When I was 17, I worked in a movie theater. Other than the strange Filipino guy who used to eat out of the discarded candy boxes he found when cleaning the theaters, one of the memories that stands out the most was working with a gal named Adina, who was a punk. A real punk, not those Hot Topic looking wannabes, or some lame caricature done up like they’re in costume. She listened to all that hardcore, old school punk…and she turned me on to Henry Rollins.
When you’re an adolescent and a cute girl you work with wants to hang out when there’s a few minutes between screenings, you do it. Adina gave me a copy of Black Coffee Blues to read, a combination of poetic prose and very short stories and ideas. I had no clue who Rollins was or what he was about, but the book blew me away. Conveniently, the Rollins Band was pushing a new album and I saw his killer performance on the short lived Dennis Miller Show, giving me another reason to dig what he was involved in.
Over the years, I’ve enjoyed the numerous books he’s put out, seen scores of his spoken word events, and stood close enough to smell the man when he reformed his classic band line for a tour with X. Henry Rollins has been an iconic personality and inspiration, whether he’s making me laugh at his stand-up philosophy, rock out to his tunes, or reflect upon the stories and conversations he’s shared. He never hides that even though he is a buffed, tattooed rocker, he still turns into a goofy fanboy around his idols, and passionately speaks his mind without any reservation.
I make it a point to follow the man and check out everything he does, and Rollins gets around. Film roles. A weekly radio program. An interview and variety program. A publishing company. Concert tours. Spoken word performances. Benefit shows. The guy is a one man media empire.
Happy birthday Hank, and thanks for everything.
When you’re an adolescent and a cute girl you work with wants to hang out when there’s a few minutes between screenings, you do it. Adina gave me a copy of Black Coffee Blues to read, a combination of poetic prose and very short stories and ideas. I had no clue who Rollins was or what he was about, but the book blew me away. Conveniently, the Rollins Band was pushing a new album and I saw his killer performance on the short lived Dennis Miller Show, giving me another reason to dig what he was involved in.
Over the years, I’ve enjoyed the numerous books he’s put out, seen scores of his spoken word events, and stood close enough to smell the man when he reformed his classic band line for a tour with X. Henry Rollins has been an iconic personality and inspiration, whether he’s making me laugh at his stand-up philosophy, rock out to his tunes, or reflect upon the stories and conversations he’s shared. He never hides that even though he is a buffed, tattooed rocker, he still turns into a goofy fanboy around his idols, and passionately speaks his mind without any reservation.
I make it a point to follow the man and check out everything he does, and Rollins gets around. Film roles. A weekly radio program. An interview and variety program. A publishing company. Concert tours. Spoken word performances. Benefit shows. The guy is a one man media empire.
Happy birthday Hank, and thanks for everything.
No comments:
Post a Comment