Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band. They are widely considered to be one of the first hardcore punk bands.

Black Flag's sound mixed the raw simplicity of the Ramones with atonal guitar solos and frequent tempo shifts. The lyrics were written mostly by Ginn, and like other punk rock bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s, Black Flag voiced an anti-authoritarian and non-conformist message, in songs punctuated with descriptions of social isolation, neurosis, poverty, and paranoia. These themes were explored further when Henry Rollins joined the band as lead singer in 1981. Most of the band's material was released on Ginn's independent label, SST Records.

Over the course of the 1980s, Black Flag's sound, as well as their notoriety, evolved in ways that both embraced and alienated much of their early audience. As well as being central to the creation of hardcore punk, they were innovators in the first wave of American West Coast punk rock and are considered a key influence on punk subculture in the United States and abroad. Along with being among the earliest punk rock groups to incorporate elements and the influence of heavy metal melodies and rhythm, there were often overt freestyles, free jazz, breakbeat and contemporary classical elements in their sound, especially in Ginn's guitar playing, and the band interspersed records and performances with instrumentals throughout their career. They also played longer, slower, and more complex songs at a time when bands in their milieu performed a raw, fast, three-chord format. As a result, their extensive discography is more stylistically varied than many of their punk rock contemporaries.

Black Flag was and remains well-respected within punk subculture, primarily for their tireless promotion of an autonomous DIY punk ethic and aesthetic. They are often regarded as pioneers in the movement of underground do-it-yourself record labels that flourished among the 1980s punk rock bands. Through constant touring throughout the United States and Canada, and occasionally Europe, Black Flag established a dedicated cult following.

History[link]

Early years[link]

Initially called Panic, Black Flag was formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. Ginn insisted that the band rehearse several hours a day.^[1] This work ethic proved too challenging for some early members; Ginn and singer Keith Morris had an especially difficult time finding a reliable bass guitarist, and often rehearsed without a bassist, a factor that contributed to the development of Ginn's distinctive, often low-pitched guitar sound. Ginn's brother Raymond Pettibon and SST house record producer-to-be Spot filled in during rehearsals.

Chuck Dukowski, bassist of Würm, liked Ginn's band, and eventually joined, forming a committed quartet with Ginn, Morris and drummer Brian Migdol. The band held their first performance in December 1977 in Redondo Beach, California. To avoid confusion with another band called Panic, they changed the name to Black Flag in late 1978.^[1] They played their first show under this name on January 27, 1979 in Redondo Beach. This was the first time Dez Cadena saw the band perform.

The name was suggested by Ginn's brother, artist Raymond Pettibon, who also designed the band's logo: a stylized black flag represented as four black bars. Pettibon stated "If a white flag means surrender, a black flag represents anarchy." Their new name was reminiscent of the anarchist symbol, the insecticide of the same name, and of the British heavy metal band Black Sabbath, one of Ginn's favorite bands. Ginn suggested that he was "comfortable with all the implications of the name."^[2] The band spray painted the simple, striking logo all over Los Angeles, California, attracting attention from both supporters and the Los Angeles Police Department. Pettibon also created much of their cover artwork.

There were few opportunities for punk rock bands to perform in Southern California. (Los Angeles club The Masque was the center of the L.A. punk scene, but was also rather parochial, and did not often admit bands from outside L.A. proper.) Black Flag organized their own gigs, performing at picnics, house parties, schools; any place that was available. They called club owners themselves to arrange appearances, and plastered hundreds of flyers—usually Pettibon's severe, haunting comic strip style panels—on any available surface to publicize performances. Dukowski reported that the "minimum [number of flyers] that went out was 500 for a show."^[3]

Though Ginn was the band's leader, special note should be made to Dukowski's contributions to Black Flag. Ginn was tireless and profoundly disciplined, however was also rather quiet. Dukowski's intelligent, fast-talking, high-energy persona attracted significant attention, and he was often Black Flag's spokesman to the press. Dukowski acted as the group's tour manager even after he no longer performed with them, and he was likely as important as Ginn in establishing the band's DIY punk ethic and demanding work ethic. Dukowski's bass guitar was a vital part of the early Black Flag sound; "TV Party" for instance, was one of many songs "driven more by Chuck Dukowski's percolating bass line than Ginn's stun-gun guitar."^[4]

Morris performed as vocalist on Black Flag's earliest recordings, and his energized, manic stage presence was pivotal in the band earning a reputation in Southern California. Migdol was replaced by the enigmatic Colombian drummer Robo, whose numerous clicking metallic bracelets became part of his drum sound. The band played with a speed and ferocity that was all but unprecedented in rock music; critic Ira Robbins declared that "Black Flag was, for all intents and purposes, America's first hardcore band."^[5] Morris quit in 1979, citing, among other reasons, creative differences with Ginn, and his own "freaking out on cocaine and speed."^[6] Morris would subsequently form the Circle Jerks.

After Morris's departure, Black Flag recruited fan Ron Reyes as singer. With Reyes, Black Flag recorded the Jealous Again 12-inch EP and appeared in the film The Decline of Western Civilization. This was also the line-up that toured up and down the West Coast for the first time, the version most fans outside of L.A. first saw.

In 1980, Reyes quit Black Flag mid-performance at the Redondo Beach venue The Fleetwood because of escalating violence.^{[citation needed]} For the remainder of that gig, the band played an extended version of "Louie Louie" and invited audience members to take turns singing.^[1] In retaliation for his quitting mid-gig, the band credited Reyes as "Chavo Pederast," implying he was sexually attracted to younger boys.

The more reliable Dez Cadena - another fan - then joined as singer. With Cadena onboard, Black Flag began national touring in earnest, and arguably saw two peaks: first as a commercial draw (they sold out the 3,500-seat Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, a feat they were never able to manage again); and second, perhaps seeing the peak of attention from police in the Los Angeles area, due to the violence associated with Black Flag and punk rock in general. The band members have often insisted, however, that the police instigated far more problems than they solved.

By the summer of 1981, however, Cadena's voice was worn. He had no formal training or previous experience as a singer, and had severely strained his voice during Black Flag's nonstop touring, and he wanted to play guitar rather than sing.

Rollins joins[link]

Twenty-year-old fan Henry Rollins (birth name Henry Garfield) — then living in Washington D.C. and singing for hardcore band S.O.A. — had corresponded with the band, and met them when they performed on the U.S. east coast. At an impromptu show in a bar, he asked the band to perform "Clocked In," and the band offered to let him sing the song. Since vocalist Dez Cadena was switching to guitar, the band then invited Rollins to audition. Impressed by his stage demeanor, they asked him to become their permanent vocalist.^[7] Despite some doubts, he accepted, due in part to Ian MacKaye's encouragement. Rollins acted as roadie for the remainder of the tour while learning Black Flag's songs during sound checks and encores, while Cadena crafted guitar parts that meshed with Ginn's. Rollins also impressed Black Flag with his broad musical interests during an era when punk rock music and fans were increasingly factionalized; he introduced Black Flag to Washington D.C.'s go-go, a distinctive take on funk music.

Rollins was Black Flag's longest-lasting singer, and has remained active in music to the present. When he joined Black Flag, he brought a different attitude and perspective than previous singers. Some earlier songs, such as "Six Pack" (a song written about ex-singer Keith Morris) blended a nearly goofy sense of satirical criticism (of apathy and alcoholism) with driving punk rock. He was a dynamic live performer and powerful singer, who usually appeared onstage wearing only shorts. Ginn once stated that after Rollins joined, "We couldn't do songs with a sense of humor anymore; he got into the serious way-out poet thing."^[4]

Mid-career[link]

	"Nervous Breakdown" noicon Sample of Black Flag "Nervous Breakdown" from Nervous Breakdown EP (1978)
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

	"Slip It In" noicon Sample of Black Flag "Slip It In" from Slip It In (1984)
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

With Rollins, Black Flag began work on their first full-length album. The sessions for the album (chronicled in Michael Azerrad's book Our Band Could Be Your Life) were a source of conflict between the band and engineer/producer Spot, who had worked with the band and the SST label since their early years. Spot had already recorded many of the Damaged tracks with Dez Cadena on vocals (as well as Keith Morris and Ron Reyes) and felt that the band's sound was ruined with the two guitar line-up (these versions can be heard on the albums Everything Went Black and The First Four Years). Whereas the earlier four-piece versions are more focused and much cleaner sounding, the Damaged recordings are more akin to a live recording, with little stereo separation of guitars, and somewhat muddy. When asked about the lo-fidelity production, Spot has said "They wanted it to sound that way." However, the artistic content and expression on the album showed the band pushing punk or hardcore music to a new level, with deeply personal and intensely emotional lyrics. As such, Damaged is generally regarded as Black Flag's most focused recording. One critic has written that Damaged was "perhaps the best album to emerge from the quagmire that was early-'80s California punk ... the visceral, intensely physical presence of Damaged has yet to be equaled, although many bands have tried."^[8] Damaged was released in the fall of 1981, and the group began an extensive tour in support of it, forging an independent network for touring independent music acts that would form a cornerstone of the independent music scene for the decade to come.

The previous year 1980 saw the U.S. punk rock movement hitting a peak in popularity. With Damaged and their growing reputation as an impressive live band, Black Flag seemed poised on the cusp of a commercial breakthrough. The record was to be distributed by now-defunct Unicorn Records, a subsidiary of MCA. Trouble began when MCA refused to handle Damaged after MCA executive Al Bergamo determined the album was an "Anti-Parent" record.^[9] However, according to longtime SST employee Joe Carducci^[10] the "Anti-Parent" statement was not the real reason for MCA's refusing to distribute Damaged; Carducci reported that Unicorn Records was so poorly managed and so deeply in debt that MCA stood to lose money by distributing the album, regardless of its content. This was the beginning of a legal dispute that would, for several years, disallow Black Flag from using their own name on any record after Damaged was released on SST Records and a copy of the "Anti-Parent" statement was placed on the album's cover.^[11]

With their new singer, Black Flag and The Minutemen made their first tour of Europe in the Winter of 1981. During that tour, the band met punk icon Richard Hell and opened a concert for him. Rollins later published his diaries from that tour in his book Get in the Van. As the front man, Rollins was a frequent target of violent audience members, and became known for fist-fights with audience members. Rollins developed a distinct showmanship on stage, where he could entertain an audience just by talking to them.

As the band was about to return home from the European tour, UK customs detained Colombian drummer Robo due to visa problems, and he was not allowed back into the country. This would be the end of his tenure with the band (he eventually was able to get back into the United States and in 1983 would join the Misfits as their drummer). The loss of Robo temporarily put an end to extensive touring for a while. Emil Johnson of Twisted Roots filled in for one tour, but it was clear he was only temporary.

While on that tour in Vancouver, the band found out that drummer Chuck Biscuits was leaving D.O.A. He was quickly drafted onboard, traveling with the band for the rest of the tour (cut short because of Henry Rollins' injured knee) to learn the songs. This lineup recorded the later-bootlegged cassette 1982 Demos, showing the direction the band would go in for the My War album.

However, due to personality conflicts —in Get in the Van, Rollins described Biscuits as a "fuck up"— and the Unicorn court injunction-forced inactivity of Black Flag, Biscuits left to join their rivals The Circle Jerks. (Later, Biscuits joined ex-Misfits singer Glenn Danzig's solo project Danzig). Black Flag eventually got Bill Stevenson of Descendents to join permanently (he had filled in from time-to-time before). While the Unicorn Records court injunction prevented the group from releasing a new studio album, they nonetheless continued to work on new material, and embarked on a period which would mark a pronounced change in the group's direction (and that of underground music in general).

It is possible that the violence of the previous tour had an effect on the band's direction. The band had also become increasingly interested in music other than punk rock, such as The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and some of the members (particularly Ginn) used cannabis. (However, various members had been fans of such music long before Black Flag, with Ginn being an avid Grateful Dead fan, and Cadena a fan of Hawkwind.) Newer material (which can be heard on The 1982 Demos bootleg) was slower and less like typical punk music, with classic rock and blues influences seeping in. Cadena left to form his own band DC3. He would take some of the new songs he had written for Black Flag with him and record them for DC3's debut album.

Additionally, by late 1983, Dukowski had retired from performing with Black Flag (some accounts report he was "edged out" by Ginn^[12]); Azerrad reports that Ginn was dissatisfied with Dukowski's failure to progress as an instrumentalist, and made things difficult for Dukowski in an attempt to make him quit, but in the end, Rollins took it on himself to fire Dukowski.^[13] However, a few of Dukowski's songs were featured on later albums, and he continued acting in his capacity as tour manager.

1983 found Black Flag with fresh songs and a new direction, but without a bass player, and embroiled in a legal dispute over distribution due to SST's issuing Damaged (Ginn argued that since MCA was no longer involved, the Unicorn deal was not legally binding, while Unicorn disagreed and sued SST and Black Flag). Until the matter was sorted out, the band were prevented by a court injunction from using the name "Black Flag" on any recordings. They released a compilation record, Everything Went Black, which was credited to the individual musicians, not "Black Flag". In fact, wherever the original album artwork had the words "Black Flag", they had been covered up with small slips of paper, thus adhering to the letter of the law.

After Unicorn Records declared bankruptcy, Black Flag were released from the injunction, and returned with a vengeance, starting with the release of My War. The album was both a continuation of Damaged, and a vast leap forward. While the general mood and lyrics continue in the confrontational and emotional tone of Damaged, and the album would prove influential to grunge music as the decade progressed. Lacking a bass player, Ginn played bass guitar, using the pseudonym Dale Nixon. On the May 1, 2007 episode of his radio program Harmony in My Head, Rollins reported that one of Ginn's favorite albums during this era was Mahavishnu Orchestra's Birds of Fire (1973), and opined that John McLaughlin's guitar work influenced Ginn.

Freed legally to release albums, Black Flag was re-energized and ready to continue full steam ahead. The band recruited bassist Kira Roessler (sister of punk keyboardist Paul Roessler, of 45 Grave) to replace Dukowski, and began its most prolific period. With Roessler, Black Flag had arguably found their best bassist. Dukowski was a powerful player, but Roessler brought a level of sophistication and finesse to match Ginn's increasingly ambitious music, without sacrificing any of the visceral impact required for punk rock.

1984 saw Black Flag (and the SST label) at their most ambitious. This year they would release three full-length albums, and toured nearly constantly, with Rollins noting 178 performances for the year, and about that many for 1985. With Dukowski gone, Ginn ceded much of the spotlight to Rollins, who had expressed some discomfort^[14] over being the group's de facto spokesman, while Ginn was the recognized leader (Ginn wrote the majority of the group's songs and lyrics).

With Roessler on board, Black Flag began earnest experimentation, sometimes to critical and audience disdain: One critic writes that Slip It In "blurs the line between moronic punk and moronic metal";^[5] another writes My War is "a pretentious mess of a record with a totally worthless second side."^[15] Rollins reports that Black Flag's set-lists in this era rarely included older crowd favorites like "Six Pack" or "Nervous Breakdown", and that audiences were often irritated by the new, slower Black Flag. Violence against the band (and especially Rollins) was ever-present, although the vocalist was now an avid weight lifter, and more than able to defend himself. Furthermore, to Rollins' chagrin, Ginn's interest in marijuana steadily increased; as Rollins put it, "By '86 it was 'Cannot separate the man from his Anvil case with a big-ass stash.'"^[16] Despite the initial resistance to the new music and quasi-psychedelic direction, My War would later be cited as a formative influence on grunge. The band would continue to evolve toward a more heavy metal sound, with 1985's Loose Nut featuring more polished production.

Later period and break up[link]

Despite 1984-85 being the most fruitful period for the band and their record label, Ginn and Rollins would ultimately decide to eject Roessler from Black Flag, citing erratic behavior. It has also been suggested that Ginn's accommodating Roessler's college schedule created tension in the band. Her absence, and the lack of a steady drummer (Stevenson quit and was replaced by Anthony Martinez), contributed to the comparatively weak reputation of the last few Black Flag tours. However, the live album Who's Got the 10½? shows the evolving line-up, with Kira and drummer Martinez, to be a powerful and entertaining unit.

By 1986, Black Flag's members had grown tired of the tensions of their relentless touring schedule, infighting, and of living in near-poverty. The band had been together almost a decade, and true commercial success and stability had eluded them. The band's erratic artistic changes were a barrier to their retaining an audience - Ginn was so creatively restless that Black Flag's albums were often very dissimilar. At one point, Rollins apparently said, "Why don't we make a record that was like the last one so people won't always be trying to catch up with what we're doing?"^[17] The next album, In My Head, with its powerful bluesy proto-grunge-metal, did seem to finally be a cohesive follow-up to their previous album Loose Nut, but it would be their last.

Black Flag played their last concert on June 27, 1986, in Detroit, Michigan. In Get in the Van, Rollins wrote that Ginn telephoned him in August 1986: "He told me he was quitting the band. I thought that was strange considering it was his band and all. So in one short phone call, it was all over."

Post-Black Flag[link]

Since Black Flag's break-up, Rollins has had the most visible public profile as a musician, writer, and actor. Most Black Flag members have also remained active in music, especially Ginn, who continued playing with bands such as Gone, October Faction, and Screw Radio, and Stevenson, who continued on with the Descendents, All, Only Crime, and the reformed Lemonheads. Kira Roessler continues to record and perform with the band DOS, a duet with then-husband and Minutemen bassist Mike Watt.

In September 2003, Black Flag played three reunion shows, two at the Hollywood Palladium and one at Alex's Bar in Long Beach, California, to benefit cat rescue organizations (a current passion of Ginn's). The line-up for the shows was Dez Cadena on vocals, Greg Ginn on guitar, Robo on drums, and C'el Revuelta on bass. Professional skateboarder and singer Mike Vallely also sang all the songs from My War at these shows.

On July 14, 2010, in celebration of Ron Reyes's 50th birthday, Greg Ginn and Reyes played a set of three Black Flag songs together in addition to his own set with the Ron Reyes Band.^[18]

Left to right: Stephen Egerton, Keith Morris, Bill Stevenson, and Chuck Dukowski performing as Black Flag at the GV30 show in December 2011

On December 18, 2011, Keith Morris, Chuck Dukowski, Bill Stevenson, and the Descendents' Stephen Egerton played the Nervous Breakdown EP in its entirety for the Goldenvoice 30th anniversary show called GV 30. This surprise gig at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium took place between sets by the Vandals and the Descendents.^[19]

Legacy[link]

Throughout their ten-year career as a band, Black Flag’s experiences became legendary, especially in the Southern California area. Much of the band’s history is chronicled in Henry Rollins’ own published tour diary Get in the Van. Black Flag were reportedly blacklisted by the LAPD and Hollywood rock clubs because of the destructiveness of their fans, though Rollins has claimed that police caused far more problems than they solved.

SST Records, an independent American record label that was initially founded to release Black Flag’s debut single, released recordings by influential bands such as Bad Brains, The Minutemen, Descendents, Meat Puppets, and Hüsker Dü. As well, SST released some albums by Negativland, Soundgarden, and, for a short period, Sonic Youth.

Black Flag's career is chronicled in Our Band Could Be Your Life, a study of several important American underground rock bands. Many members of the grunge scene cited Black Flag's My War album as being influential in their departure from the standard punk model. Steve Turner of Mudhoney stated in an interview, "A lot of other people around the country hated the fact that Black Flag slowed down ... but up here it was really great — we were like 'Yay!' They were weird and fucked-up sounding."^[20]

Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea has a Black Flag decal on one of his signature Modulus bass guitars, and guitarist John Frusciante has cited Greg Ginn as one of his early influences as a guitar player.^[21]

British acoustic artist and punk rocker Frank Turner has a Black Flag icon tattoo on his wrist and cites the band as one of his primary inspirations, particularly in regards to their work ethic.^[22][23] With Million Dead, if anything went wrong with their tour, Turner said they would "Think Black Flag."^[23]

Vocalist Maynard James Keenan of the bands Tool and A Perfect Circle, has described seeing Black Flag perform in the 1980s as a young punk rocker in Grand Rapids, Michigan, as a "revelatory and life-changing" experience. A Perfect Circle also covered the Black Flag song "Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie" on their Emotive album.^[24]

Punk band Rise Against portrayed Black Flag in the 2005 Lords of Dogtown film, and their cover of "Nervous Breakdown" is on the Lords of Dogtown soundtrack. Rise Against also does a cover of the Black Flag song "Fix Me" in the video game Tony Hawk's American Wasteland.

Initial Records released a Black Flag cover album in 2002 (re-released with additional tracks in 2006 by ReIgnition Recordings), Black on Black: A Tribute to Black Flag. The compilation features 15 hardcore and metalcore bands — including Most Precious Blood, Converge, The Dillinger Escape Plan, American Nightmare, Drowningman, and Coalesce.^[25]

Iconography[link]

The band's logo was created by artist Raymond Pettibon to symbolize their themes of rebellion and anarchy. As the band gained popularity the logo was graffitied in and around Los Angeles, drawing the attention of the police to the band's activities.^[26]

Black Flag's visual imagery and artwork complemented the themes found in the band's music. Greg Ginn's brother Raymond Ginn, under the pseudonym Raymond Pettibon, created the artwork for all of the band's studio releases with the exceptions of Damaged and the "TV Party" single, as well as providing artwork for the band members to transform into merchandise and gig flyers.^[27] When the band found it necessary to change their name from Panic in 1977, it was Pettibon who suggested the new name Black Flag and designed their iconic logo: four vertical black rectangles comprising a stylized rippling black flag. The logo evoked a number of meanings: it was the polar opposite of a white flag of surrender, as well as a symbol for anarchism and a traditional emblem of pirates.^[28] As the band gained popularity the logo was graffitied on numerous highway overpasses and other public and private surfaces in and around Los Angeles, drawing the attention of the authorities and contributing to an increase in police presence at Black Flag shows.^[26]

Pettibon's artwork for the band's albums and flyers was equally stark and confrontational. He typically worked in one panel using only pen and ink, so the message conveyed had to be direct and powerful due to lack of space and color.^[27] According to Michael Azerrad in Our Band Could Be Your Life, the artwork "was a perfect visual analogue to the music it promoted – gritty, stark, violent, smart, provocative, and utterly American."^[27] It also provided a cerebral aspect to the band's image: as the mainstream media caricatured Black Flag as a mindlessly aggressive act, the pairing of their music with high-concept artwork hinted at a greater intelligence at work that was unknown to outsiders.^[27] Henry Rollins, in his journal collection Get in the Van, notes that Pettibon's artwork became synonymous with Black Flag and that before Rollins joined the band he would collect photocopies of their flyers that had circulated from California to Washington D.C.^[29] The album cover for Nervous Breakdown had a particularly strong impact on Rollins: "The record's cover art said it all. A man with his back to the wall baring his fists. In front of him another man fending him off with a chair. I felt like the guy with his fists up every day of my life."^[30] Another image which drew considerable attention was the artwork created for the "Police Story" single, showing a police officer being held with a gun in his mouth with the speech blurb "Make me come, faggot!" The image was plastered on flyers all around Los Angeles and added to the police pressure on the band.^[26] Pettibon later remarked that "my values are relativistic, and I’ll give a cop the benefit of the doubt. If that’s me with my gat – my gat’s larger than the one depicted – we can have a discussion, and he can answer me just as well with my .357 barrel in his mouth, or on his cheek, or on his adenoids, or down his throat. I’ll listen to his whimpering cries."^[31] After joining the band Rollins would sometimes watch Pettibon draw, admiring his work ethic and the fact that he did not make telephone calls or sit for interviews.^[32] The drawings themselves rarely bore a direct connection to the music or its lyrical themes. Pettibon himself recalls that "These drawings just represented what I was thinking. Except for a few instances, the flyers weren't done as commercial art or advertising. You could have stuck anything on a photocopy machine and put the band name and made an advertising flyer, but these weren't done like that. I was vehement about that as much as my personality allowed."^[33] Pettibon also sold pamphlet books of his work through SST, with titles such as Tripping Corpse, New Wave of Violence, and The Bible, the Bottle, and the Bomb, and did artwork for other SST acts such as the Minutemen.^[27]

In order to adapt Pettibon's artwork to meet the layout requirements of their albums and flyers, the members of Black Flag would alter it by cutting and pasting and adding their name, logo, and gig details to it. They would then make photocopies and put up dozens of flyers to promote their shows. Rollins recalls going out on a flyering mission with roadie Mugger in 1981 in which the pair would put a layer of paste onto a telephone pole, stick up the flyer, and then cover it with an additional coat of paste so that it would last for up to a year. The band members and their crew would do this for miles around, using dozens of flyers to promote a single performance.^[34] Pettibon, however, did not always appreciate the band's treatment of his art, which he provided to them largely for free.^[35] "To me my work was the equivalent of a band like Black Flag or any other band who was righteously self-protective of recordings. I would give them original art and it would come back to me scrawled upon and taped over or whited out, and I'd always ask nicely, 'Could you please make a copy of this first and then do that?' Their master tapes were deemed sacrosanct, while my work was seen as completely disposable, but I'm not venting or complaining, just stating fact."^[33] Pettibon also felt pigeonholed by his association with the band, and had a falling out with them in 1985 over artwork used on the cover of the Loose Nut album, which had been used for a flyer several years earlier. Ginn resurrected it without telling his brother and turned it over to drummer Bill Stevenson to do the layout, who cut it into pieces and used them as elements for the cover and lyric sheet. Pettibon became irate and he and Ginn stopped speaking for some time, though his artwork continued to be used for the remainder of the band's career.^[35]

Tattoos of the Black Flag logo have become widespread since its creation.^[36] In 2009, a project entitled Barred for Life was started by a Philadelphia based group to photograph people with Black Flag tattoos for an upcoming book.^[36][37]

Members[link]

Discography[link]

Studio albums

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

Bibliography[link]

• Azerrad, Michael. Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981–1991. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2001. ISBN 0-316-78753-1.
• Rollins, Henry. Get in the Van: On the Road with Black Flag, 2nd ed. Los Angeles: 2.13.61, 2004. ISBN 1-880985-76-4.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Black Flag (band)

• The Mighty Black Flag (fan site)
• Suburban Voice Interview – Black Flag interview from 1984
• Flipside Interview – Black Flag interview from 1980

Look up black flag in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Black Flag may refer to:

• A flag that is black: see List of black flags
  • A symbol for parley
  • One of the racing flags used to summon drivers to the pits
  • The anarchist flag
    • Black Flag (newspaper), an anarchist newspaper
    • Czarny Sztandar (1903), a Białystok anarchist organisation
    • Chernoe Znamia (1905), a Geneva anarchist newspaper

• False flag operations (covert operations intended to appear as if carried out by other entities) are also called black flag operations.
• Black Liberation Flag
• Black Flag (insecticide), a brand of insecticide
• Black Flag (band), American hardcore punk band
• Black Flag, a ghost town in the Goldfields of Western Australia
• Black Flag Army, a militia operating around Hanoi in the late 19th century
• Hek Ki Boen Eng Chun Kungfu, also known as Black Flag Wing Chun, a Chinese martial arts style from the province of Fujian
• A common name for the weed Ferraria crispa
• Black Flag, a series from Image Comics

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

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]