Sounding off

Rowdy rocker shares views, stories with audience

Henry Rollins has always been one to speak his mind.

In the '80s, Rollins was the lead singer of the highly influential punk band Black Flag. Today he tours with Rollins Band or solo for spoken-word shows.

Once an old-school punk rocker, Rollins is covered in tattoos, heavily muscled and doesn't seem like your typical spoken-word poet.

After all, he's been on stage for more than 20 years fronting two of the loudest, most intense bands in rock. His books, DVDs and spoken-word albums prove Rollins is not only outspoken, he's also smart. During his shows, Rollins will stand on stage for several hours rattling off stories, thoughts and tidbits that interest him, laughing at himself the entire time.

Next week he will perform at the Lensic Performing Arts Center in Santa Fe.

Rollins said he goes through a personal ritual before going on the stage.

"I make a list of the things I want to talk about and put them in a certain order," he said. "Then I pace around the room and get it all into my frontal lobes. Then I go out and experience it."

Rollins has compiled years of observations and notes into the book Get in the Van. Since then he's written several books, acted in a dozen movies and TV shows and toured continually.

Because of this free-form style, Rollins manages to keep his shows fresh.

"I never think to myself, 'Oh, I'm doing a show in Santa Fe. I better talk about Robert Redford and turquoise,'" he said. "But after I've been on tour for a few weeks, I have a few stories that I tell, and I rotate them around. Sometimes, after telling the story for a few nights, I'll start to look at it from different angles."

In the last year, Rollins has done United Service Organizations shows in Iraq. He stands firm on his political views.

"I want to see the Iraqis free and Americans getting not so much as a scratch on their elbows," he said. "No country should be lorded over by a [expletive] like Saddam Hussein."

In February, Rollins was in Iraq speaking at a USO show.

"I was seeing men half my age with their legs and half of their faces gone," he said. "I don't think Iraqi freedom is the reason we're there. It's just to put a smiley face on the oil gig."

He said Americans let Dick Cheney continue to perpetuate his ideologies.

"America didn't have the guts to stand up to Dick Cheney and his Machiavellian mind," he said. "His mindset is that if we're not showing our teeth, the evil forces of the world will think we're soft. Unfortunately, there's a reasonable argument to be had with that."

In his spoken-word shows, Rollins moves fast, covering as much ground as he can. By coupling his strong views with self-deprecating humor, Rollins not only puts on a great show but also gives the audience something to laugh at and think about on the drive home.

Henry Rollins

Spoken Word

The Lensic

211 West San Francisco Street,

Santa Fe

Saturday, March 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets $22-$27 at

Tickets.com

Opinionated songwriter examines effects of war

by Neelam Mehta

Daily Lobo

Tori Amos has been busy.

In February alone, Amos released her latest album, The Beekeeper and her first book, Piece by Piece.

She said her book, cowritten with music journalist Ann Power, was meant to let readers in on her creative process.

"I wanted to give people a backstage pass," Amos said. "There's always an ulterior motive to everything I do."

In a time when war and violence seem inevitable, Amos said the motive for her book was to inspire people to find a creative outlet.

"There is destruction everywhere, and the only way to combat destruction is to create," she said. "A lot of people seem to be demoralized with some of the changes that have been occurring globally and politically in a way that has frustrated certain generations, and I believe that instead of banging your head against the wall, you have to put pen to paper - whatever your creativity is."

Amos said lately her creative forces have been focused on composing, resulting in The Beekeeper, which is based on the theme of different metaphorical gardens.

"I was inspired by the idea of creating a virtual garden for people to step into a garden where women are encouraged to find knowledge, encouraged to look inside ourselves," she said. "The album is about searching for this missing piece of the feminine."

Since her 1992 debut album, Amos has established herself as an avid feminist and draws a largely female fan base. The Beekeeper is no different, as Amos expresses a disappointment with female objectification.

"I don't know a lot of women who have a healthy sexuality and spirituality," she said. "Look at pop culture. How many women are taking off their clothes just to sell something? There seems to be a need to sexualize everything."

Songs on The Beekeeper uphold her feminist viewpoint and examine the effects of war.

"The Beekeeper is chronicling our time as we know it now," Amos said. "'Mother Revolution' and 'General Joy' are very much inspired by the fact that we're at war."

Although traditionally a solo artist, Amos collaborated with Damien Rice for one song on her album, "The Power of Orange Knickers."

"This song is loaded with a few different subjects weaving through it at one time," she said. "As an Irish person, he is understanding of the terrorist situation. I also just adore the idea of that voice saying the words 'orange knickers.' It had to be done."

Amos' approach on this album outwardly deviates from the musical intensity found on previous albums such as The Choirgirl Hotel.

"Intensity is something I like to play with in different forms," she said. "Sometimes it's within the rhythm, the time changes or the lyrics or subject matter. I wanted to create a work where the content was really ferocious, and the sound was seductive and would draw you in."