Henry Rollins on young people and self-destruction

Henry Rollins is a Grammy Award- winning musician, writer, public speaker, actor, publisher and punk rock icon. Though he initially rose to prominence in the 1980s as the frontman for the band Black Flag, Rollins has had a long and successful career in many sectors of the entertainment industry. In addition to having authored and self-published more than 25 books, he has also toured as a solo spoken word artist since the mid 1980s.

On Sept. 18 of this year, Rollins kicked off his “Travel Slideshow” tour in Cleveland, Ohio. At each show, Rollins showcases photographs he has taken while traveling the world and tells the stories behind them. According to his Facebook page, some of the destinations featured in his photographs are North Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Uganda, Haiti, Antarctica, and many more. He is scheduled to perform in Chicago at Thalia Hall on Mon., Sept. 24 and Tues., Sept. 25.

Though the U.S. leg of his tour is comprised of 42 shows in 43 days, Rollins took time out of his schedule to answer some questions for The DePaulia. The following interview was conducted via email.

Q: How are you? Really.

A: I’m as good as I get. I have shows coming up, which is always a good thing. It’s something to look forward to, an obligation I have to the audience every night that I truly enjoy doing all I can not to screw up. I live for work for the most part, so all is well.

Q: What is one of your fondest (or not so fond) memories of Chicago?

A: I can’t think of a single thing but having played there many times since 1981, I can say without hesitation that it’s one of the best stops on any tour and the audience has been fantastic to me over the decades. I can’t thank them enough.

Q: You’ve probably gained a lot of unique wisdom from living much of your life on the road. What insights have you gotten out of your recent travels? 

A: That human arc skews towards respect and dignity. No matter how patient you are, you must be more so. Everything matters. Every word, every action. The more responsible you can be for yourself the better. The more considerate of the plight of others, the better.

Q: What percentage of your audience would you say is made up of college-age people? What about your work do you think resonates with them?

A: Honestly, I can’t tell. I see an audience in front of me night to night. I’m so busy trying to keep the thing on the road that I’m not able to clock who’s out there as far as a demographic. If anything I do resonates with a college age person, perhaps it’s that their curiosity is activated when I tell stories about traveling and seeing what I see out there. Perhaps they understand that if someone like me can get around, then they would be able to and more. I think that age is tough. You’re looking at your future. You’ve been going to class, hopefully to improve your chances out in the world and at best, you have a good chance to get a good job but it’s not a guarantee, so there’s perhaps some uncertainty. Maybe it’s good to listen to a high school graduate who with tenacity and attitude, has been able to do some interesting things. I’m about 40+ years older than a person in college and not burned out, maybe that’s an attraction? I don’t know for sure.

Q: I think we live in a world where it is becoming perpetually easier for young people to fall prey to apathy, cynicism, and despair. Having read and listened to much of your work, I’d imagine you’re no stranger to these feelings and ideas. How do you think a young person in 2018 can avoid a path of self-destruction?

A: By realizing that there are so many other options. I understand self destructive tendencies in young people. For a short period of your life, you have so much energy, so much life ahead, it’s almost all you can do to get your head around the idea that you have 60 or some years yet to go. Sometimes it makes you almost hate life or in some way want to neutralize it in order to control it. This is where one can engage in bad behavior. It’s easy to get a feeling of invincibility when you’re young. It doesn’t last. Life for anyone is a pretty tough go but it’s never worth abusing yourself over. It’s hard to tell a person anything. Not just a young person, any person. We are a frustrating species. High functioning and primitive at the same time.

Q: What do you think the future of the United States looks like?

A: Very tough for awhile but I think the future will be tense but better. Demographics are changing, hence the loud protestations of some. They know it’s changing and it’s not going to go their way. They can’t stop it and they know it. In order to really fix things, you would have to rip it all up, forget the past totally and start again. Since that won’t happen, we’ll have to get things together going forward. That’s more up to people your age than mine. My job is to clear the lane. I’m happy to get bruised but you really need to score.

Q: What do you think are some simple things that the youth of today can do to keep our world from falling apart?

A: Do not fall for the failures of your predecessors. They got a lot right but they also got a lot wrong. A lot of how America is, is predicated on racism, homophobia and misogyny. America was built on slavery and genocide. Every attempt to move forward, while sometimes successful, has always met resistance by those who liked the old ways better. A lot of the past is to be assessed and then rejected. The acts of countless others got us here for better and for worse. Take the good stuff, add your own good stuff and keep moving.

Q: If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would you say?

A: Be less afraid.