MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent. Since 1990, the opening riff to Megadeth's "Peace Sells" has been the main opening theme for The Week In Rock.

It first began covering political news in the 1992 American presidential elections, through its "Choose or Lose" campaign.^[1][2] Since then, MTV has run "Choose or Lose" for other presidential elections in the United States. For the 2008 election, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton appeared on an MTV special to discuss the Iraq war.^[3]

MTV News in the U.S.[link]

Current correspondents[link]

• Sway Calloway (usually called Sway)
• Josh Horowitz
• James Montgomery

Former correspondents[link]

• Jim Cantiello
• Kurt Loder
• Kim Stolz
• Serena Altschul
• Chris Connelly
• Mark Goodman
• Tim Kash
• Brian McFayden
• John Norris
• SuChin Pak
• Christina Olivares
• Iann Robinson
• Tabitha Soren
• Alison Stewart
• Gideon Yago
• Nick Zano

MTV News around the world[link]

Canada[link]

Aliya-Jasmine Sovani, Johnny Hockin, Sharlene Chiu

United Kingdom[link]

Laura Whitmore,* Jasmine Dotiwala

Italy[link]

• Jasper Lewis Vignone

Ireland[link]

Laura Whitmore
Nick Lee Mease

Greece[link]

Estel

Pan-European[link]

Laura Whitmore, * Jasmine Dotiwala

Turkey[link]

Alper Etiş (2006-2010)

Germany[link]

• Markus Kavka
• Karolin

The Netherlands[link]

• Dennis Weening
• Evelien Bosch

Latin America[link]

• Ilana Sod
• Jazz
• Nicolás Artusi
• Javier Andrade

Australia[link]

• Maz Compton
• Darren McMullen
• Erin McNaught
• Ruby Rose

Lithuania[link]

• Jonas Bačelis

References[link]

External links[link]

• MTV News
• MTV News UK & Europe

This article's lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (September 2010)

Andrew W.K.
Andrew W.K. in 2006
Background information
Birth name	Andrew Fetterly Wilkes Krier
Born	(1979-05-09) May 9, 1979 (age 33) Stanford, California
Origin	Ann Arbor, Michigan (raised), New York, New York (lives)
Genres	Heavy metal, hard rock, punk rock, pop rock
Occupations	Musician Producer Singer Actor
Instruments	Vocals, Piano, Keyboards, Guitar, Bass guitar, Drums
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Universal Music Group, Hanson, Mercury, Island, Bulb, Skyscraper Music Maker, Steev Mike
Associated acts	Wolf Eyes, Current 93, To Live and Shave in L.A., Lab Lobotomy, Baby Dee, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Music Band, Mr. Velocity Hopkins, Kathode, Kangoo, The Beast People, Stormy Rodent, Scheme, the Malt Lickers, Isis and Werewolves, Sucking Coeds, Matt & Kim.
Website	Official site

Andrew Fetterly Wilkes Krier (born May 9th 1979 in Stanford, California), better known by his stagename Andrew W.K., is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, entertainer, motivational speaker and music producer. He is the host of the television series Destroy Build Destroy.

Biography[link]

Early life and career[link]

Andrew Wilkes-Krier was born in Stanford, California, and grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan. At age 4, he began learning classical piano at The University of Michigan School of Music. He attended the private college preparatory Greenhills School for middle school before attending the alternative Community High School from 1993–1997, where he studied jazz keyboard.^[1] His father is Professor James E. Krier, a well-known legal scholar at the University of Michigan Law School and co-author of the widely used Dukeminier & Krier Property casebook.^[2]

In 1993, when he was 14, Andrew joined the band Slam, later to be called Reverse Polarity. His first public recording, "Mr. Surprise", came out on a compilation released by the Westside Audio Laboratories label (now known as Ypsilanti Records) out of Ypsilanti, Michigan. Over the next 5 years he was in many different bands in Michigan such as Lab Lobotomy, The Pterodactyls, Music Band, Mr. Velocity Hopkins, Kathode, The Portly Boys, Kangoo, The Beast People, Stormy Rodent, a later iteration of Scheme, the Malt Lickers, Isis and Werewolves, and Sucking Coeds. In 1994 he also started a group called Ancient Art of Boar, later making it a solo project titled AAB, which ended in 1998, when Andrew moved from Ypsilanti to New York City.

Later in 1998, his first official solo record as Andrew Wilkes-Krier, titled Room To Breathe, was released on the Brighton (later Ann Arbor) label Hanson Records. The release was cassette-only and only 35 copies were made. Another tape, titled You Are What You Eat was supposed to be released shortly after, but the masters went missing.^[3] That same year, he appeared on the Hanson Records compilation Labyrinths & Jokes. The track appearing on the compilation was a portion of the soundtrack Andrew made for Poltergeist, a movie made by Aaron Dilloway and himself. The whole soundtrack also went missing for over 10 years, but it too has recently re-surfaced.^[2]

In 2000, he released his first EP, AWKGOJ on Bulb Records, which would be the first solo release under the Andrew W.K. name (he appeared under the name on a Wolf Eyes EP earlier that year). He released one more EP on this label, Party Til You Puke, before moving on to Island Def Jam.^[2]

Music career[link]

Andrew released his first album on Island, I Get Wet,^[4] in 2001. The album is known for its cover art: a photo of Andrew W.K. with a stream of blood running from his nose onto his chin and neck. I Get Wet soon rose to the #1 position on Billboard's 'Heatseekers' list.^[5] Andrew W.K. joined Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzfest that summer. The track "Party Hard" was featured as the lead track for EA Sports video game Madden NFL 2003 and on the Girls Gone Wild Music Volume 1 CD, and is the subject of a popular internet meme (its repetition of the words "party hard" ad nauseam made it an ideal caption for animated .gif images). The opening track, "It's Time To Party", was featured in commercials for the video game NASCAR Thunder 2004, Hotwire.com, Coors Beer, Expedia.com, and several movie and TV soundtracks. The song "Fun Night" was used in the Will Ferrell movie Old School. "She Is Beautiful" was used in the movies Freaky Friday, American Pie: Band Camp and Out Cold, as well as in early Nintendo GameCube advertisements. His track "Don't Stop Living in the Red" is featured in a Target commercial. The song has been played at the kickoff of every Saint John's football game since 2003 and whenever the Allen Americans of the Central Hockey League score a goal at home. It was also featured during KSDK-TV's coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2005. In 2002, he and Alec Rominger re-recorded his song "We Want Fun" from AWKGOJ for the soundtrack of Jackass: The Movie that also had a video made, filmed and directed by Jeff Tremaine with additional camera work by Spike Jonze.

In late 2003, W.K. released The Wolf. The album featured Andrew playing all the instruments on the recording (he had his full live band play on I Get Wet). It spawned the singles "Tear it Up" and "Never Let Down" in the US (both had videos made, but only "Tear It Up" had a full retail single released) and the song "Long Live the Party" was a minor hit in Japan.^[2] "The Wolf" has many overdubbed instrument parts.^[2]

The Wolf was not as commercially successful as I Get Wet. On tour for The Wolf, Andrew was injured on stage and broke his foot. After the concert, he signed autographs from the ambulance. Not wanting to let his fans down, he performed the remainder of the tour in a wheelchair.^[2]

A live-concert DVD entitled Who Knows? was released in February 2006. Similar to his audio recording the DVD combined many sources into single events - a technique Andrew refers to as "Synch Stacking". Andrew presented five screenings of the movie in New York City and Hollywood, in February and April, 2006. He also attended a screening of the movie at the University of Michigan Law School, presented by his father.^[2]

In March 2006, during an episode of Sex Pistols' guitarist Steve Jones' radio show, "Jonesy's Jukebox", Andrew W.K. debuted a new song, "I'm A Vagabond". A different version of the song was eventually released as a square 7" single (with the songs, "Doing Andrew W.K." and "Let's Go On A Date" - released by BSM on February 15, 2010). "I'm A Vagabond" was also included on the "Mother of Mankind" rare and unreleased album (February, 2010).

On November 26, 2008, Universal Music released three new Andrew W.K. collections. The first CD was brand new album of J-Pop covers entitled, The Japan Covers. The second CD is a Greatest Hits Compilation entitled, The Very Best So Far, which includes a previously unreleased song, "Party (You Shout!)". Both new releases are also available as a combined 2-disc package entitled, Premium Collection.^[6]

On September 9, 2009 Andrew W.K. released a Japan-only album called Gundam Rock. The album consists of covered music from the legendary Gundam anime TV series to celebrate its 30th Anniversary in Japan.^[7][8]

On the same date, he also simultaneously released 55 Cadillac, an album of improvised piano pieces. Writing about the release of 55 Cadillac Andrew wrote, "I wanted this new 55 CADILLAC album to sound like freedom. The sound of a piano being played by a free man – nothing more, nothing less."^[9]

On March 23, 2010, Andrew released a two disc set, Close Calls With Brick Walls / Mother of Mankind. The two albums contain 39 tracks total, and come packaged in a slipcase. The Close Calls With Brick Walls album had originally been released in 2006, but only in Japan (by Universal Music Group), and in South Korea (by Dope Entertainment). A limited edition gatefold double vinyl LP version of "Close Calls With Brick Walls" was released in 2007 by the US label, Load Records. The Mother of Mankind album features rare and unreleased tracks spanning the years 1999 to 2010.

To accompany this set, it was announced he would be featured as a headliner at the 2010 Warped Tour for the entire tour.^[10] It will be his first time to do so, since 2002.^{[11][dated info]}

In June 2010 Andrew released a music video for the single "I Want To See You Go Wild" off the Close Calls With Brick Walls album. The video was made by director Peter Glantz. Later that year he appeared in A Day to Remember's video for "All I Want."

Self-help and motivational performance[link]

In 2005, Andrew announced that he would begin performing as a self-help, new age motivational speaker. He accepted invitations to speak at Yale University, New York University, The University of Wisconsin, Carnegie Mellon University, The Cooper Union, Missouri Western State University, and Northeastern University.

During 2007, Andrew performed a series of unpredictable happenings as part of his "One Man Show" tour. Each event began with Andrew improvising on the piano alone on a stage before they frequently evolved into giant parties, with most of the audience dancing on stage with Andrew, themselves playing the piano and singing the lyrics.^[2]

In March 2007, The New York Times put Andrew on the front page of its Arts section, in a feature article on Andrew's lectures.^[12] In 2008, Andrew's self-help work led to his second appearance as a sit-down guest on Late Night With Conan O'Brien.^[13] In November 2008, Time magazine called him "truly cute."^[2]

Other work[link]

Outside of his solo work, Andrew also performs with and produces music for the avant-garde ensemble To Live and Shave in L.A.. He first appeared on the band's 2004 release "God and Country Rally!". He co-produced their 2006 studio album Noon and Eternity, and appears on the group's other 2006 release, the "chronological remix" project Horoscopo: Sanatorio de Molière.^[2]

In late 2006, Andrew re-worked his song "Fun Night" into a theme song for the Arizona Sundogs, a hockey team. The song was titled "Sundogs (It Just Got Hotter)".^[14] The song "Fun Night" also appeared in the film Old School during one of the party scenes.^[2]

Andrew was also a judge for the 5th and 10th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers.^[15]

On July the 7th 2007 (7/7/07) at 7:07 PM, Andrew appeared as one of the 77 drummers in the 77 Boadrum concert held at the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park in Brooklyn, New York which was organized by Japanese noise rock group Boredoms.

In September 2007 Andrew's piano playing was featured on a jazz fusion CD release "électricité" with Mike Pachelli on guitar, Rich Russo on drums, and Dennis Harding on bass for Los Angeles based Fullblast Recordings (2007).^[16]

Andrew has also performed and recorded electric bass guitar for the artist Baby Dee, whom he met while playing live as the bassist of Current 93. Andrew played bass and drums on Dee's "Safe Inside The Day" album, and performed with her group at a 2008 show Manhattan. Andrew has performed bass guitar with Current 93 at the Donau Festival in Krems, Austria in April 2007, the UK All Tomorrow's Parties festival in May 2007, and the European tour in April 2008.^[2]

On Friday, December 5, 2008, an Andrew W.K. fan named Dominic Owen Mallary died after an accident while his band Last Lights performed at Boston University. Dominic had always said that he wanted to have Andrew W.K. play during his funeral. After several friends of Dominic emailed him, Andrew came to the wake, and played classical piano for the entire time after paying his respects.^[17][18]

Andrew has formed a group The Brill Sisters with guitarist Matt Sweeney and producer Don Fleming. They played their first show (without Fleming) at Santos Party House on April 2, 2009.^[19] The entire group performed together on April 21, 2009.^[20] Andrew is also the host on the Cartoon Network original Destroy Build Destroy.

TV and film appearances[link]

Andrew has made multiple appearances on MTV, MTV2, and VH1, hosting shows such as The Most Outrageous Frontmen, with Johnny Knoxville and Backstage Pass at the Warped Tour. Andrew was the focus of a televised live performance at Cleveland's Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame, broadcast on MTV. He's also made appearances on the shows, I Love The 90's, I Love The New Millennium, Black To The Future, I Love The Holidays, The Great Debate, Best Week Ever and The Osbournes. Andrew was also featured on a popular MTV show called Crashing With Andrew W.K., which documented Andrew's visit to a girl's dorm at North Carolina Central University.

In 2004, Andrew had a television show on MTV2 titled Your Friend, Andrew W.K.. In the series, fans would write letters to Andrew, asking for his help. Andrew would pick certain letters and go to visit them. The series lasted for 11 episodes, each about 9 or 10 minutes in length. During the filming of the show, Andrew was in a car crash but sustained no serious injuries.

Andrew has performed on TV shows such as Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Last Call with Carson Daly, Saturday Night Live, and the Spike TV Video Game Awards. His most recent performance was with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He recently had a cameo in the show Aqua Teen Hunger Force, singing "Party Party Party", a song that combines elements of multiple previous Andrew W.K. songs.^[21] The song was released on Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters the Soundtrack. Andrew's only confirmed movie role is in Punk Rock Holocaust, playing himself.

Andrew was also featured on the finale of the third season of Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List as Kathy's date in New York. The two attended one of Andrew's performance art shows.

Late Night with Conan O'Brien has twice featured Andrew as a sit-down interview guest—the first in 2003 to speak about the Your Friend, Andrew W.K. show, and then again in 2007, to speak about his motivational performance tours.

Andrew is a frequent guest on the Fox News late-night program, Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld.

Andrew has also been a featured interviewer and guest on The Daily Show, DirecTV, and mobile telephone network, GoTV.

Andrew also appears on the vocal-instructional DVD The Zen of Screaming.^[22]

In the summer of 2009, the Cartoon Network announced that Andrew would be hosting and creating music for a new live-action TV program called, Destroy Build Destroy. The show features Andrew working with two teams of teenagers, competing to "blow stuff up and use the wreckage to build amazing machines". The show premiered on June 20, 2009.^[23] The second season premiered on Wednesday, February 24, 2010 at 8:30PM, ranking #1 in their timeslot among boys 6-11 on all television.^[24] In early 2011, Cartoon Network confirmed they were beginning production on a third season of the show.,^[25] which began airing on Wednesday, June 1, in its traditional 8:30pm time-slot.

Cartoon Network also used Andrew W.K. in a music video about the network's new live-action shows. The song and video, "Hearing What I Say" (adapted from Andrew's 2006 song, "Not Going to Bed") aired extensively on Cartoon Network and was available on YouTube. Later the clip was replaced by another bumper. In 2011, Andrew was part of a pyrotechnic stunt with motocross superstar Robbie Maddison performing a backflip on his motorcycle while Andrew presented the event for Cartoon Network's Hall of Game Awards.^[26]

Andrew recently had a cameo on Cartoon Network's Mad, in the episode "Kung Fu Blander/Destroy Bob the Builder Destroy," which spoofed Bob the Builder and Destroy Build Destroy.

Music producer[link]

In addition to producing his own music on the albums I Get Wet, The Wolf and Close Calls with Brick Walls, Andrew has continued to expand his musical output to include producing and mixing music for other artists as well as working on special commercial and corporate music projects. These include the production of music exclusively for commercial use on television and radio.

In 2008, Andrew gained new notoriety for recording a song called "The McLaughlin Groove",^[27] based on an exchange between Pat Buchanan and John McLaughlin on the political television show The McLaughlin Group. The song was commissioned by the Public Radio International show Fair Game, on which Andrew has appeared for interviews.^[28]

In 2004, Andrew recorded a television jingle for Kit Kat candy bars, and rewrote their trademark "Give Me A Break" slogan into a new song. The recording appeared in a variety of 30 second, 45 second, and 1 minute commercials, broadcast on television worldwide.^[29]

"I avoided working with other people for many years, partly out of paranoia, and partly out of an earnest desire to stand on my own. After a while, I got tired of thinking that way, and it just seemed natural to do the opposite of what I had done before. I like making music with other people. I can still make music by myself too.".^[30]

Andrew's earliest external production work was with the group Wolf Eyes, on their now out-of-print 12" EP Fortune Dove. The last track on that album, "what kind of band?" features Andrew W.K. on vocals explaining why he enjoys listening to Wolf Eyes. Since then, he's chosen to work on a select and seemingly random set of projects. Most recently, he completed production and mixing on the album, Through The Panama, by Brooklyn, NY based three-piece art rock band, Sightings. The album was jointly released by Load Records and Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace! label in October 2007.

At the end of 2007 Andrew accepted an invitation to produce a new album, Repentance, for veteran reggae artist Lee "Scratch" Perry. The two had met when Andrew interviewed Perry for DirecTV.^[31] "Repentance" was nominated for "Best Reggae Album" in the 2009 Grammy Awards.^[32]

On February 20, 2008, Andrew released an exclusive ringtone commissioned by Universal Music Japan for the Japanese mobile phone market. The song is called, "Sonnna no Kankei Ne Rock", which celebrates a then popular catch-phrase by a TV Talent, "Sonna no Kankei Ne, Hai Oppappi!" This translates to, "I Don't Give A Damn, Yes Oppappi!" The ringtone was first announced on a Japanese national T.V. program called Music Station and had over 3,500 downloads that day. Cumulative sales of ringtone are over 20,000. Andrew's song debuted at No.1 in Label Mobile's International daily ringtone chart. Label Mobile is the biggest mobile retailer in Japan.^[33]

Nightclub and live music venue[link]

In Spring of 2008, Andrew and three partners opened a multi-level nightclub and live concert hall in downtown Manhattan, New York City. The venue is named Santos Party House, and features 8,000 square feet (740 m²) of dance floor and concert facilities, and over 150 loud-speakers.^[34] The space is designed for disco dancing and live music. It was one of the few new venues in New York City to be granted a liquor license and a cabaret license. The cabaret license means people can legally dance until 4am.^[35] Since opening, Santos Party House has received numerous awards, including: The People's Choice Award for Best Night Club, Best New Club, Best DJ Night (from Paper Magazine),^[36] Best New Dance Floor (from The Village Voice),^[37] and many more. In May 2009, Andrew and his work with Santos was the subject of an extensive four page article in New York Magazine.^[38] In 2010, the world famous Zagat Survey rated Santos Party House the "Top Dance Club" in all of New York City.^[39]

Record label[link]

In February 2009, Andrew found a loophole in his contractual constraints and formed the record label, "Skyscraper Music Maker", based in London, England and Manhattan, New York City, United States. The label is manufactured and distributed exclusively by the UK based, Cargo Records. The first release for the label was the promotional compilation CD, "DAMN! The Mixtape Vol. 1", featuring Andrew's work as a producer for Skyscraper Music Maker artists, Bad Brilliance, Aleister X, and Cherie Lily and music by New York producer, DJ B-Roc. The CD was released in the UK on May 25, 2009, and on digital download sites like iTunes and Amazon.

The second release on the Skyscraper Music Maker label was Andrew's album of "spontaneous solo piano improvisations", entitled 55 CADILLAC, on September 9, 2009. This was Andrew's first album made "by himself", as he told the UK newspaper, The Guardian.^[9]

The third release on the label was the debut 12" EP from artist, Aleister X. The EP was called Bangers & Beans, and featured four songs written by Aleister X and produced by Andrew W.K. The EP was released on November 10, 2009. In May 2010, it was announced that Aleister X would be releasing a second EP, The Git.^[40]

In late 2009, the Louise Harland Corporation (LHC) went into heated negotiations with Andrew's management and the owners of the first "Andrew W.K. record label", Skyscraper Music Maker, based in London, England. LHC fought to take control of the label, after Skycraper released Andrew's 2009 solo piano album, 55 Cadillac - which was recorded with their involvement - but sold without their permission. LHC demanded credit on each future Skyscraper release, among other financial stipulations. As a result, the Skyscraper Music Maker label name was changed to "STEEV MIKE".^[41]

In March, 2010, the newly named STEEV MIKE label presented its first official release: the repackaged 2-disc version of Andrew's 2006 album, Close Calls With Brick Walls. In September, 2010, it was announced that Cherie Lily would be releasing her debut EP WERK, on the STEEV MIKE label, which features her original song and six remixes.^[42]

In March 2011, Andrew released a new EP entitled Party All Goddamn Night. It consists of five new tracks and two previously released singles.^[43]

"Steev Mike" accusation[link]

Rumors suggest that another person, known as "Steev Mike", is behind Andrew W.K.'s music.^[44] The rumors began in late 2001 with the release of Andrew's first album, I Get Wet, when music critics and industry insiders like Gary Mullholand (of the Guardian) and Ryan Schreiber (of Pitchfork) accused Andrew W.K. of being a corporate construction.^[44][45][46]

In late 2000, an article in UK magazine Dazed & Confused featured a full-page story on "Steev Mike", but showed a photo and discography of "Andrew W.K.".^[47] In April 2001, Bulb records (who had released the first AWK record), made a page with lots of references to Steev Mike where it would later be changed to "Andrew WK".^[48] The name, "Steev Mike" was listed as "Executive Producer" on Andrew's first album I Get Wet in 2001, and again in 2006 on Andrew's DVD Who Knows and third album, Close Calls With Brick Walls. Steev Mike was not credited on the second album, "The Wolf", released in 2003.

A series of websites appeared in November 2004, supposedly created by someone calling himself "Steev Mike", consisting of easily decipherable coded messages. These messages included references to the Creative Artists Agency, a casting agency, and promises to reveal something.^[49] In the final message, a letter addressed directly to Andrew W.K., "Steev Mike" stated: "You know how much I believe in you and all that you stand for, because I stood for it first. You know how much I love your music, because I created it. You know that I love the way you look and act and talk and sing and dance because it was born in my brain." The message goes on to say: "Your recent efforts to exclude me from the 3rd album material will not be tolerated. I did not work for the last year on these new songs in order to have you break promises." and later: "If you refuse to comply, I will have no choice but to let the world know that you’re a backstabbing fraud."^[50]

Andrew W.K.'s official website also appeared to have been hacked during the same period, with someone leaving the same coded messages, taunting and insulting users.

It is unclear who was behind these messages, but they provoked a statement by Andrew himself, addressing the confusion, posted on his official website. In the statement, addressed "Dear everyone", he wrote, "PLEASE DON'T BELIEVE STEEV MIKE. I USED TO CALL MYSELF STEEV MIKE A LONG TIME AGO AND IT'S NOTHING NOW. Someone is trying to confuse you and make me look bad."^[51]

In March 2006, a 1992 Bulb Records 7" 45 recorded under the name "Steev Mike" was discovered.^{[citation needed]} The tracks on the record were found to be from another Bulb band known as Couch.^{[citation needed]}

In May 2009 Andrew discussed the "Steev Mike" rumors once in an interview with British magazine, Front. In the interview he stated, "Steev Mike is the executive producer on my first album. The nature of how we presented my initial offerings caused some confusion, even though I tried to make it as straightforward as possible". He also added, "most of what you've heard is exaggerated but the parts that are true may be more disturbing than you'd hoped".^[52]

According to corporate records filed with the Secretary of State of Michigan, "Andrew W.K. Inc." filed a certificate of assumed name on May 28, 2010 to transact business under the name "Steev Mike." Also according to corporate filings in Michigan, Andrew Wilkes-Krier is the president and sole officer of "Andrew W.K. Inc." and has been since the corporation's first annual report was filed in April 2000 if not earlier. "Andrew W.K. Inc." was formed in December 1999.^[53]

In an interview with MTV in January 2010, Andrew WK did his best to explain who "Steev Mike" is, noting that legal restraints prevent him from revealing everything: "The best way I can answer is [that Steev Mike is] a name given to a group of people who don't want to be named."^[54]

Legal disputes[link]

In September 2009, writing in the British newspaper, The Guardian, Andrew apparently acknowledged the "Steev Mike" website hacking: "At the end of 2004, an old friend of mine got in some business trouble and basically decided to take it out on me. To cut a long story short, this person is someone I worked very closely with and had a formal and family business relationship with. Due to various complaints this person had with me, they were able to turn my life and career upside down. I wasn't allowed to use my own name within certain areas of the US entertainment industry and we were in a debate about who owned the rights to my image, and who should get credit for "inventing" it. This made my life complicated and intense for a few years, but I kept working and doing whatever I could to keep moving forward."^[9]

Andrew WK's third album, Close Calls with Brick Walls apparently suffered from legal problems, possibly relating to the ones mentioned above, and was only released in 2010, despite being ready for release in 2006.

In December 2009, a lecture recorded at Madame Jojo's in London in September 2008^[55] was published online. During the lecture Andrew W.K. jokingly stated that the Andrew W.K. persona was created by a committee including himself, his father, and other individuals, and that he was the "next person playing Andrew W.K." Claiming, "I'm not the guy you've seen from the I Get Wet album... I'm not that same person. I don't just mean that in a philosophical or conceptual way. It's not the same person at all."^[56]

He went further on to say: "Andrew W.K. was created by a large group of people. They met, and I was there, and we talked about how we could come up with something that would move people. It was done in the spirit of commerce. It was done in the spirit of entertainment, which usually goes hand in hand with commerce. I was auditioned, along side many other people, to fill this role of a 'great frontman', 'a great performer'. On the one hand it may be a little scary to admit this to you all, that I may not be exactly who you thought I was, and that the guy who was, in fact, first hired as Andrew W.K. is a different person than the guy sitting here on the stage tonight. I'm the next person who is playing Andrew W.K."^[56]

Finally, in an interview before the performance he said, "I thought it would be more interesting if my secret history was revealed after the fact rather than as a precursor".^[57]

On January 3, 2010, apparently in response to criticism to his previous statements, Andrew W.K. published an article on his official website declaring, "I am a real person who thinks for himself and am not the victim of anyone or group of people trying to influence my career or life. I take responsibility for everything in my life, including who I work for and what happens to me because of it. Just because a person has mentors or advisers doesn't mean they don't have their own brain and soul. And just because I work with other people who advise me doesn't mean that I am a puppet for an evil cult or have some sort of master plan."^[45]

"Ask Andrew WK Anything"[link]

On February 14, 2010, Andrew WK hosted an event at Santos Party House in New York, where members of the public could ask him anything they liked.^[58] At the event W.K. admitted he could not answer certain questions, and that "when I agreed to do this, in 1999 or 2000, no one anticipated this level of questioning and doubt".^[59] He also stated that "I am Andrew W.K., the same that has been here from the beginning... I am... I am, I am the same Andrew W.K. at this appearance as at all Andrew W.K.-related appearances."^[60]

Personal life[link]

Andrew has said in interviews that his parents sent him to a child psychologist following exploits in arson, baseball card forgery, mail fraud, and the composition of a controversial song about a school mate whom Andrew had a crush on. The song eventually earned Andrew a juvenile restraining order which lasted until he was 21.^[61]

On October 4, 2008, Andrew married Cherie Pourtabib (also known as Cherie Lily), four years after the couple met. They were introduced by their heavy-metal voice teacher.^[62] Andrew currently resides in Midtown Manhattan, in New York City.^[63]

Discography[link]

References[link]

This article uses bare URLs for citations. Please consider adding full citations so that the article remains verifiable. Several templates and the Reflinks tool are available to assist in formatting. (Reflinks documentation) (May 2012)

External links[link]

• Andrew W.K. at the Internet Movie Database
• AndrewWK.com - Official site
• AndrewWKMusic.com - Fansite
• June 2009 Interview with Andrew Wk
• SantosPartyHouse.com - Official site
• Santos Party House on Myspace
• The Rumpus Long Interview with Andrew W.K.
• Andrew W.K. Interview at Disappear Here magazine
• Andrew W.K. performs and is interview on Radio Happy Hour
• Andrew W.K. interview on the Metal Injection Livecast
• Andrew W.K. On VYou!

Henry Rollins
Rollins performing in 2006
Born	Henry Lawrence Garfield (1961-02-13) February 13, 1961 (age 51) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Spoken word artist
Years active	1980–present
Known for	Musician, Spoken word artist
Website
21361.com

Henry Rollins (born 13 February 1961) is an American spoken word artist, writer, journalist, publisher, actor, comedian, radio DJ, activist and formerly singer-songwriter.

After performing for the short-lived Washington D.C.-based band State of Alert in 1980, Rollins fronted the California hardcore punk band Black Flag from August 1981 until mid-1986. Following the band's breakup, Rollins established the record label and publishing company 2.13.61 to release his spoken word albums, as well as forming the Rollins Band, which toured with a number of lineups from 1987 until 2003, and during 2006.

Since Black Flag disbanded, Rollins has hosted numerous radio shows, such as Harmony in My Head on Indie 103, and television shows such as The Henry Rollins Show, MTV's 120 Minutes, and Jackass. He had a recurring dramatic role in the second season of Sons of Anarchy and has also had roles in several films. Rollins has also campaigned for various political causes in the United States, including promoting LGBT rights, World Hunger Relief, and an end to war in particular, and tours overseas with the United Service Organizations to entertain American troops.^[1]

Rollins stated in a 1998 interview with NY Rock, "I don't want a wife and I don't want kids. I'm 36 and if I met a woman of my own age and married her, I'd also be marrying her former life, her past."^[2] Rollins dated fellow KCRW-DJ Liza Richardson.^[3] Rollins has been close friends with musician Ian MacKaye since childhood.^[4]

Early life[link]

Born Henry Lawrence Garfield in Washington, D.C., the only child of Iris, a federal employee in the health and education sectors, and Paul J. Garfield, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who was a World War II veteran and Economist with a "Ph.D. in economics".^[5][6] When he was two years old, his parents divorced and he was raised by his mother in the affluent Glover Park neighborhood of the city.^[7][8]

As a child and teenager, Rollins suffered from depression and low self-esteem.^[9] In the fourth grade, he was diagnosed with hyperactivity and took Ritalin for several years so that he could focus during school. His mother taught him how to read before he was enrolled in kindergarten;^[10] however, due to "bad grades, bad attitude, poor conduct," he was soon enrolled at The Bullis School, then an all-male preparatory school in Potomac, Maryland.

According to Rollins, the Bullis School helped him to develop a sense of discipline and a strong work ethic.^[9] It was at Bullis that he began writing; his early literary efforts were mainly short stories about "blowing up my school and murdering all the teachers."^[10]; "it was a very rough upbringing in a lot of other ways. I accumulated a lot of rage by the time I was seventeen or eighteen." He has also mentioned that a "Ramones" concert helped shape his thoughts on music into becoming the musician he is today.

Music career[link]

State of Alert[link]

After high school, Rollins attended American University in Washington D.C. for one semester, but dropped out in December 1979.^[11] He began working minimum-wage jobs, including a job as a courier for liver samples at the National Institutes of Health.^[12] Rollins got into punk rock after he and his friend Ian MacKaye procured a copy of The Ramones's eponymous debut album; he later described it as a "revelation." From 1979 to 1980, Rollins was working as a roadie for Washington 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 the punk rock scene in Washington; Bad Brains singer H.R. would sometimes get Rollins on stage to sing with him.^[13]

In 1980, the Washington punk band The Extorts lost their frontman Lyle Preslar to Minor Threat. Rollins joined the rest of the band to form State of Alert, 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.^[14] 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 a reputation for fighting in shows. He later said: "I was like nineteen and a young man all full of steam [...] Loved to get in the dust-ups." By this time, Rollins had become the manager of the Georgetown Häagen-Dazs ice cream store; his steady employment had helped to finance the S.O.A. EP.^[15]

Black Flag[link]

In 1980, a friend gave Rollins and MacKaye a copy of Black Flag's Nervous Breakdown EP. Rollins soon became 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.^[16] 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", as Rollins had a five-hour drive back to Washington, D.C., to return to work after the performance.^[17]

Unbeknownst to Rollins, Cadena wanted to switch to guitar, and the band was looking for a new vocalist.^[17] The band was impressed with Rollins' singing and stage demeanor, and the next day, after a semi-formal audition at Tu Casa Studio in NYC, 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 the band's style, but Rollins' 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.^[18]

After joining Black Flag in 1981, Rollins quit his job at Häagen-Dazs, sold his car, and moved to Los Angeles, California. Upon arriving in Los Angeles, Rollins got the Black Flag logo tattooed on his left biceps^[12] and changed his surname from Garfield to Rollins, a surname he and MacKaye had used as teenagers.^[18] 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 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."^[19]

Before concerts, as the rest 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.^[20] His stage persona impressed several critics; after 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."^[21]

By 1983, Rollins' stage persona was increasingly alienating him from the rest of Black Flag. During a show in England, Rollins assaulted a member of the audience; Ginn later scolded Rollins, calling him a "macho asshole."^[22] 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.^[23] 1984's heavy metal music-influenced My War featured Rollins screaming and wailing throughout many of the songs; the band's members also grew their hair to confuse the band's hardcore punk audience.^[24]

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 methods. He often fought back, dragging audience members on stage and assaulting them. 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."^[25] During the Unicorn legal dispute, Rollins had started 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."^[24] Rollins has since replied that "no, the training was just basically a way to push myself."^[26]

Rollins Band and solo releases[link]

Rollins performing with the Rollins Band in 1993

Before Black Flag disbanded in August 1986, Rollins had already toured as a solo spoken word artist.^[27] 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";^[28] 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 the new group Rollins Band. The band toured relentlessly,^[29] 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; 1989 marked the release of another Rollins Band album, Hard Volume.^[30] Another live album, Turned On, and another spoken word release, Live at McCabe's, followed in 1990.

Rollins and Weiss released Fast Food For Thought, an EP by their one-off side project Wartime in 1990. It was sonically in many ways more reminiscent of Weiss's work with Ween than the Rollins Band. The music, while heavy and driving, had a distinctly psychedelic bent, culminating in the final track, a cover of "Franklin's Tower" by The Grateful Dead. Early pressings were simply credited to "Wartime" while later releases added the phrase "featuring Henry Rollins" to the cover.

1991 saw the Rollins Band sign a distribution deal with Imago Records and appear 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 initially suspected him in the murder and detained him for ten hours.^[31] Although traumatized by Cole's death, as chronicled in his book Now Watch Him Die, Rollins continued to release new material; 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.^[30]

The following year, Rollins released a spoken-word double album, The Boxed Life.^[32] The Rollins Band embarked upon the End of Silence tour; bassist Weiss was fired towards its end and replaced by funk and jazz bassist Melvin Gibbs. According to critic Steve Huey, 1994 was Rollins's "breakout year".^[30] 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 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.^[33]

In 1995, the Rollins Band's record label, Imago Records, declared itself bankrupt. Rollins began focusing on his spoken word career. He released Everything, 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 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, 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"^[34] a feeling which he reiterated in 2011 when talking to Trebuchet magazine.^[35] In an interview with Culture Brats, Henry 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." ^[36]

Musical style[link]

As a vocalist, Rollins has adopted a number of styles through the years. Rollins was initially noted in the Washington, D.C. hardcore scene for what journalist Michael Azerrad described as a "compelling, raspy howl".^[13] With State of Alert, Rollins "spat out the lyrics like a bellicose auctioneer".^[15] He adopted a similar style after joining Black Flag in 1981. By their album Damaged however, Black Flag began to incorporate a swing beat into their style; Rollins then abandoned his S.O.A. "bark" and adopted the band's swing.^[37] 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."^[38]

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 a one minute spoken diatribe by Rollins), as well as barking his way through songs (such as "Tearing" and "Starve") and employing the loud-quiet dynamic. Rolling Stone's Anthony DeCurtis names Rollins a "screeching hate machine" and his "hallmark" as "the sheets-of-sound assault".^[39]

With the Rollins Band, his lyrics focused "almost exclusively on issues relating to personal integrity," according to critic Geoffrey Welchman.^[40]

As producer[link]

In the 1980s, Henry Rollins produced an album of acoustic songs for the convicted murderer Charles Manson titled Completion. The record was supposed to be released by SST Records, but the project was later canceled due to the label receiving death threats for working with Manson. Only five test presses of Completion were pressed, two of which remain in Rollins' possession.^[41]

Media work[link]

Television[link]

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. 1995 saw Rollins appear on an episode of Unsolved Mysteries that explored the murder of his best friend Joe Cole^[42] and present State of the Union Undressed on Comedy Central. Rollins began to present and narrate VH1 Legends in 1996.^[43] 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 that develops a device that can erase the bad memories of his patients. Rollins also voiced Mad Stan in Batman Beyond in 1999 and 2000.^[44][45] He also did the voice in Apple's 1999 G4 Cube Ad with Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" playing as the theme song.

Rollins 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 Henry being dubbed a “bad boy goodwill ambassador” by a NY reviewer.^[46]

2002 saw Rollins guest star on an episode of the sitcom The Drew Carey Show as a man whom Oswald would find on eBay and pay 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 2002–2003 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 a radio show.^[47] In 2006, Rollins appeared in a documentary series by VH1 and The Sundance Channel called The Drug Years.^[48]

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 a deadly threat to the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club.^[49]

Rollins was a voice actor in the animated Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker and voiced Robotman (Cliff Steele)^[50] in two episodes of Batman: The Brave and the Bold.

Rollins was also interviewed in the National Geographic series Explorer "Born To Rage". He was interviewed regarding his possible link to the MAO gene (Warrior gene) and violent behavior.^[51]

Rollins has done voice over work for Verizon Wireless and Infiniti luxury automobiles (2011).^[52]

Radio[link]

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 a song either by the Beastie Boys or British group The Fall.

Rollins put the show on a short hiatus to undertake a spoken-word tour in early 2005. Rollins posted playlists and commentary on-line; these lists were expanded with more information and published in book form as Fanatic! through 2.13.61 in November 2005. In late 2005, Rollins announced the show's return and began the first episode by playing the show's namesake Buzzcocks song. As of 2008, the show continues each week despite Rollins's constant touring with new pre-recorded shows between live broadcasts. In 2009 Indie 103.1 went off the air, although it continues to broadcast over the Internet.

In 2007 Rollins published Fanatic! Vol. 2 through 2.13.61. Fanatic! Vol. 3 was released in the fall of 2008.

On February 18, 2009, KCRW announced that Rollins would be hosting a live show on Saturday nights starting March 7, 2009.^[53]

In 2011 Rollins was interviewed on Episode 121 of American Public Media's podcast, "The Dinner Party Download", posted on November 3, 2011.

Film[link]

Rollins began his film career appearing in several independent films featuring the band Black Flag. His film debut was in 1982's The Slog Movie, about the West Coast punk scene.^[54] An appearance in 1985's Black Flag Live followed. Rollins' first film appearance without Black Flag was the short film The Right Side of My Brain with Lydia Lunch in 1985.^[55] 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 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).

Some feature length movies Henry Rollins has appeared in include:

• Kiss Napoleon Goodbye (1990), with Lydia Lunch and Don Bajema.
• The Chase (1994), with Charlie Sheen.
• Johnny Mnemonic (1995), with Keanu Reeves, Ice T and Dolph Lundgren.
• Heat (1995), with Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer.
• Lost Highway (1997), with Bill Pullman and Patricia Arquette. Directed by David Lynch.
• Jack Frost (1998), with Michael Keaton.
• Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000), with Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill
• Morgan's Ferry (2001), with Billy Zane and Kelly McGillis.
• Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001 documentary)
• Scenes of the Crime (2001), with Jeff Bridges.
• The New Guy (2002), with Tommy Lee and DJ Qualls.
• Jackass The Movie (2002) with Johnny Knoxville and Bam Margera.
• Jackass Number Two (2006) with Preston Lacy, Steve-O, and Chris Pontius.
• Bad Boys 2 (2003), with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.
• Feast (2005), with Balthazar Getty and Navi Rawat.
• The Alibi (2006)
• Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007)
• The Devil's Tomb (2009)
• H for Hunger (2009 documentary)
• William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet (2009 documentary)
• Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (2011) as Kilowog

Books and Audiobooks[link]

Rollins has written a series of books based on his travel journals referred to as the Black Coffee Blues trilogy. They include the namesake book, Black Coffee Blues, Do I Come Here Often?, The First Five and Smile, You're Traveling. Others include See a Grown Man Cry, Now Watch Him Die, 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 the Van, for which he won a Grammy Award.

Online Journalism[link]

In September 2008 Rollins began contributing to the "Politics & Power" blog at the online version of Vanity Fair magazine.^[56] Since March 2009 his posts have appeared under their own sub-title, Straight Talk Espresso.^[57] His posts consistently direct harsh criticism at conservative politicians and pundits, although he does occasionally target the left wing as well. In August 2010 he began writing a music column for the LA Weekly, an alternative newspaper in Los Angeles.^[58]

Spoken Word[link]

Rollins also has toured doing spoken word performances which range from stand up comedy to more introspective commentaries on his childhood, such as the death of his friend, Joe Cole. He also speaks about experiences he's had with eccentric people. Rollins' spoken word style varies greatly, ranging from intense commentaries on society to playful, sometimes vulgar, anecdotes.

Campaigning and activism[link]

Rollins signing an autograph while on a United Service Organizations tour in Iraq in 2006.

Rollins has become an outspoken human rights activist, most vocally for gay rights. Rollins frequently speaks out on social justice on his spoken word tours and promotes equality, regardless of sexuality.^[59] He was the host of the WedRock benefit concert, which raised money for a pro-gay-marriage organization.

During the 2003 Iraq War, he started touring with the United Service Organizations to entertain troops overseas while remaining against the war, leading him to once cause a stir at a base in Kyrgyzstan when he told the crowd: "Your commander would never lie to you. That's the vice president's job."^[60] Rollins believes it is important that he performs to the troops so that they have multiple points of contact with the rest of the world, stating that, "they can get really cut loose from planet earth".^[61] He has made 8 tours, including visits to bases in Kuwait, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan (twice), Egypt, Turkey, Qatar, Honduras, Japan, Korea and the United Arab Emirates.^[62] He has also been active in the campaign to free the "West Memphis Three"—three young men believed by their supporters to have been wrongfully convicted of murder. Rollins appears with Public Enemy frontman Chuck D on the Black Flag song "Rise Above" on the benefit album Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three, the first time Rollins had performed Black Flag's material since 1986.^[63]

Continuing his activism on behalf of troops and veterans, Rollins joined Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) in 2008 to launch a groundbreaking national public service advertisement campaign, CommunityofVeterans.org, which helps veterans coming home from war reintegrate into their communities. In April 2009, Rollins helped IAVA launch the second phase of the campaign which engages the friends and family of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans at SupportYourVet.org.

On December 3, 2009, Rollins wrote of his support for the victims of the Bhopal disaster in India, in an article for Vanity Fair^[64] 25 years – to the day – after the methyl isocyanate gas leak from the Union Carbide Corporation's pesticide factory exposed more than half a million local people to poisonous gas and resulted in the death of 17,000. He spent time in Bhopal with the people, to listen to their stories. In a later radio interview in February 2010^[65] Rollins summed-up his approach to activism, "This is where my anger takes me, to places like this, not into abuse but into proactive, clean movement".^[66]

Works[link]

Work with State of Alert[link]

• No Policy (1981)
• three songs on the sampler Flex Your Head (1982)

Work with Black Flag[link]

• Damaged (1981)
• My War (1984)
• Family Man (1984)
• Slip It In (1984)
• Loose Nut (1985)
• In My Head (1985)

Studio albums (Solo)[link]

• Hot Animal Machine (1987)
• Drive by Shooting (1987)

Studio albums with Rollins Band[link]

• Life Time (1987, re-release 1999)
• Do It (1987)
• Hard Volume (1989, re-release 1999)
• The End of Silence (1992, double-CD re-release 2002)
• Weight (1994)
• Come In and Burn (1997)
• Get Some Go Again (2000)
• Nice (2001)
• Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three (2002)

Spoken word[link]

• Short Walk on a Long Pier (1985)
• Big Ugly Mouth (1987)
• Sweatbox (1989)
• Live at McCabe's (1990)
• Human Butt (1992)
• The Boxed Life (1993)
• Think Tank (1998)
• Eric the Pilot (1999)
• A Rollins in the Wry (2001)
• Live at the Westbeth Theater (2001)
• Talk Is Cheap: Volume 1 (2003)
• Talk Is Cheap: Volume 2 (2003)
• Talk Is Cheap: Volume 3 (2004)
• Talk Is Cheap: Volume 4 (2004)
• Provoked (2008)
• Spoken Word Guy (2010)
• Spoken Word Guy 2 (2010)
• The Long March (2012)

Spoken word documentaries[link]

• Talking from the Box (1993)
• Henry Rollins Goes to London (1995)
• You Saw Me Up There (1998)
• Up for It (2001)
• Live at Luna Park (2004)
• Shock & Awe: The Tour (2005)
• Uncut from NYC (2007)
• Uncut from Israel (2007)
• San Francisco 1990 (2007)
• Live in the Conversation Pit (2008)

Audio books[link]

• Get in the Van: On the Road with Black Flag (1994)
• Everything (1996)
• Black Coffee Blues (1997)
• Nights Behind the Tree Line (2004)

Essays[link]

• Iron and the Soul, First published in Details magazine, 1994.^{[citation needed]}
• As We See It, an editorial essay in Stereophile magazine.^[67]

Guest appearances and collaborations[link]

In 1993, Rollins appeared on the Tool album, Undertow where he and Tool front man, Maynard James Keenan, performed the vocals in the song "Bottom". Rollins appeared on the 1996 studio album Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerel Presents Highball with the Devil, narrating "Delicate Tendrils". He also appears on Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi's solo record Iommi which was released in 2000.

Rollins appeared as Vanilla Ice in the 1991 music video "Pop Goes the Weasel" by hip-hop trio 3rd Bass; and as Duke in the 2009 music video "The Ballad of G.I. Joe" on the website Funny or Die. He also appeared in the 2010 music video "Haifisch" by German industrial metal band Rammstein.

Rollins has made several voice acting performances in video games including the main character Mace Griffin in Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter and as himself in Def Jam: Fight for NY.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Azerrad, Michael. Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981–1991. Little Brown and Company, 2001. ISBN 0-316-78753-1

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Henry Rollins

• Official website
• Interview with Henry Rollins on PMAKid.com
• Straight Talk Espresso, Rollins's blog at VanityFair.com
• Henry Rollins at the Internet Movie Database
• IFC Site for The Henry Rollins Show
• Henry Rollins: 9 Questions with the Legendary Frontman about the Mainstream Media, So-called Class Warfare and the Political Necessities facing the 99% Movement, Dan O'Mahony, "Point Nine Nine", November 7, 2011