Henry Rollins: The Column! Hands Are Groping Me, Breasts Are Pushed Into Me

By Henry Rollins Thu., Feb. 2 2012 at 3:37 AM

[Look for your weekly fix from the one and only Henry Rollins right here on West Coast Sound every Thursday, and come back tomorrow for the awesomely annotated playlist for his Saturday KCRW broadcast.]

Time becomes fluid and is then smashed, compressed, elongated by miles and then slammed into a wall and rearranged. It is force-fed periodic sleep, border crossings, long nights onstage, visits to the gym and a never-ending series of small rooms to spend time in before and after the shows and told to keep going. Some of the venues I have been in and out of for literally decades, and the familiarity I feel in them is a hard-earned currency that, while worthless in the real world, is a valuable asset out here. I crossed the line of 10 shows a few shows ago and now I am officially on tour and there is no separation between me, the audience, the road -- it's all on all at once and it never closes. That's the number I have in my head. You have to do 10 to know you're doing it, and then from there you go deeper and deeper.

Onstage I try to fill the entire room with the stories, the moment, to make it as immediate as possible. North Korea, Haiti, Sudan, India, Cuba, Vietnam, Tibet, Bhutan, we go all over. It takes all I have, and when I am walking off of the stage, I feel myself start to sag. Two and a half hours have just passed by like a minute. I get to the small backstage room and drain a couple of bottles of water and catch my breath. I don't bring water out onstage. I think it's rude to drink in front of an audience. I don't want to move, I don't want to do anything for a few minutes except just sit there and let some of the electricity leave my body. After a few minutes of that, it's time to go. A shower, if the facility has one, and then out to the bus to meet with all the people who are waiting. They bring all kinds of things for me to sign. They show me photographs of myself from decades ago, which I have never seen. Others who have no interest in me whatsoever bring photographs that they took from the Internet and printed copies of and want them all signed, several of each, telling me the extras are for their friends who couldn't make it. I wonder if people like that really have friends; sometimes I ask them that, and they usually look at the ground. The photos will go on sale somewhere almost immediately. I tell them they won't get much for them. They smile at the ground and walk away with their dubious postinteraction merchandise.

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Coelacanth Fanatic

I've only seen you once, Mr. Rollins, in L.A.---but I immediately got in my rental car after the show and drove back to my motel room. I had no idea you actually went to such great lengths to stick around for fanatics afterward! Now that I know, I may stick around after your next sho in Albuquerque, NM. on March 2nd. I promise not to ask for a pic or autograph, but might want to give you a belated birthday present that in no way involves nudity or the taking off of one's clothes!

Ada1958

Henry Rollins is quite simply- a National/World treasure!! I have met him at a gig or two and he has shaken every hand signed every thing just has he wrote above- A professional and a gentleman through and through. In fact, HR should give lessons to folks on the verge of becoming what they say they want to be ...Famous musicians...on HOW to BEHAVE w the public once they are famous!

Thanks Henry for yet another great column and safe travels to you out on the road mister!

G-paton2

It is apparant that you love being on the road but, sometimes the sadness and isolation you feel from the rest of the world simply leaps out from your writing. I wish you didn't feel so detached. Even though yours is a self-imposed aloneness - it just makes it even sadder! There are other people who feel similar to you, they feel seperate to the world around them as their perspective is quite different from most. Your never going to be able to slow down long enough to join the bulk of society - that is one of the reason's your audiences respect you so much. They like you tortured! I hope you can muster some nice thoughts to help to keep you warm in the freezing lands you are travelling through.

Paul Sivertsen

I wish more performers were as devoted to their fans. Myself, I've never really understood the appeal of autographs and the last time I met Henry, I was going to express that in some way, but found myself suddenly reshuffling the words I'd prepared beforehand. I did thank him as a loyal Fanatic and emphatically encouraged him to keep doing what he's doing, because it means a great deal to many people. I certainly know how it feels to sit outside a venue in the cold for hours waiting for a performer to come out and interact with their fans a little bit. It's a shame that some fans aren't able to conduct themselves properly when meeting artists; maybe it jades them into thinking pretty much all the fans will be like that. But not Henry. Every night, he sets out to earn his audience's recognition and respect, and in my opinion, he definitely earns them well. I hope I too am able to earn at least a fraction of such recognition some day.

Ydlag

I will never get tired of seeing you on stage Henry.

Jennie Vasquez

Wow, this week's column made me sad. The story of the girl who sent the naked pictures made me question how low her self esteem must be to do that and make such bold comments to a stranger. How lonely for an adult figure she must be to show her love and acceptance, it is obviously missing in her life. It's not an isolated incident either, I see many young people posting way to revealing photos of themselves all over and wonder why they feel the need to do that. I've always been one with a low self opinion and I've done silly things to get a boy's attention but I've never felt the need to make unwanted advances or take naked photos of myself. Granted I've never had the looks to want to do that but I guess that I am lucky that I had strict parents and a mentor who believed in me. Growing up I always thought my parents were too strict and at nearly 40 if I did attempt to send a naked photo of myself, my dad who has been dead for years would find a way to kill me. I just know that I would be uncomfortable if someone did it to me so out of respect to others I wouldn't want to do it someone else. Hopefully the young lady will take Henry's words into consideration and hopefully someone will come into her life to make her believe in herself more and love herself. As a society we are doing something wrong that our young people feel the need to expose themselves to get attention. Being proud or your body is one thing and there is nothing wrong with being sexy but we must learn to teach our young people that the sexiest part of the body is an intelligent brain.

Kudos to Henry for greeting all his fans, taking pictures, signing autographs, and reading all his emails because to the fans, it means the world. Technically it is part of the job but I think Henry does way more than expected. It's unfortunate that some take advantage of the situation and that others find a way to profit from it. Really who needs more than one autograph? The story of the shaking speechless nervous girl was funny. It reminded me of when I finally after many near misses meet Huell Howser for the first time about a quarter mile from where I grew up. I wasn't shaking but I was so nervous I just stared and managed to squeak out a photo request. Speechlessness must be a universal response to meeting someone whose work you enjoy.

Finally, Henry worries too much about his life slowing down. He could live to be 200 years old and the audiences would keep coming.

Paul Sivertsen

Well put once again, Ms. Vasquez. :)