Doors: 07:00 PM Starts: 07:30 PM - $25 cover
Tickets onsale Friday June 29.
HENRY ROLLINS hits the campaign trail this fall for a two-month tour hitting all 50 state capitals – starting September 6 at Hawaiian Brian’s in Honolulu, HI – and wrapping up on the eve of the Presidential election at the 9:30 Club in the nation’s capital. Titled Capitalism, HENRY’s latest talking tour offers not so much a voting guide as an outside viewpoint – and an unflinching quest for truth that’s sadly lacking in the profit-driven American mass media.
“I will be performing across our fine nation, doing shows in the capital city of each state. We will be going all the way up to election eve,” says HENRY. “It’s always a great time to be in America, but this will be the highpoint of this year’s tour. Shepard Fairey did a great poster for the tour to make it extra noteworthy. I can’t wait to start this one.”
On Capitalism, HENRY will continue to dish anecdotes gleaned and perspective gained from the road less traveled – sharing experiences that include recent visits to North Korea, Mongolia, Bhutan, Vietnam, India, Tibet, Sudan, Uganda, Haiti and Cuba. And in the spirit of the season, of course, expect both pointed commentary and wry observations about the American democratic process as it unfolds.
Tickets for all Capitalism shows go on sale Friday, June 29. Check with local venues for full ticket information.
Before launching into Capitalism, HENRY follows the just-concluded run of Canadian dates for his current tour (The Long March) with two weeks of European dates in July and August, including stops at the Wacken Festival in Wacken, Germany and the OFF Festival in Katowice, Poland. For more information and complete HENRY ROLLINS tour dates, go to www.henryrollins.com.
In describing Henry Rollins, the tendency is to try to squeeze as many labels as possible into a single sentence. “Rollins is many things,” says the Washington Post, “diatribist, confessor, provocateur, humorist, even motivational speaker…his is an enthusiastic and engaging chatter.” Entertainment Weekly’s list includes “Punk-rock icon. Spoken word poet. Actor. Author. DJ. Is there anything this guy can’t do?” TV Guide has more concisely called him a “Renaissance Man” – but if Henry Rollins could be reduced to a single word, that word would undoubtedly be “workaholic.”
For better than a quarter century, Rollins has toured the world as a spoken word artist, as frontman for both Rollins Band and Black Flag and – without a microphone – as a solitary traveler with insatiable curiosity bypassing the resorts in favor of places like Siberia and Senegal, or Burma and Bangladesh.
When he’s not living out of a backpack, Rollins is constantly at work as an actor, radio DJ, author of more than 20 books, and running his publishing company and record label 2.13.61. Henry currently hosts a weekly radio show on L.A.’s renowned NPR affiliate KCRW, is a regular columnist for LA Weekly, and is hosting National Geographic’s new three-part series Animal Underworld With Henry Rollins, following of a pair of Nat Geo television specials in late 2010 and early 2011.
• Spoken Word
Described by the New York Daily News as “some of the most provocative chit-chat around,” Henry’s spoken word performances – “talking shows,” as he calls them – are a seamless (yet seemingly extemporaneous) mix of humor and outrage; pop culture, political commentary and personal anecdote; healthy skepticism and rugged optimism.
In early 2011, Henry celebrated his 50th birthday on stage – including extended runs in New York and Los Angeles, and a pair of sold-out shows at National Geographic Live in his native Washington, DC on the night of his birthday (February 13) – with a new tour simply titled “50.” As an enthusiastic fan, Henry interviewed Dinosaur Jr. on stage prior to the band’s performance during a run of June 2011 tour dates celebrating their seminal 1988 album Bug. Henry also performed at Bonnaroo 2011, followed by a series of UK festival performances in August 2011.
In 2010, Henry toured both hemispheres on the slogan “Knowledge without mileage equals bullshit” with his “Frequent Flyer Tour.” Before that, 2008’s election-season “Recountdown” was a scathing retrospective of the Bush Presidency. In 2005 (stretching into 2006), Henry celebrated 25 years on the road with “25 Years of Bullshit,” followed by his “Provoked” tour in 2007. He earned a GRAMMY award in 1994 for Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Album for his reading of his classic punk-rock travelogue Get in the Van, and has more than two dozen spoken word CDs and DVDs to his credit.
• Writing
“Henry Rollins: The Column!” appears every Thursday in the LA Weekly, and Henry previously offered barbed commentary on American culture and politics with his “Straight Talk Espresso” blog for VanityFair.com. Henry has written more than 20 books, including Black Coffee Blues, Broken Summers, and Get in the Van – the audio version of which earned Henry a GRAMMY for Best Spoken Word Album in 1994. His latest book, A Mad Dash, was released in late 2009 via his own 2.13.61, following earlier travelogues A Preferred Blur and A Dull Roar.
Henry’s new book Occupants, a stunning collection of photos and essays from his global travels, is due in October 2011 on Chicago Review Press. With equal parts anger and optimism, Henry depicts scenes from countries including Afghanistan, North Korea, Iran, and more. Occupants juxtaposes the disturbing legacy of war and conflict with the hope, bravery, and kindness of humans around the world; the tragic effects of hunger and poverty with the strength and beauty of those living in dire circumstances.
• Acting
Henry joined the cast of the darkly comedic FX television drama Sons of Anarchy with a recurring guest starring role as neo-Nazi biker villain AJ Weston (a character with a worldview decidedly contrary to Henry’s own) in the fall 2009 season. The show, about a motorcycle club in the fictional town of Charming, CA, stars Charlie Hunnam, Katey Sagal and Ron Perlman.
Henry’s previous acting credits span more than 20 films, including David Lynch’s Lost Highway, Bad Boys II, and the upcoming horror/comedy Suck, as well as extensive voiceover work.
• Radio
Earlier this year, Henry celebrated the 100th broadcast of his weekly show on L.A.’s acclaimed KCRW – the station where he first did radio work more than 20 years ago. Billed as “a great mix of all kinds from all over from all time,” Henry’s show airs Saturday nights from 6-8pm Pacific, and streams online at KCRW.com.
Previously, he hosted the weekly “Harmony In My Head” on L.A.’s now-defunct Indie 103.1 FM. His trilogy of Fanatic books put Henry’s passion for music on display with meticulously annotated playlists from the show.
• TV
Henry recently signed on with National Geographic to host a three-part television series, Animal Underworld With Henry Rollins. The new series, delving into the world of human and animal interaction – including alligators, snakes, and wild hogs – follows in the format of Henry’s Nat Geo Wild special Snake Underworld, which premiered in April 2011. Previously, Henry hosted the December 2010 National Geographic Explorer special Born To Rage – examining research into the so-called “warrior gene,” which some scientists think is a possible indicator of violent behavior.
For three seasons, Henry shared his topical rants, musical tastes, and played film critic and thoughtful interviewer as host of The Henry Rollins Show (and, previously, Henry’s Film Corner) on cable network IFC. More recently, he mixed performance and documentary in a string of Uncut specials filmed in New Orleans, Northern Ireland, South Africa, and Israel.
• Music
Before leading the GRAMMY-nominated Rollins Band, Henry made his mark as the frenetic frontman for legendary band Black Flag.
Rollins Band performed at the 37th Annual GRAMMY Awards, and was nominated for Best Metal Performance that same year for the song “Liar.” In 2003, Henry spearheaded the West Memphis Three benefit album Rise Above, which featured two dozen songs by his former band (Black Flag) played by his then-current Rollins Band line up, with guest vocalists ranging from Ice T and Chuck D to Lemmy, Iggy Pop, and Henry himself. The classic Rollins Band lineup reunited in 2006 for a co-headlining tour with seminal Los Angeles band X. Most recently, Henry both performed with The Stooges and served as emcee for an April 2011 tribute show for late Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton, with proceeds benefiting the Ron Asheton Foundation.
• Travel
Henry has performed on six continents and in nearly 50 countries. Despite his outspoken criticism of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Henry has been an enthusiastic supporter of the USO in recent years. In addition to several USO tours performing for American soldiers (in Kuwait, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, and the first artist in the history of the USO to visit the troops in Egypt), Henry is a frequent visitor to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC.
On his own, Henry has taken the road less traveled – and shared those experiences in his books and talking shows – plunging headlong into the desolation of the Trans-Siberian Railroad, the political turmoil of Burma, Cambodia, Pakistan, Iran, Syria, Laos and countless other corners of the globe. He has borne witness to abject poverty and fabulous wealth in Asia and West Africa, with a nearly 3-month journey through Saudi Arabia, Brunei, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and China, followed by stops in Senegal and Mali. Henry’s most recent Asian excursion added North Korea, Mongolia, Tibet, Bhutan and Vietnam to his global hands-on education. In late 2010, Henry visited the heart of the Nile basin while working with Drop In The Bucket (www.dropinthebucket.org) in Uganda and Sudan.
