henry rollins Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

Rollins Band “Do It”

sfilzen — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 00:26:04 +0000

Rollins Band “Do It” 1987. Texas Hotel Records, produced by Ian MacKaye. Do It is technically an EP, but it doesn’t feel like one; it’s the same length of many of its contemporary punk LP’s (probably longer – Rollins is not generally known for his brevity). It has three cover songs on Side A: the title track “Do It” originally by Pink Fairies, an almost unrecognizable “Move Right In” by Velvet Underground and a punk-blues version of “Next Time” by Louis Prima. Quite an eclectic mix, though I guess not surprising because, well, Rollins. Side B is all live tracks from a show in Deventer, Holland on October 22nd, 1987. Do It was released after the Rollins Band first LP Life Time, also in ‘87, after Black Flag broke up in ‘86. A couple of the live tracks from Holland also appear on Life Time, including “Lonely,” “Wreckage” and “Hot Animal Machine I” (well, on Life Time it’s “Hot Animal Machine II” recorded live at a show in Belgium).

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Black Flag “My War”

sfilzen — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 15:39:11 +0000

Black Flag “My War” 1983. SST Records. Today, February 13th, is Henry Rollins’ birthday (b. Henry Garfield, 1961). Rollins joined Black Flag in 1981, taking over vocalist responsibilities from Dez Cadena (who had taken over after Keith Morris left in 1979) A Black Flag fan, Rollins had joined the band onstage briefly in 1980 while the band toured the east coast and then famously quit his job at Haagen-Dazs in DC (where he worked with Ian MacKaye) and moved to L.A. to join the group. Internal band tensions and Rollins’ hyper-macho antagonistic stage personality changed the band from a straight-up west coast punk band to a sludgy heavy-metal infused hardcore group, resulting in My War. (Dez Cadena had left Black Flag by this point and Greg Ginn fired bassist Chuck Dukowski and took over the bass parts on My War). According to a wiki article, the change in musical style, members and hair (now long), Black Flag fans were pissed and “focused their displeasure on Rollins by punching him in the mouth, stabbing him with pens, or scratching him with their nails, among other methods. He often fought back, dragging audience members on stage and assaulting them. During a Black Flag concert, Rollins repeatedly punched in the face a fan who had continuously reached for his microphone.” The change in musical style did, however, have a profound influence on later 80′s/early 90′s grunge, inspiring the punk-metal fusion sound of bands like Mudhoney and Nirvana (Kurt Cobain’s first punk show was Black Flag during the My War tour and he cited the album among his favorites).

Side A of My War is filled with screaming guitar solos, screaming Rollins, and a few relatively upbeat, albeit dark and menacing, punk songs, especially the title track “My War” (which, incidentally, was written by the now-fired Dukowski). Allmusic calls the B-side “a totally worthless second side. Featuring three tracks [“Nothing Left Inside,” “Three Nights,” and “Scream”] of slower-than-Black Sabbath muck with Henry Rollins howling like a caged animal, it was self-indulgence masquerading as inspiration and about as much fun as wading through a tar pit.” That said, it is easy to hear the direct link to the more ponderous grunge recordings that came later that decade.

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The Teen Idles/S.O.A/Government Issue/Youth Brigade

sfilzen — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 15:49:53 +0000

The Teen Idles/S.O.A/Government Issue/Youth Brigade. 1980, 1981/2007. Dischord Records. 4 7″ EP’s originally released in ‘80 and ‘81 on one 12″ clear vinyl LP. 35 noisy punk songs jammed together, showcasing the DC punk scene of the early 80′s. (You can listen to samples of all tracks here). This Youth Brigade is not to be confused with (probably) better known Youth Brigade band from L.A. via Canada (featured in the film Another State of Mind along with Social Distortion). D.C.’s Youth Brigade was around from ‘80 to ‘81, vocalist Nathan Strejcek (also in Teen Idles) and drummer Danny Ingram attended high school with Ian MacKaye (in Teen Idles on bass, as well as of course Minor Threat, Fugazi and founder/owner of Dischord Records). This Possible E.P. was Youth Brigade’s sole release. The Teen Idles had one official release as well, the Minor Disturbance E.P. which pictures the black X emblem that became the symbol of the punk straightedge movement. S.O.A. (State of Alert) has the distinction of being fronted by Henry Rollins (going by his birth name Henry Garfield), S.O.A. being his first (and short-lived) band; they were active for about 10 months between the fall of ‘80 and the summer of ‘81, playing just 9 shows and recording the No Policy EP. Government Issue was the only band of the four featured to survive more than a year or so. After recording this first EP, Legless Bull, they would continue on with fluctuating lineups, breakups and reunions up to present day.

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