Henry Rollins: Still Searching and Destroying
Altercation: You recently kicked off the final season of your IFC show with a spoken word performance in Israel. How as that?
Henry Rollins: It was great. It's the second time I've been there for shows, a lot of people actually tour there. Culturally, it's very intense. It's a big thing to be an Israeli, and it's an intense thing to be around that kind of passion. You can't help but acknowledge it because it's so present. The audience was great, they're so happy you showed up. It's a beautiful place.
A: Is there a weird culture gap in terms of the spoken word material?
HR: Not as much as you'd think. I hosted a radio show the night before I started the speaking dates, so I had brought my Ipod and just hooked it in to the radio board. They had heard of all of the bands I was playing, they were completely on top of things. It was a bit intense to be a Westerner coming in to a place where almost every corner of the border is in dispute. You get the feeling that people are ready to throw down at any time.
A: I enjoyed the non-scripted feel of your IFC show interviews...
HR: It was a nice format to work in. The show you see is the show we delivered to IFC. They never once said "whoa, you can't do that!", which is pretty wild for TV. The only complaint I've ever gotten from IFC was "we thought you were going to go harder on that guy, why did you show mercy?" (Laughs)
A: Marilyn Manson was a particularly great interview.
HR: Yes, Marilyn was amazing.
A: In your opinion was Manson in character or just the "regular" guy?
HR: Marilyn in a very sharp, articulate, well-spoken guy. He doesn't mess around, and he chooses his words carefully. I knew he would be a good interview, but the thing I did not know is that he has a real good sense of humor, even about himself. When you're a guy that looks like him you're going to get attitude from even your fans, much less just walking down the street. You better be able to either run, fight or just talk your way out of the situation. He's got the eyeball thing going on and he's 6'4, so he definitely stands out.
A: I've noticed that your crowd has a lot of "old school" punk fans that are now getting up there in age. I attended one of your spoken word shows recently, and this kid looked at me and went "oh, I guess it's going to be that type of crowd". (Laughs)
HR: (Laughs) Yes, it's funny when you become one of them. A friend of mine, who was in Minor Threat, was in a mall recently and saw some kid wearing a Minor Threat shirt. He goes "nice shirt" to which the kid replied "screw you, old man!" (Laughs) It's a rough climb.
