All is shown, all is known. I'm turned inside out for all to see. A freak with all the lights on. (Rollins - 'Black Coffee Blues')

THERE IS something disconcerting about sharing time with Henry Rollins. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing unpleasant about the experience - in fact I can safely say that one of the most entertaining and illuminating conversations of my life came courtesy of this gentleman.
Nor is there anything frightening about bandying words with a man whose forthright manner and general demeanour - tattoos and all - cause many people to regard him with suspicion at the very least.
No, the only truly disconcerting thing about our Henry is that he is totally candid about any and every subject under the sun. Any question, however personal, is afforded the same nano-second period of pondering before being answered intelligently and concisely - and more often than not with a spicy topping of self-deprecating wit.
On his last visit to Ireland Rollins came as the singer with the much respected Rollins Band and also treated a sardine-packed Dublin pub venue to a riveting spoken work performance. It would be easy to forget that he is also a writer, a journalist, a publisher and, most recently, the founder of a record company. But which of those is the real Rollins or is it more complicated than that? *It's less complicated. I just do this stuff. I'm a jack-ass of all trades,* he responds laconically.
One thing is for certain, whatever trade Rollins is occupied with will in some way be kicking against the orthodox structures of modern western society and against any authority that seeks to stamp its mark on the foreheads of the general public. Rollins seems to have a general enmity for authority, but in particular for the police.
*Cities need policing, they just don't need bad policing,'* he explains. *I have respect for the police if their concern is to get people arrested safely and get them out of the picture in an orderly fashion. But a cop isn't the judge and jury. My problem is with cops who abuse their positions of power. I mean god, you've got a badge and a gun and you're an asshole? What a drag for the rest of us! That's my problem with authority in general, when that power is abused or misused.*
Having grown up in an atmosphere of violence, abuse of any kind always comes high on Rollins' list of hates. His personal experience of family life, for example, is not a happy one, although this has not prejudiced him against the positive possibilities of the family unit.
*You don't have much control over the situation you're born into,* he says, *but I think the family situation can be great. If it comprises a team that support each other that's fantastic.' He cites Fugazi mainstay Ian MacKaye's family as a perfect example of *a cool, positive environment* and then continues.
*But then there's the other side where kids are in hell, getting molested by uncles and having alcoholic fathers whack them around. I always liked other people's family, the idea of it. But for me it has always been a very alienating thing. Family always meant 'teacher'.*
Close friendships are something that Rollins avoids, although for different reasons.
*I'll never have enough time to do justice to you being my friend,' he maintains, pointing out that he tours pretty much nine months in every year. *I don't want to waste anyone's time and I don't want to bum anyone out. I don't want to get close to people so they don't have to depend on me. That's why I don't have a girlfriend. And quite honestly I like being on my own. Most people I know I pay a salary to.*
Rollins is certainly very demanding of himself, both physically and mentally, adhering slavishly to the 'sound mind in a sound body' philosophy, with a programme of daily weightlifting and exercise combined with a diet of constant work. It's something which has given a stable core to his life.
*I like the fact that I'm really trying very hard to give it my best shot*, he says. *That's very hard and I'm getting better at it. I'm still struggling but I'm working towards it. I am becoming someone I can live with a lot better as the years go on.'
But doesn't your draconian self-discipline make you a little harsh on others less driven than you? Even a little sanctimonious sometimes?
*No, man, I'm just trying to do my thing,* he responds, a little aggrieved at the suggestion. *I don't want to judge anyone else. I don't have anything going that someone else doesn't. In fact I've been privileged: middle-class, white, male. It doesn't get much better than that!*
Even so, every day is a battle the Rollins way. A fight against a world that is determined to squeeze a person into a convenient, containable category. And, more importantly, a fight against one's own inclinations towards ineptitude and laziness. The only answer, he seems to say, is to wage a personal war that keeps you moving forward in a positive manner, squeezing as much into every second as possible.
*It's like Henry Miller said, 'With every breath a world dies.' You've just got to go.*
And what is it that makes you want to do that, Henry. What do you love about life?
*The fact that you just get to wake up every day and breathe in.*