At a glance
- Age
- 65
- Born
- February 13, 1961
- From
- Washington, D.C.
- Nationality
- United States
Biography
The voice most people encounter first is the spoken word one — a man alone on stage, talking, no band behind him. Henry Rollins built that side of his career deliberately after his hardcore years ended, setting up his own record label and publishing company, 2.13.61, as the outlet for those albums. The name comes from his own birth date: 13 February 1961.
He was born Henry Lawrence Garfield in Washington, D.C., and started out in 1980 in State of Alert, a hardcore punk band that did not last long. In 1981 he became the singer for Black Flag, the California hardcore group, and stayed with them until they broke up in 1986. That five-year stretch is the foundation most listeners know him from.
After Black Flag he formed the Rollins Band, which went out on the road with a number of different lineups between 1987 and 2003, and again in 2006. Alongside the music and the spoken word work, he has worked as a writer, an actor, a comedian and a presenter — a spread of jobs held together mainly by his willingness to keep talking in public.
He was born Henry Lawrence Garfield in Washington, D.C., and started out in 1980 in State of Alert, a hardcore punk band that did not last long. In 1981 he became the singer for Black Flag, the California hardcore group, and stayed with them until they broke up in 1986. That five-year stretch is the foundation most listeners know him from.
After Black Flag he formed the Rollins Band, which went out on the road with a number of different lineups between 1987 and 2003, and again in 2006. Alongside the music and the spoken word work, he has worked as a writer, an actor, a comedian and a presenter — a spread of jobs held together mainly by his willingness to keep talking in public.
