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Normally the interviews done on the Rock it Out! Blog are usually on camera (which gives me a chance to hang with cool bands) but not every interview opportunity can happen that way. In this case my request to interview Henry Rollins was granted but as an email interview, which is quite commonplace in journalism. So I now offer to you, members of the rocker nation, the email interview with Henry Rollins.

Rock it Out! Blog: You’ve been a member of bands including Black Flag and the Henry Rollins Band. You’ve acted in several features. You’ve gone on several speaking tours and had shows on IFC. You have written books and you also have your own radio show. You’re a media renaissance man. What was your favorite part and least favorite part of each and if you could only do one, which would it be?

Henry Rollins: The best part of all of them is that you get to do different things and break up your work detail. It keeps you sharp and a little off balance, which I like. It snaps me out of whatever rut I can get in. Also, I think doing the one thing makes you better at doing the other, etc. They feed into each other I have found. The not-so-good part is that there’s a lot of work and obligation attached to all this fun and merriment and sometimes, you really don’t want to be all that responsible all the time but it’s what you signed up for, so you do it. If I could only do one, I guess it would be writing. As much as I like being onstage, it’s the writing that is the hardest to do and the thing I would like to be good at. Radio is the funnest as it’s a very low stress environment. I feel lucky that I get to do any of it.

RiO!B: Having been a VIP of no less than three influential bands to developing metalheads, at what point did you feel that your art and your talent were at the same level and most reflective of what you were trying to say? What’s the album/song that defines Henry Rollins at his most pure?

HR: I think where I was in sync with the overall was with the End Of Silence album. I was basically the same age as the audience and felt really in the pocket of things. As to being reflective of where I am/was at, I think that’s everything I do as I call it as I see it. I think everyone has “their time” or whatever it is you want to call it. Doesn’t mean that what comes before or after isn’t good, it’s just that there’s a moment and you know it and nothing is the same again for better or for worse. Fun House for the Stooges, Rocket To Russia for the Ramones, etc.

RiO!B: This is a question from my subscriber zakryan79: Due to the current trends in music today and what is being listened to the most in our society as “popular genre”, where do you see music going say five or 10 years from now, And what kind of music “in your opinion” will be the next big thing?

HR: I have no idea as to what’s happening in mainstream music. It’s not a world I spend any time in. Where it is and where it’s going are of no concern to me. As to music from the fringe as it were, I think that’s getting very interesting. I think the future is more bands recording and releasing their music from their own sites and establishing an entire network that is quite free from the more normal outlets and routes. This is very interesting and exciting to me.

RiO!B: Even though you’re most known for being involved with hardcore bands and music, you have spoken at length about other great artists that are no where near the rock music scene. I remember seeing a video of you talking at the celebration of Miles Davis’ album Kind of Blue. What would people be surprised to find in your record collection and what type of music would you have loved to try playing?

HR: If you have ever heard my radio show or read any of the books I have written on music, I don’t think you would be surprised at anything you would find on my shelves, really. I don’t have any Brittany Spears albums or a great deal of mainstream music but there’s a lot of records here from all over the world from pre-war stuff to what is coming out next month. I am not a musician really so I am quite limited in what I can bring to the table. What you heard is what I got basically.

RiO!B: Do you have any upcoming music projects now?

HR: No.

RiO!B: Your speaking tours are great because people get to hear about social issues from someone who refuses to hold back and is completely blunt and honest about situations. How do audiences react to your specific commentary on life and why do you feel that your tours draw so many people?

HR: The reaction is generally good. I am sure there are those who don’t agree with what I say and that’s fine. It’s not like I am advocating rape and abduction. I perhaps have ideas of where tax money should go that make some to the right of me bristle but it’s not like it’s fighting words or anything, just fundamental disagreements. I think that’s fine. Why do the tours do so well? I don’t know, but they do and I am grateful because I really like doing those shows and engaging with the audience in that way. I like it more as I get older.

RiO!B: I remember watching you on TV when you did a speaking tour in Israel and you told the audience that the way to solve the arab/israeli conflict was to drop two different Ramones records on the warring factions and have them swap records. What are the major issues you’re getting at on this particular tour and could you give us an example as to how you would solve one of them?

HR: Due to the travel I have done in the last several months, I have seen a lot of hunger and thirst, poverty, results of war, mines, etc. That is a part of what I will talk about. As to solutions, well, we as a species have to be better stewards of the planet. As we’re going now, there will be a lot of have-nots all over the world. If you’re cool with that, then go have a nice life. If you’re not, then there’s work to be done. How to fix things? It’s a top-to-bottom overhaul in my opinion, a re-set, new ways of going about old things.

RiO!B: Many people also consider you to be the ultimate badass. Here’s a question from my subscriber Euthanize Religion. How did you become such a badass? Also are there any lessons in badassery that you could give to the readers of this interview?

HR: I am not a badass. I can’t shoot a gun or ride a motorcycle, fix an engine. I don’t know what a halfback does in any sport and don’t want to know. Mohammad Ali is a badass in my way of thinking.

RiO!B: And the final question comes from my younger brother who noticed you had a barcode tattoo. If someone scanned Henry Rollins how much would he go for?

HR: Your younger brother, like Rush Limbaugh, needs to get better material.

There you have it, guys. My thanks to Henry Rollins for taking the time to answer my questions. I hope next time we get a sit-down interview with him. Be sure to head over to his website to see where his current speaking tour will be headed as well as other news and updates. Now I’m gonna tell my brother he just got burned by Henry Rollins via email. Ouch!