Rollins Band was an American rock 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 A lie is an assertion that is believed to be false, typically used with the purpose of deception, deceiving or Deception, misleading someone. The practice of communicating lies is called lying. A person who communicates a lie may be termed a l ...

", 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 genre of 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 sensibilities and non-r ...

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 majo ...

experimentalism, with Rollins shouting angry, biting self-examinations and accusations over the grind." In 2000, Rollins Band was included on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

's ''100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock'', ranking at No. 47.

History

Precursors (1980–1986)

Rollins was the singer for the Washington, D.C. punk rock band State of Alert 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 Washington D.C.), bass guitarist

Bernie Wandel Bernie Wandel is an American musician best known as the bass guitarist for two Henry Rollins albums, ''Hot Animal Machine'' and ''Drive By Shooting''. In addition to the Rollins Band, he has performed in The Nuclear Crayons, Special K, Guilt Combo ...

, and drummer Mick Green. This line-up released two records: '' Hot Animal Machine'' (credited as a Rollins solo record and featuring cover art drawings by

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau ...

leader Mark Mothersbaugh) and '' Drive by Shooting'' (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 Gone may refer to: Grammar * Gone, the past participle of go (verb) ** Have gone or have been, contrasting verb forms in some contexts Arts, entertainment, and media Film * ''Gone'', a 2002 a thriller written, directed by and starring Tim Chey ...

, 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. Instru ...

group led by guitarist and Black Flag founder Greg Ginn). 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, 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 ...

guitarist Vernon Reid, a friend of the Rollins Band since the first

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Mus ...

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'' (1990) and Cain on '' Requiem for What's His Name'' (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, 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 Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, amplifiers, and key ...

group of drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson, 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 dur ...

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 percussio ...

, 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 DreamWorks Records (often referred in copyright notices as SKG Music, LLC) was an American record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, ...

, who released 1997's ''

Come In and Burn ''Come In and Burn'' is the fifth full-length studio album by the Rollins Band. Released in 1997 on DreamWorks SKG, it is their major label debut. It is also the last album before vocalist Henry Rollins dissolved the band's "classic" lineup of g ...

''. 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. Michaels currently serve ...

'' 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, retaining the name Rollins Band, and released '' Get Some Go Again'' (2000) and ''

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

'' (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 s ...

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 after ...

; 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 Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that su ...

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 moveme ...

and

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has bee ...

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

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

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. MacL ...

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. Init ...

and

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. Rollins' shout-singing style proved influential to later alternative and

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu m ...

artists, such as Coal Chamber,

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream. Originally formed in 1993 b ...

, Chevelle, Godsmack 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, v ...

. 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. ...

" and "Shine" have been covered by

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, ...

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) * Melvin Gibbs – bass (1993–1997, 2006) ;Former members * Andrew Weiss – bass (1987–1992) * Jim Wilson – guitar, piano (1999–2003) * Marcus Blake – 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 ''A Nicer Shade of Red'' is a compilation album by the Rollins Band. It was recorded at the same sessions that produced ''Nice'', making it a companion piece to that album, and was released directly by Rollins' 2.13.61 label. The album features fo ...

'' (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'' (2005)

Live albums

*''Live Split Album'' with Dutch band Gore – recorded at El Mocambo, Toronto, Canada, May 17, 1987 *'' Do It'' – Studio Outtakes and Live (1988) *''

Turned On ''Turned On'' is a live album from the Rollins Band, fronted by ex- Black Flag singer, Henry Rollins, recorded in Vienna, Austria on November 27, 1989. Even though the album sleeve has the individual tracks listed, the CD is entirely contained ...

'' (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'' (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