Rollins set to start political Recountdown

CALLING HENRY ROLLINS OUTSPOKEN is an understatement bigger than his bulging biceps. And whether he's fronting legendary hard-core band Black Flag or sharing his worldly experiences from the stage, Rollins always gives you his honest opinion on subjects ranging from American politics to foreign cultures. Before his Recountdown Tour comes to town this week, he shared several pieces of his mind with us to preview the show.

The timing and title of this tour are likely indicative of what you'll be talking about.

The title of the tour is kind of a jab at how these last elections have gone where a recount is demanded or at least asked for. Basically, I'm just anticipating the fallout from either side when the other side loses, but I'm not going to stand onstage and dwell and opine about the last eight years all that much.

With the upcoming election shaping up to be one of the more interesting ones in recent history, do you have any predictions as to what the outcome will be?

I'm guessing, and this is pure speculation, that Sen. [John] McCain will win. I think Democrats lack a spine and Republicans cheat, so it's a wonderful combination.

What do you see in America's future with each candidate as president?

With McCain we're going to get more war, he's already told you. With Barack [Obama], good question. I know less about the future with Barack because I've had eight years of Bush, which gives me a really good preview of four years with McCain. So I don't know what the future would be with Barack. Perhaps a leveling of the playing field and a neutralizing of some of the acid in the relationships we have in the world. Maybe Barack will do a world tour and just sit down with the people and go, "Hey, I'm the new guy for a while. Let's talk and hammer some things out." Or maybe you'd see some changes in America, like we're going to really start working on alternative fuel sources or healthcare.

Your political views are obviously not in line with most of the South, yet each time you come to Atlanta you perform in front of sold-out audiences. How would you say Southern audiences compare with those in other parts of the country?

Even in your town there are literate people who aren't homophobic, and they all seem to find their way to my place. I think they're fantastic audiences. Atlanta and Athens were always great to Black Flag, Rollins Band and me.

When you look at the statistics of how many hundred thousand men and women are in Iraq, that's where they're coming from, they're coming from South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, Texas. . . . And when you see the weather going awry and a hurricane coming to town, these are the states that are feeling it. So these are states where Americans can tell you all about [hardships] and I think it's these places that need a break the most because I think they get preyed upon by the military for more bodies. ... It's a fascinating part of America that I think a lot of America doesn't really know or understand.

Having become so well known for your opinionated spoken word tours, it might be easy to forget you were a musician first. That being said, what bands have you been listening to as of late?

I listen to a lot of bands that fall under the genre of noise like Wolf Eyes, Yellow Swans, Hair Police, Dead Machines. A lot of this stuff comes out of the Midwest and it's just crazy, room-clearing noise that to me is fascinating music. It just doesn't give a damn about what you think and is so not awaiting your approval, I really like that a lot. There's a guy named Dax Riggs who is really interesting to me. He had a band called Deadboy & the Elephantmen and he's now solo. There's a great L.A. band called the Mae Shi with an album called "HLLLYH" —- interesting name, really good band, really good record. I'm shopping more on the fringes of music, which is nothing new for me.