Q Henry, you appear to have a very busy schedule. Is this a work ethic thing? Where did it come from? How do you balance work and leisure life?
A I try to have a schedule that keeps me on the move.
It is, indeed, a work ethic thing. I am not interested in doing nothing.
My parents were both very hard-working. My father was the straight corporate model of work, sleep, work. My mother punctuated her work with museum visits, art, records, film, travel and culture. I took after her in some ways.
I always had jobs. I never had to be told to go out and find one. I was already there.
I always made my own money. When I wanted a bike or whatever, I worked, saved and bought it.
For me, leisure is being able to listen to records without having to run to the next thing. That’s what I do when I am off the road on the weekends.
A lot of music and no people. That’s the balance.
Q Can you list five things that make you angry (and why)?
A Homophobia, racism, misogyny, stupidity, cowardice ... Imagine how great things would be without them.
Q Are you an angry guy by nature?
A I have been put in situations where I have had to defend myself and I think it made quite an impression on me. I have been angry since I was about 6 years old. I don’t know if it’s nature or conditioning. My father was a mean man. I have some of that in me.
Q You have been in the music business a long time now. What are some of the key changes you have noticed, both good and not so good?
A The good thing is that many of the overpaid corporate schmucks lost their jobs and, while doing so, killed off parts of the major label industry that should have been gone a long time ago. They continue to eat themselves.
In the meantime, independent labels have really surged and, on that level, music is amazing.
It is hard for me to keep up with all the good bands and their records these days.
The not-so-good part is many young people listen to mp3 files from their cellphones into their crap headphones and they have no idea what they’re missing.
Q How have you adapted to changes within the music industry? How have you survived?
A There was never much for me to adapt to.
I have always done my own thing, so when some part of the industry changes, I am not really affected.
Sometimes it pays to be small of fame. It can be tough.
I have always stuck to my convictions and done things my own way, that is how I have always operated.
It’s not all that hard to survive in that I am not in competition with anyone and have always been able to get shows, record deals, book deals etc.
I like to do different things and so, when work opportunities come up, I go for them.
I never wanted to be anything in school. I never had a plan and still don’t have one besides survive America.
I think, to my credit, I understand what it is to be an American.
You are on your own and if you don’t look after yourself with a vengeance, you could have a very bad time.
I have never had an artistic inclination in my life.
My strength is that I see the end of everything I start and that most things are short-lived and contain varying degrees of discomfort, pain and violence.
Q What is your definition of punk?
A Doing your thing, whatever that is, without burdening yourself with what others will think of it.
Q I understand you have had some challenges with depression. In relation to OECD figures, New Zealand men aged 18-65 lead the stats. What are your thoughts around depression and low-self esteem?
A I think "we" men have a lot of societal pressures put upon us.
By saying this and not including the fact that women have pressures put upon them as well in the same sentence, I don’t want anyone to think that I don’t realise that because I absolutely do, but you asked about men.
I think ‘‘what a man should be’’, that perception of alpha/infinitely capable/tough guy persona can be very hard on the psyche.
I think a lot of men think they have some how failed these ridiculous standards and this can lead to depression or feelings of being unfulfilled.
In the West, many of us can be driven by materialism or desire for wealth, which is a double-edged sword.
You can live your life trying to get rich — that’s a hollow pursuit.
You can actually get there and find that it is a perfectly empty place.
To be succinct, I think a homosapien is an extraordinarily complex and delicate creature, prone to all manner of neurological and biochemical challenges.
It would not surprise me if there was an up-spike in depression, low esteem and other maladies in all Western countries.
I think the less males attach themselves to these archaic ideas of manhood and just live their lives, the better off they’ll be.
Q Your thoughts on Donald Trump? Does the world see the presidential race as an IQ test of Americans?
A I have no idea what the world sees of Trump but I imagine it’s not favourable, unless you’re a butcher like Putin or Assad.
I see the presidential race as what you get after 30-plus years of dumbing down in the electorate. Stupid people like Trump.
I know that’s quite a broad brush, but that’s the long and short of it.
That he got halfway as far as he has shows you that, yes, there was an IQ test and about half of America came in with scores between 55 and 60.
Q Have you researched New Zealand and/or any aspects of it? Your thoughts on our nation?
A I have not.
It is not because I don’t find New Zealand interesting, because I do.
I don’t spend enough time there. Because of its size and my relatively low profile there, I do a few shows and then I am gone. It took years for me to even be able to get shows there on a regular basis.
So, New Zealand is a place I am in and out of quickly, unfortunately.
From what little I have seen, it’s a beautiful place and it seems that New Zealanders value that. In my country, many people sneer at conservation of natural habitats.
The show
Henry Rollins’ spoken-word performances have been described as a seamless mix of humour and outrage; pop culture, political commentary and personal anecdote; healthy scepticism and rugged realism. Rollins has toured the world as a spoken-word artist and as frontman for his Grammy Award-nominated Rollins Band and, previously, Washington punk band Black Flag. In 2014, he was awarded the prestigious Ray Bradbury Creativity Award in recognition of his lifelong contribution to the arts and his passion for social activism, as well as his passion for maintaining books and libraries.
• An Evening With Henry Rollins, Union Hall, University of Otago, Friday, August 26.
