Rollins Band

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Rollins Band
Henry Rollins 2.jpg
Founder and frontman Henry Rollins with Chris Haskett (background)
Background information
Also known asThe Rollins Band
Origin Van Nuys, California, U.S.
Genres
Years active1987–1997, 1999–2003, 2006
Labels
Past members
Website www.twothirteensixtyone.com

Rollins Band was an American rock band formed in Van Nuys, California. The band was active from 1987 to 2006 and was led by former Black Flag vocalist Henry Rollins. They are best known for the songs "Low Self Opinion" and "Liar", which both earned heavy airplay on MTV in the early-mid 1990s.

Contents

Critic Steve Huey describes their music as "uncompromising, intense, cathartic fusions of funk, post-punk, noise, and jazz experimentalism, with Rollins shouting angry, biting self-examinations and accusations over the grind." [1]

In 2000, Rollins Band was included on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock, ranking at No. 47. [2]

History

Precursors (1980–1986)

Gibbs in a July 1980 performance in Paris, France Melvin Gibbs.jpg
Gibbs in a July 1980 performance in Paris, France

Rollins was the singer for the Washington, D.C. punk rock band State of Alert from October 1980 to July 1981. Afterwards, he sang with California punk rock band Black Flag from August 1981 to August 1986. Black Flag earned little mainstream attention, but through a demanding touring schedule, came to be regarded as one of the most important punk rock bands of the 1980s.

Less than a year after Black Flag broke up, Rollins returned to music with guitarist Chris Haskett (a friend from Rollins' teen years in Washington D.C.), bass guitarist Bernie Wandel, and drummer Mick Green.

This line-up released two records: Hot Animal Machine (credited as a Rollins solo record and featuring cover art drawings by Devo leader Mark Mothersbaugh) and Drive by Shooting (credited to "Henrietta Collins and the Wifebeating Childhaters"). The music was similar to Black Flag's, though it flirted more with heavy metal and funk.

First edition (1987–1994)

Soon after, Rollins formed Rollins Band with Haskett, bassist Andrew Weiss, and drummer Sim Cain (Weiss and Cain had previously played with Gone, an instrumental rock group led by guitarist and Black Flag founder Greg Ginn). Live sound engineer Theo Van Rock was usually credited as a band member.

Critics Ira Robbins and Regina Joskow described this line-up as a "brilliant, strong ensemble ... the band doesn't play punk (more a jazzy, thrashy, swing take on the many moods of Jimi Hendrix), but what they do together has the strengths of both. The group's loud guitar rock with a strong, inventive rhythmic clock borrows only the better attributes of metal, ensuring that noise is never a substitute for purpose." [3]

Second edition (1994–1997)

Rollins's tour diaries from this era details the personal and creative tensions that led to Weiss being fired following the End of Silence tour. These diaries were published by Rollins's 2.13.61 company as See A Grown Man Cry and Now Watch Him Die.

The band's new bassist was jazz and funk veteran Melvin Gibbs, who'd been highly recommended by Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid, a friend of the Rollins Band since the first Lollapalooza tour. Cain and Gibbs had also both played in different versions of guitarist Marc Ribot's band. Gibbs performed on Ribot's album Rootless Cosmopolitans (1990) and Cain on Requiem for What's His Name (1992).

The first video from 1994's Weight, "Liar", was a huge hit on MTV, with Rollins sporting numerous costumes (including a cop and a nun). The band appeared at Woodstock '94, and Rollins was a guest-host for several MTV programs, including 120 Minutes.

Rollins Band performing in 1994 Rollins Band 1994 (cropped).jpg
Rollins Band performing in 1994

This version of Rollins Band had some of the most overt jazz leanings of the band's history: Gibbs had begun his career with Reid in the 1980s jazz fusion group of drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson, and worked with Sonny Sharrock on albums like 1987's Seize the Rainbow. These influences, along with Rollins' obsession with the late '60s/early '70s electric/fusion era of iconic trumpeter Miles Davis, shaped this version of the band's music. During the sessions for Weight, Rollins Band recorded with free jazz saxophonist Charles Gayle, though these sessions remained unreleased for ten years at Gayle's request to avoid conflicts with his contractual obligations. The Gayle sessions were released in 2003 as Weighting.

In 1996, there was a legal battle with the band's former label, Imago Records. Rollins claimed "fraud, deceit, undue influence and economic coercion" on the label's part. [4] They signed with the then-new major label DreamWorks Records, who released 1997's Come In and Burn . The album had a minor hit with the single "Starve" and the band appeared on Saturday Night Live to promote the album (season 22, episode 18). However, Come In and Burn was not as successful as Weight and, after touring for Burn, Rollins dissolved the group, citing creative stagnation.

Third edition (1999–2003)

Rollins replaced the Haskett-Gibbs-Cain lineup with the Los Angeles rock band Mother Superior, retaining the name Rollins Band, and released Get Some Go Again (2000) and Nice (2001). They also released a two-disc live album, The Only Way to Know for Sure. This line-up was a more straightforward hard rock group: their first album featured "Are You Ready?" a cover of a Thin Lizzy song, featuring Lizzy guitarist Scott Gorham; Rollins has often expressed fondness for Thin Lizzy and its founder, Phil Lynott.

Fourth edition (2006)

In between other commitments (his radio show Harmony in My Head, his cable/satellite TV show The Henry Rollins Show, and his spoken word tours), Rollins also reunited the Haskett-Gibbs-Cain lineup. [5] In a March 2006 blog entry on henryrollins.com, Rollins admitted, "Actually we have been practicing on and off for months now, slowly getting it together ... It's been really cool being back in the practice room with these guys after all these years." [6]

Rollins told Alan Sculley of The Daily Herald that this reunion with Haskett, Gibbs and Cain would not become long-term unless the group decided to write new songs: "Let's put it this way. I don't want to go out and hit America again without a new record, or at least a new album's worth of material. Otherwise the thing will lack legitimacy ... Miles Davis would never do that. And I'm not into a greatest-hits thing. I think a band, if you're going to be around, you should be moving forward and putting in the time and working for it, getting after the art. Otherwise you're just playing retreads. ... Imagine a tree that grows canned peaches. It's nothing I want to do." [7]

The band opened some concerts for X, and played on the first-season finale of The Henry Rollins Show on August 12, 2006. [8]

Hiatus (since 2007)

Former member Jason Mackenroth died on January 3, 2016, in Nevada from prostate cancer. [9] In 2011 Rollins stated that he has retired from music meaning also that Rollins Band has come to an end. [10]

Musical style and influences

The band have been categorized under the alternative metal, post-hardcore, hard rock and funk metal genres. [11] [12] [13] [14] Mid-career albums such as Weight also had a pronounced jazz influence. [15] [16] They were part of the early 1990s Los Angeles alternative metal scene, alongside Tool, Jane's Addiction, Rage Against the Machine and Green Jellÿ. [13] Their influences include '70s metal and rock bands, including Black Sabbath, The Velvet Underground, Pink Fairies and Thin Lizzy, [11] as well as progressive rock and jazz fusion bands like King Crimson and Mahavishnu Orchestra. [17] [18] Rollins' shout-singing style proved influential to later alternative and nu metal artists, such as Coal Chamber, Korn, Chevelle, Godsmack and System of a Down. [11] The Rollins Band songs "Tearing" and "Shine" have been covered by Pearl Jam. [19]

Band members

Final lineup

Former members

Timeline

Rollins Band

Discography

Studio albums

TitleDetailsPeak chart positionsSales
US
[20]
AUS
[21]
GER
[22]
NLD
[23]
SWE
[24]
UK
[25]
Life Time
Hard Volume
  • Released: 1989
  • Label: Texas Hotel
  • Format: CD, CS, LP
The End of Silence
  • Released: February 25, 1992
  • Label: Imago
  • Format: CD, CS, 2xLP
16068
Weight
  • Released: April 12, 1994
  • Label: Imago
  • Format: CD, CS, LP
331053352922
Come In and Burn
  • Released: March 25, 1997
  • Label: DreamWorks
  • Format: CD, CS
893871765276
Get Some Go Again
  • Released: February 29, 2000
  • Label: DreamWorks
  • Format: CD, CS
1804060112
Nice
  • Released: August 21, 2001
  • Label: Sanctuary/SPV
  • Format: CD, CS, 2xLP
1786456

Outtakes and demos collections

Live albums

EPs

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions
TitleYearPeak chart positionsAlbum
US
Main
US
Mod
AUS
[21]
NLD
[23]
UK
[29]
"Tearing" 199254The End of Silence
"Low Self Opinion"25
"Liar"19944026652827Weight
"Disconnect"
"The End of Something"199777Come In and Burn
"Starve"
"Illumination"2000Get Some Go Again
"Get Some Go Again"
"—" denotes singles that were released but did not chart.

Promotional singles

  • "You Didn't Need" (1992) – radio promo
  • "Fool" (1994) – 2×12" promo
  • "Your Number Is One" (2001) – radio promo

Miscellaneous

Other appearances

YearSongAlbum
1994"Ghost Rider" The Crow: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
1995"Four Sticks" Encomium: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin
1995"Fall Guy" Demon Knight (soundtrack)
1995"I See Through"Johnny Mnemonic (soundtrack)
2001"What's the Matter Man" Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (soundtrack)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Rollins</span> American musician (born 1961)

Henry Lawrence Garfield, known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1980, Rollins fronted the California hardcore band Black Flag from 1981 to 1986. Following the band's breakup, he established the record label and publishing company 2.13.61 to release his spoken word albums, and formed the Rollins Band, which toured with a number of lineups from 1987 to 2003 and in 2006.

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References

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  12. Bradley, Stephen (September 22, 2010). "Concert review: Kevin Seconds". The Washington Times Communities – Riffs. Retrieved October 27, 2011. [...] Where most punks from the '80s hardcore scene made the transition into hard rock or post hardcore outfits like Rollins Band and Fugazi, it still seems natural that he would make the jump into the acoustic side of things. [...]
  13. 1 2 Grow, Kory (March 20, 2013). "Not a Downer: Tool's Adam Jones Talks 'Opiate' Reissue, New Material | SPIN | Q & A". SPIN. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
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  19. "Pearl Jam Music". Pearljam.com. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
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  25. Weight and Come In and Burn: "ROLLINS BAND | full official chart history". Official Charts Company (select "Albums" tab). UK. Retrieved January 25, 2023.Get Some Go Again: Zywietz, Tobias. "Chart Log UK: The Rabble Army - RZA". Zobbel.de. Tobias Zywietz. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
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  27. Morris, Chris (February 6, 1999). "DreamWorks Records Still Striving To Live Up To Great Expectations". Billboard . Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 1, 81. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
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