Rollins Band was an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band formed in

Van Nuys, California Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, ...

. The band was active from 1987 to 2006 and was led by former Black Flag vocalist

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 ...

. They are best known for the songs " Low Self Opinion" and " Liar", which both earned heavy airplay on MTV in the early-mid 1990s. Critic Steve Huey describes their music as "uncompromising, intense, cathartic fusions of funk,

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad music genre, genre of Punk Music, punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde s ...

noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference aris ...

, and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

experimentalism, with Rollins shouting angry, biting self-examinations and accusations over the grind." In 2000, Rollins Band was included on VH1's ''100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock'', ranking at No. 47.

History

Precursors (1980–1986)

Rollins was the singer for the

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punk rock band

State of Alert State of Alert (often abbreviated to S.O.A.) was an American hardcore punk group formed in Washington, D.C. in October 1980, and active till July 1981. S.O.A. was fronted by Henry Rollins, then using his original surname Garfield. History S.O. ...

from October 1980 to July 1981. Afterwards, he sang with California punk rock band Black Flag from August 1981 to August 1986. Black Flag earned little mainstream attention, but through a demanding touring schedule, came to be regarded as one of the most important punk rock bands of the 1980s. Less than a year after Black Flag broke up, Rollins returned to music with guitarist Chris Haskett (a friend from Rollins' teen years in

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), bass guitarist Bernie Wandel, and drummer Mick Green. This line-up released two records: ''

Hot Animal Machine ''Hot Animal Machine'' is the debut solo album by Henry Rollins which served as a precursor to the Rollins Band. It is only available now in the same 2-in-one package as ''Drive by Shooting''. Notable for a number of cover songs; Suicide's "Gho ...

'' (credited as a Rollins solo record and featuring cover art drawings by Devo leader

Mark Mothersbaugh Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (; born May 18, 1950) is an American composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead singer and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, whose " Whip It" was a top 20 ...

) and ''

Drive by Shooting A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrator(s) to quickly strike their target and flee the scene before ...

'' (credited to "Henrietta Collins and the Wifebeating Childhaters"). The music was similar to Black Flag's, though it flirted more with heavy metal and funk.

First edition (1987–1994)

Soon after, Rollins formed Rollins Band with Haskett, bassist Andrew Weiss, and drummer Sim Cain (Weiss and Cain had previously played with Gone, an

instrumental rock Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes musical instruments and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental rock can be found in practically every subgenre of rock, often from musicians who specialize in the style. Instr ...

group led by guitarist and Black Flag founder

Greg Ginn Gregory Regis Ginn (born June 8, 1954) is an American guitarist, bassist, singer and songwriter, best known for being the leader, primary songwriter, and the only continuous member of the hardcore punk band Black Flag, which he founded and led ...

). Live sound engineer Theo Van Rock was usually credited as a band member. Critics Ira Robbins and Regina Joskow described this line-up as a "brilliant, strong ensemble ... the band doesn't play punk (more a jazzy, thrashy, swing take on the many moods of Jimi Hendrix), but what they do together has the strengths of both. The group's loud guitar rock with a strong, inventive rhythmic clock borrows only the better attributes of metal, ensuring that noise is never a substitute for purpose."

Second edition (1994–1997)

Rollins's tour diaries from this era details the personal and creative tensions that led to Weiss being fired following the ''End of Silence'' tour. These diaries were published by Rollins's 2.13.61 company as ''See A Grown Man Cry'' and ''Now Watch Him Die''. The band's new bassist was jazz and funk veteran

Melvin Gibbs Melvin Gibbs is an American bass guitarist who has appeared on close to 200 albums in diverse genres of music. Among others, Gibbs is known for working in jazz with drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson and guitarist Sonny Sharrock, and in rock music ...

, who'd been highly recommended by

Living Colour Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. The band currently consists of guitarist Vernon Reid, lead vocalist Corey Glover, drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish (who replaced Muzz Skillings in 1992). S ...

guitarist

Vernon Reid Vernon Alphonsus Reid (born 22 August 1958) is an English-born American guitarist and songwriter. Reid is the founder and primary songwriter of the rock band Living Colour, Reid was named No. 66 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's 2003 list of the ...

, a friend of the Rollins Band since the first Lollapalooza tour. Cain and Gibbs had also both played in different versions of guitarist

Marc Ribot Marc Ribot (; born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer. His work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, rock, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notably Tom Wai ...

's band. Gibbs performed on Ribot's album ''

Rootless Cosmopolitans Rootless cosmopolitan () was a pejorative Soviet epithet which referred mostly to Jewish intellectuals as an accusation of their lack of allegiance to the Soviet Union, especially during the antisemitic campaign of 1948–1953. This campaign ...

'' (1990) and Cain on ''

Requiem for What's His Name ''Requiem for What's His Name'' is the second album by Marc Ribot & The Rootless Cosmopolitans which was released by the Belgian label Les Disques du Crepuscule in 1992. Recording The album was recorded in New York City at Sound on Sound Recordin ...

'' (1992). The first video from 1994's ''Weight'', "Liar", was a huge hit on MTV, with Rollins sporting numerous costumes (including a cop and a nun). The band appeared at

Woodstock '94 Woodstock '94 was an American music festival held in 1994 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original Woodstock festival of 1969. It was promoted as "2 More Days of Peace and Music". The poster used to promote the first concert was r ...

, and Rollins was a guest-host for several MTV programs, including ''120 Minutes''. This version of Rollins Band had some of the most overt jazz leanings of the band's history: Gibbs had begun his career with Reid in the 1980s jazz fusion group of drummer

Ronald Shannon Jackson Ronald Shannon Jackson (January 12, 1940 – October 19, 2013) was an American jazz drummer from Fort Worth, Texas. A pioneer of avant-garde jazz, free funk, and jazz fusion, he appeared on over 50 albums as a bandleader, sideman, arranger, and ...

, and worked with

Sonny Sharrock Warren Harding "Sonny" Sharrock (August 27, 1940 – May 25, 1994) was an American jazz guitarist. He was married to singer Linda Sharrock, with whom he recorded and performed. One of only a few prominent guitarists who participated in the fir ...

on albums like 1987's ''Seize the Rainbow''. These influences, along with Rollins' obsession with the late '60s/early '70s electric/fusion era of iconic trumpeter

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

, shaped this version of the band's music. During the sessions for ''Weight'', Rollins Band recorded with

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians duri ...

saxophonist

Charles Gayle Charles Gayle (born February 28, 1939) is an American free jazz musician. Initially known as a saxophonist who came to prominence in the 1990s after decades of obscurity, Gayle also performs as pianist, bass clarinetist, bassist, and percussioni ...

, though these sessions remained unreleased for ten years at Gayle's request to avoid conflicts with his contractual obligations. The Gayle sessions were released in 2003 as ''Weighting''. In 1996, there was a legal battle with the band's former label, Imago Records. Rollins claimed "fraud, deceit, undue influence and economic coercion" on the label's part. They signed with the then-new major label DreamWorks Records, who released 1997's '' Come In and Burn''. The album had a minor hit with the single "Starve" and the band appeared on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'' to promote the album (season 22, episode 18). However, ''Come In and Burn'' was not as successful as ''Weight'' and, after touring for ''Burn'', Rollins dissolved the group, citing creative stagnation.

Third edition (1999–2003)

Rollins replaced the Haskett-Gibbs-Cain lineup with the Los Angeles rock band

Mother Superior An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...

, retaining the name Rollins Band, and released ''

Get Some Go Again ''Get Some Go Again'' (stylized as ''Get Some -> Go Again'') is the sixth studio album by Rollins Band, released in 2000. It is also the first album by lead singer Henry Rollins after dissolving his longtime lineup featuring guitarist Chris Has ...

'' (2000) and ''

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

'' (2001). They also released a two-disc live album, ''The Only Way to Know for Sure''. This line-up was a more straightforward hard rock group: their first album featured "Are You Ready?" a cover of a

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or som ...

song, featuring Lizzy guitarist

Scott Gorham William Scott Gorham (born March 17, 1951) is an American guitarist and songwriter who is one of the "twin lead guitarists" for the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy. Although not a founding member of Thin Lizzy, he served a continuous membership afte ...

; Rollins has often expressed fondness for Thin Lizzy and its founder, Phil Lynott.

Fourth edition (2006)

In between other commitments (his radio show ''Harmony in My Head'', his cable/satellite TV show ''The Henry Rollins Show'', and his spoken word tours), Rollins also reunited the Haskett-Gibbs-Cain lineup. In a blog entry on henryrollins.com, Rollins admitted, "Actually we have been practicing on and off for months now, slowly getting it together ... It's been really cool being back in the practice room with these guys after all these years." The band opened some concerts for X, and played on the first-season finale of ''The Henry Rollins Show'' on August 12, 2006.

Indefinite hiatus (2007–present)

Rollins told Alan Sculley of ''The Daily Herald'' that this reunion with Haskett, Gibbs and Cain would not become long-term unless the group decided to write new songs: "Let's put it this way. I don't want to go out and hit America again without a new record, or at least a new album's worth of material. Otherwise the thing will lack legitimacy ...

would never do that. And I'm not into a greatest-hits thing. I think a band, if you're going to be around, you should be moving forward and putting in the time and working for it, getting after the art. Otherwise you're just playing retreads. ... Imagine a tree that grows canned peaches. It's nothing I want to do." Former member Jason Mackenroth died on January 3, 2016, in Nevada from prostate cancer.

Musical style and influences

The band have been categorized under the

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...

, hard rock,

funk metal Funk metal (also known as thrash-funk or punk-funk) is a subgenre of funk rock and alternative metal that infuses heavy metal music (often thrash metal) with elements of funk and punk rock. Funk metal was part of the alternative metal movement, ...

and post-hardcore genres. Mid-career albums such as ''Weight'' also had a pronounced

influence. They were part of the early 1990s Los Angeles alternative metal scene, alongside

Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

Jane's Addiction Jane's Addiction is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985. The band consists of vocalist Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery. Jane's Addiction was one of the first bands fr ...

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commer ...

and

Green Jellÿ Green Jellÿ (, ''green Jell-O'') is an American comedy rock band formed in 1981. Originally named Green Jellö, the band changed its name due to legal pressure from Kraft Foods Inc., the owners of the Jell-O brand, who claimed that it was an i ...

. Their influences include '70s metal and rock bands, including

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise ...

Pink Fairies Pink Fairies are an English rock band initially active in the London (Ladbroke Grove) underground and psychedelic scene of the early 1970s. They promoted free music, drug use, and anarchy, and often performed impromptu gigs and other stunts, ...

and

, as well as

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

and jazz fusion bands like

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

and

Mahavishnu Orchestra The Mahavishnu Orchestra were a jazz fusion band formed in New York City in 1971, led by English guitarist John McLaughlin. The group underwent several line-up changes throughout its history across its two periods of activity, from 1971 to 1976 ...

. Rollins' shout-singing style proved influential to later

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

and nu metal artists, such as

Coal Chamber Coal Chamber is an American nu metal band formed by Dez Fafara and Meegs Rascón in Los Angeles, California in 1993. Prior to Coal Chamber, the two had also created the band She's in Pain, in 1992. The original lineup also consisted of bassist ...

, Korn, Chevelle,

Godsmack Godsmack is an American rock band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Sully Erna, bassist Robbie Merrill, lead guitarist Tony Rombola and drummer Shannon Larkin. Since its form ...

and

System of a Down System of a Down (also known as SoaD or simply System) is an Armenian-American heavy metal band formed in Glendale, California, in 1994. Since 1997, the band has consisted of Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboards); Daron Malakian (guitar, voc ...

. The Rollins Band songs "

Tearing Tearing is the act of breaking apart a material by force, without the aid of a cutting tool. A tear in a piece of paper, fabric, or some other similar object may be the result of the intentional effort with one's bare hands, or be accidental. U ...

" and "Shine" have been covered by Pearl Jam.

Band members

;Last line-up *

– lead vocals (1987–1997, 1999-2003, 2006) * Chris Haskett – guitar (1987–1997, 2006) * Sim Cain – drums, percussion (1987–1997, 2006) *

– bass (1993–1997, 2006) ;Former members * Andrew Weiss – bass (1987–1992) * Jim Wilson – guitar, piano (1999–2003) *

Marcus Blake Marcus Blake is an American, Los Angeles based, musician and songwriter. He is primarily a bass guitarist but also sings lead and backing vocals and plays guitar. Blake has written, played, recorded and toured with numerous bands and artists ...

– bass (1999–2003) * Jason Mackenroth – drums, percussion, saxophone (1999–2003; died 2016) * Theo Van Rock – sound engineer

Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:30 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:60 top:0 right:50 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1987 till:01/01/2007 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Guitars value:green legend:Guitar id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums,_percussion id:Piano value:purple legend:Piano id:Sax value:gray(0.5) legend:Saxophone id:Lines value:black legend:Releases Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1987 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1987 LineData = at:05/05/1987 color:black layer:back at:11/01/1989 color:black layer:back at:02/25/1992 color:black layer:back at:04/12/1994 color:black layer:back at:03/25/1997 color:black layer:back at:02/28/2000 color:black layer:back at:08/21/2001 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:Rollins text:"Henry Rollins" bar:Haskett text:"Chris Haskett" bar:Wilson text:"Jim Wilson" bar:Weiss text:"Andrew Weiss" bar:Gibbs text:"Melvin Gibbs" bar:Blake text:"Marcus Blake" bar:Cain text:"Sim Cain" bar:Mackenroth text:"Jason Mackenroth" PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(11,-4) bar:Rollins from:01/01/1987 till:01/01/1998 color:Vocals bar:Rollins from:01/01/1999 till:01/01/2003 color:Vocals bar:Rollins from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2007 color:Vocals bar:Haskett from:01/01/1987 till:01/01/1998 color:Guitars bar:Haskett from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2007 color:Guitars bar:Wilson from:01/01/1999 till:01/01/2003 color:Guitars bar:Wilson from:01/01/1999 till:01/01/2003 color:Piano width:3 bar:Weiss from:01/01/1987 till:01/01/1993 color:Bass bar:Gibbs from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1998 color:Bass bar:Gibbs from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2007 color:Bass bar:Blake from:01/01/1999 till:01/01/2003 color:Bass bar:Cain from:01/01/1987 till:01/01/1998 color:Drums bar:Cain from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2007 color:Drums bar:Mackenroth from:01/01/1999 till:01/01/2003 color:Drums bar:Mackenroth from:01/01/1999 till:01/01/2003 color:Sax width:3

Discography

Studio albums

Outtakes and demos collections

*'' A Nicer Shade of Red'' (2001) *''The End of Silence Demos'' (2002) *''Yellow Blues'' (2003) *''

Weighting The process of weighting involves emphasizing the contribution of particular aspects of a phenomenon (or of a set of data) over others to an outcome or result; thereby highlighting those aspects in comparison to others in the analysis. That i ...

'' (2004) *''Come In and Burn Sessions'' (2004) *''

Get Some Go Again Sessions ''Get Some Go Again Sessions'' is a 2005 double album by the Rollins Band, although on this release it is credited to Henry Rollins & Mother Superior. This album contains the original '' Get Some Go Again'' album plus the remaining tracks from ...

'' (2005)

Live albums

*''Live Split Album'' with Dutch band

Gore Gore may refer to: Places Australia * Gore, Queensland * Gore Creek (New South Wales) * Gore Island (Queensland) Canada * Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community * Gore, Quebec, a township municipality * Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manitouli ...

– recorded at

El Mocambo The El Mocambo is a live music and entertainment venue in Toronto, Ontario. Located on Spadina Avenue, just south of College Street, the venue has played an important role in the development of popular music in Toronto since 1948. It is best kn ...

, Toronto, Canada, May 17, 1987 *'' Do It'' – Studio Outtakes and Live (1988) *'' Turned On'' (1990) *''Electro Convulsive Therapy'' (1993) *''Insert Band Here: Live in Australia, 1990'' (1999) *''A Clockwork Orange Stage'' (2001) *''The Only Way to Know for Sure: Live in Chicago'' (2002)

EPs

*''Live in Deventer, Holland, October 1987'' (1988) *''I Know You'' b/w ''

Earache My Eye "Earache My Eye" is a comedy routine and song by Cheech and Chong from their 1974 album ''Cheech & Chong's Wedding Album''. The skit is about a teenager (played by Tommy Chong) who wakes up and listens to a song by "Alice Bowie" (Cheech Marin), ...

'' (1990) *''Hammer of the Rök Gödz'' (1992)

Singles

Promotional singles

*"You Didn't Need" (1992) – radio promo *"Fool" (1994) – 2×12" promo *"Your Number Is One" (2001) – radio promo

Miscellaneous

*'' Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three'' (2002)

Other appearances

References

External links

Henry Rollins official website
*
Henry Rollins details the band's history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rollins Band American alternative metal musical groups American post-hardcore musical groups American funk metal musical groups Hard rock musical groups from California Heavy metal musical groups from California Musical groups established in 1986 Musical groups disestablished in 2003 Musical groups reestablished in 2006 Musical groups disestablished in 2006 1987 establishments in California Buddah Records artists DreamWorks Records artists Sanctuary Records artists