Henry Rollins is unlikely to go back to music anytime soon, claiming that he “wouldn’t go back on stage with a band for anything”.
The artist was answering questions submitted by fans via The Guardian, one of whom asked why he had stepped back from making music in recent years.
“I stopped processing ideas in terms of lyrics. One day, I woke up and thought: ‘I’m done’. My manager flipped out, but I’ve never looked back,” he said. “I didn’t want to become a human jukebox playing old songs, so I filled the space the band took with films and TV and now my shows, my radio show and writing. At this point, I wouldn’t go back on stage with a band for anything.”
Another fan asked him if touring a spoken-word show – which starts tonight (March 24) – was less stressful than a full band tour. Rollins said that although spoken-word doesn’t take as much of a toll on his body, it is still more demanding because he’s alone talking on stage.
“Doing the music was like gladiator sport. I’d lose three pounds of water every show. I’ve ripped up my back and my neck, and my jaw clicks from being smashed around,” he explained. “The talking shows are more demanding, because it’s only me on stage. It’s like comparing surgery with construction – one requires super concentration and the other is just physical. And on the bus it’s not a tribe of stenchy men! It’s four non-smoking, low-key individuals. Backstage, it’s just me.”
Rollins has a “major project” in the works, which he referenced in his recent book Sic. In response to a fan asking what it could be, he said: “It’s something I’ve been working on for a couple of years with my manager, Heidi May, and I’ve put my life savings into it. All I can say is that we’re looking at launching 14 months from now in Nashville and it will make people smile until their faces hurt.”
You can see the full list of dates on Rollins’ ‘Good To See You’ tour below. The show will see him “faithfully recount the events of his life in the brief pre-COVID period since the last tour and when things got even stranger over the last several months.” He added: “It’s been an interesting time, to say the least, and he’s got some great stories to tell.”
You can find any remaining tickets here.
MARCH
24 – Bexhill-On-Sea, UK – De La Warr Pavilion
25 – Liverpool, UK – Mountford
26 – Dublin, Ireland – Vicar Street
28 – Belfast, UK – Limelight
29 – Glasgow, UK – Pavilion Theatre
30 – Whitley Bay, UK – The Playhouse, Whitley Bay
31 – Buxton, UK – Buxton Opera House
APRIL
1 – Birmingham, UK – Town Hall
2 – Nottingham, UK – Albert Hall
3 – Cardiff, UK – Tramshed
4 – Bath, UK – Komedia Bath
5 – London, UK – The London Palladium
6 – Manchester, UK – The Bridgewater Hall
7 – Cambridge, UK – Cambridge Corn Exchange
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