2.13.61, Inc. is a publisher and record company founded by American musician
Henry Rollins
Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1980, Roll ...
and named after his date of birth (February 13, 1961). The company has released albums by the
Rollins Band, all of Rollins'
spoken word
Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...
work, and numerous books. It is based in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.
In his mass-market anthology ''The Portable Henry Rollins'', Rollins stated that he had given 2.13.61 its name because someone had told him that his first self-released book, ''20'' (1984), had to have a company name on it, and since he felt at the time that he would only ever get to release one book, he simply used his birthdate.
2.13.61 branched out into releasing records not long after Rollins started a solo career following the breakup of
Black Flag, initially just releasing Rollins' spoken-word albums. The first two 2.13.61 releases, ''Big Ugly Mouth'' and ''Sweatbox'', were first co-released with the label Rollins was signed with at the time as a musician,
Texas Hotel Records. Since then, the label has branched out into various rock and jazz releases and even spawned two specialist reissue sublabels, Infinite Zero Archive (a joint venture with
Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records.
Rubin helped popula ...
's
American Recordings), and District Line, which specializes in reissuing the music of Rollins' hometown of
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
It is also used as the name of Rollins' Blazin' (finishing move) in the video game ''
Def Jam: Fight for NY''.
The literary company's authors include: Henry Rollins (Publisher, Black Flag),
Iggy Pop (
The Stooges
The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Da ...
),
Exene Cervenka
Exene Cervenka (born Christene Lee Cervenka; February 1, 1956) is an American singer, artist, and poet. She is best known for her work as a singer in the California punk rock band X.
Music career
The 21-year-old Cervenka met 23-year-old ...
(X, Auntie Christ, The Knitters),
Nick Cave (Birthday Party, Bad Seeds,
Grinderman
Grinderman was an Australian-American rock band that formed in London, England, in 2006. The band included Nick Cave (vocals, guitar, organ, piano), Warren Ellis (tenor guitar, electric mandolin, violin, viola, guitar, backing vocals), Martyn ...
),
Michael Gira
Michael Rolfe Gira (; born February 19, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, author and artist. He is the main force behind the New York City musical group Swans and fronted Angels of Light. He is also the founder of ...
(
Swans
Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Someti ...
), Joe Cole, Tricia Warden, Don Bajema, Bill Shields, Jeffery Lee Pierce (The Gun Club), and Ellyn Maybe.
References
External links
*
American record labels
Book publishing companies based in California
Spoken word record labels
Vanity record labels
{{US-record-label-stub