslar and hired Rollins, then known by his birth name Henry Garfield. The original lineup consisted of Rollins (vocals), Michael Hampton (guitar), Wendel Blow (bass) and Simon Jacobsen (drums). During December 1980 and January 1981,
7138-673: Was later included, in its entirety, on the Dischord compilations Four Old 7-inchs on a 12-inch (1984) and Dischord 1981: The Year in Seven Inches (1995). In 2014, Dischord issued a 7-inch EP of early demos, titled First Demo 12/29/80 . Today, S.O.A. is remembered primarily as Rollins' first band – before he joined Black Flag and then founded Rollins Band – but also as an example of early "DC hardcore" and an influence on other bands such as Detroit's Negative Approach and New York City's Agnostic Front . Hampton and Hanson went on to form
7224-717: Was released two years later. The Rollins Band released several more albums, including 2001's Nice and 2003's Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three . After 2003, the band became inactive as Rollins focused on radio and television work. During a 2006 appearance on Tom Green Live! , Rollins stated that he "may never do music again", a feeling which he reiterated in 2011 when talking to Trebuchet magazine. In an interview with Culture Brats , Rollins admitted he had sworn off music for good – "... and I must say that I miss it every day. I just don't know honestly what I could do with it that's different." On
7310-469: Was replaced by Ivor Hanson. At the time, Hanson's father was a top admiral in the U.S. Navy and his family shared living quarters with the U.S. vice president at the Naval Observatory . The band held their practices there and would have to be let in by Secret Service agents. S.O.A. disbanded after a total of a dozen concerts and one EP. Rollins had enjoyed being the band's frontman, and had earned
7396-517: Was replaced by Ivor Hanson. At the time, Hanson's father was a top admiral in the US Navy and his family shared living quarters with the vice president in the Naval Observatory . The band held their practices there and had to be let in by Secret Service agents. S.O.A. played a total of nine concerts in and around the eastern United States. Among them: Rollins later described their performances: "All of them were 11 to 14 minutes in duration because
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