Turned On: A Biography of Henry Rollins - Softcover

Parker, James Hill

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0815410506 ISBN 13: 9780815410508

Publisher: Cooper Square Press, 2000

Synopsis

A celebrity like no other, Henry Rollins initially made his mark as the front man for the punk band Black Flag, and has since gone on to a successful musical career with the Rollins Band, along with spoken word performance tours, appearances in films, and the creation of his own publishing company (2.13.61). He has remained an uncompromising icon of American alternative culture, a man to whom unrestrained expression is not just a career, but the reason for living.

Unlike nearly every other rock 'n' roll celebrity, Rollins has avoided the usual wallowing in booze, orgies, and medication in favor of pumping iron, performing constantly, writing furious diatribes against complacency and passivity, and repeatedly attempting to rip the scales from the eyes of a brainwashed populace. His performances are karate chops of information, thought-provoking and dangerous.

Turned On is a look at the circumstances, alliances, and conflicts that made Rollins the force he is today. Biographer James Parker starts off in Washington DC, birthplace of Henry Garfield, and chronicles the development of his drive and rage. Parker shows how skinny skate-punk Garfield hooked up with his favorite band, Black Flag, and remade himself as part-animal, part-machine Henry Rollins.

Parker examines at length the punk scene of the early to mid-eighties, when Black Flag toured with few breaks, going into towns where no punk band had ever been and preparing the ears of the nation for the harsh new sound. A historian of the punk movement as it migrated from London to New York to Hollywood, Parker recreates the era, covering the bands, the places they performed, and the riots over which they presided.

Interviews with cohorts, members of Black Flag, roadies, musicians, film directors, and music professionals provide a multifaceted look at Rollins. Above all, Parker examines Rollins' music, giving informed reviews of the noise Rollins has brought to this world and deciphering what the music says about the man.

Turned On is the story of Roll

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Henry Rollins has managed to change with the scene. From minor cult celebrity in the early-80's to a one-man, multi-media movement in the 90's. Turned On explores the beginning of Rollins' career and follows him through two decades of performances, publishing, and movie making. This unauthorized biography reveals a complex man who is willing to go to the extreme for what he believes in.

Review:

Parker's informed and enthusiastic take on the horrfic Black Flag years is breathlessly brilliant. (NME)

Parker engages with his subject at every level....[The result] is gripping and instructive Parker captures the brutal excitements of American hardcore punk with commendable vigor and immediacy. He is equally good on the intellectual and cultural backdrop to the Rollins story. (The Independent Review: A Journal of Political Economy)

Turned On scores highly detailed account of the U.S. punk rock scene of the early 80s, and the grueling, violent tours Rollins undertook with Black Flag. (Q Magazine)

A compassionate, lyrical tribute to some of the most savage music ever produced.... Turned On is a modern Pilgrims Progress . (Feed)

About this edition

• Publisher: Cooper Square Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0815410506
• ISBN 13: 9780815410508
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288