Henry Rollins, the famously outspoken ex-Black Flag front man and now prolific film, radio and spoken word personality has spent the better part of a quarter of a century touring the world and writing about his discoveries.
Born in Washington D.C in 1961, Rollins began his literary career early, when he was sent to The Bullis School, then an all-male preparatory school in Potomac, Maryland. Quoting this establishment as having gifted him with the strong work ethic and sense of discipline he displays today. Writing mostly stories about blowing up his school and "
murdering all the teachers", by the time he was eighteen, he was fuelled by the accumulated rage of his rough childhood and became fully embedded in the Washington Punk scene in it's formative years.
Today, he is seen as one of the original veterans of American Punk.
Most well-known for his career as the singer in Black Flag - a role taken on when then-singer Dez Cadena switched to guitar and they sought out a new front man - Rollins also worked with a band called State of Alert and has had many solo side-projects over the years.
His musical style is full of angst and pro-action as he advocates activism, both social and political and defies the "
she'll be right on the day" attitude.
Henry Rollins spoken word is no different. Described as "
a solitary traveller with insatiable curiosity" he finds his stories by bypassing the resorts in favour of places like Siberia and Senegal, or Burma and Bangladesh. A hunger for experience based on knowledge is teamed with a no-holds-barred delivery of opinions and a wicked sense of humour - and all performed sans microphone, standing on a stage in front of his audience offering a both intimate and honest experience.
Rollins current month-long tour, The Long March will be blessing the theatres of Australia in April and May 2012. The venues will include Melbourne, Adelaide, Newcastle, Sydney, Darwin, Cairns, Brisbane, Hobart, Canberra, Woolongong, Margaret River and Perth.
Dates and venues can be found on any good ticket-vendor site, and the tickets are $50 per person.
This rare opportunity to see one of modern cultures most respected and prolific entertainers should not be missed.
