Henry Rollins broke down punk-rocker stereotypes last night, sharing his personal philosophies and eclectic experiences as a musician, poet and modern-day philosopher with a swelled audience in Page Auditorium.
Speaking on a myriad of issues-from his views on racism and intolerance to his experiences visiting a sex show in Thailand-Rollins captivated the crowd with his surprising insight and dark humor. Rollins' performance exemplified the unorthodox both in the views he shared and in his personal demeanor; he used his own unique style to jolt several members of the audience with thought-provoking perceptions. His unconventional mix of directed discussion points embedded in a rambling string of colorful anecdotes caught students off-guard as he challenged their stereotypes, pushing them to question their own values and behavior.
Rollins' performance consisted of an eclectic variety of stories revealing his intriguing personality-one far different from the persona he portrays as lead singer of the Henry Rollins Band. Indeed, his performance was at times paradoxical; covered in tattoos and dressed for a funeral in his completely black attire, Rollins surprised the audience with his unexpected wit and intellectual candor.
Rollins challenged the audience of students to value their education and take advantage of their opportunity to learn.
"Even though I never completed college, I've always had a real respect for knowledge-I think knowledge is sacred," he said. "I have total aggressive hostility for any student who sleeps through college. If I had the chance to do it now, I would want to be able to know everything. What kind of par-
adise would it be to be able to pursue knowledge and have no distractions? There would be no time for Budweiser, there would be no time for MTV worship."
Rollins also expressed his frustration with the trend of students taking their academic opportunities and experiences for granted, particularly when a great many young people are denied those same privileges.
"We live in a very cruel country," he said. "America can be a very mean place, and I don't even need to tell you that. Someone who happens to be born the wrong color, in the wrong town to the wrong parents [ends up] sitting there in McDonalds while they're flipping hamburgers wishing that they were here. The idea of anyone blowing [college] off is just so disgusting because to this day, I am hungry for knowledge."
Personal philosophies punctuated every anecdote, but Rollins also shared stories about his experiences performing with the Henry Rollins Band. The band began playing together in 1987 after Rollins left the legendary Los Angeles-based hard core band Black Flag; in its 10 years of existence, the Rollins Band has traveled extensively throughout the world. Rollins tours with the group and gives spoken-word shows on his own, sharing excerpts from his written works and discussing his unique outlooks with fans throughout the country.
During the performance, Rollins incorporated anecdotes from his travels in Thailand, sharing his views on Asian philosophies and his visits to sex shows in Bangkok with other members of the band. Rollins shared his appreciation for many Eastern values, maintaining that true wealth is internal, stemming from individual goodness and acceptance of others, and that richness has nothing to do with material wealth.
"Here's a rap on intolerance and how much I hate it," he said. "At the end of the day, it might not be what you drive and the weight of your Rolex watch. At the end of the day, I think [we] will be measured by our tolerance level-tolerance to people with other sexual orientations than what we are into or someone of a different color or religion."
Rollins also flashed his bizarre-and candid-brand of humor throughout the evening. Riffing on how world leaders should get to know each other better in order to resolve conflicts between countries, he said: "I've come up with a way to have world peace in about... seven minutes. Instead of having these meet-and-greet handshake sessions, these world leaders should go into a men's room and jerk each other off."
Students reacted with enthusiasm throughout Rollins' performance; indeed, several members of the audience gave him a standing ovation.
"I really enjoyed the performance and it was surprising because the presentation he gave was very different from the image he portrays with his tattoos and wild lyrics," Trinity senior Miguel Gutierrez said.
Other students, however, were less enamored of the presentation; his absence of a coherent focus frustrated and distracted them.
"Rollins had a bunch of interesting stories," engineering sophomore Craig Macklin said, "but I was waiting for a topic and he never got to it."
Rollins' performance was sponsored by the Major Speakers committee of the University Union.
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