Henry Rollins - A Grim Detail

A GRIM DETAIL 2014 Henry Rollins

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher.

Published by

2.13.61

7510 Sunset Blvd #602

Los Angeles, CA 90046

www.21361.com / www.henryrollins.com

Back cover photo: Self portrait, Mali, 2009

Layout and Design: Chapple Design

2.13.61

Contents

Thanks: Carol, Heidi,

Mitch Bury of Adams Mass.

JOE COLE 04.10.61 12.19.91

It was the end of 2008. I had returned from a tour of one hundred and thirty-eight shows a few weeks before. As the exhaustion faded, restlessness quickly took over.

One of the most difficult things for me is adjusting to real life after being on the road. I have come to the conclusion that its not always the best idea to try to acclimate but heed the call of the world instead. Following that idea, I started planning a trip. Soon enough, things were falling into place and I was getting very excited. All of a sudden, it was time to go. To help explain what was to be, here is a journal entry from the end of that year:

12-29-08 LA CA: 2058 hrs. I have been running around, getting things done, so when I leave here in a few days I will be good to go. I am out of here on 01-01-09. I thought it would be the best thing for me, to be out the door and moving on the first day of the year. I have been prepping the trip for a few weeks now. I had to re-up on some vaccines, yellow fever, I forget the other ones. I dropped off my prescription for Malarone a few hours ago and will pick it up tomorrow. I got Ziploc bags to seal up my lenses and camera gear. Where I am going will be very sandy and I have to be careful.

So, where to? Mali. Mali is on the African continent, landlocked and surrounded by Mauritania, Algeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast (Cote-dIvoire), Guinea and Senegal. Since 2001, there has been a three day music festival called the Festival au Desert. Its held in Essakane, which is about two hours out of Timbuktu. I have known about the festival for a few years, as I listen to some of the bands from the area. One of my favorites, Tinariwen, will be playing on the last day.

I was looking at the festivals website several days ago and I decided that I should go. I sat on that thought for a few hours and still liked the idea, so I called it in to management and got the ball rolling. Thats how a lot of these things start. I just see something and get interested and then its on. Theres not much else to do but things like this. I reckon I should go as far and wide as I can before its all over.

Travel plans made themselves more evident today. Until a few hours ago, I didnt have a complete itinerary. I am still waiting on more details. Theres some difficulty getting from Bamako, Malis capital, to Mopti, where the trip starts. Looks like I will get to Bamako on the 2nd and will be unable to get to Mopti until the 3rd, with the journey to the festival starting on the 5th. I was hoping to get to Mopti with enough time to explore the city. Also, on the other end of the trip, it looks like I will be taking the bus from Mopti back to Bamako, which apparently is a seven to ten hour, bone jarring bus ride. There I will wait for a couple of days for the next plane to get me back to France and then back to America. Ill know more in a few days, one way or another.

I have a couple more days here before I head out. I have learned from previous trips to Africa that I will need to bring a lot of food. Its not smart to count on always having access to what you need. I try to bring one to two meals per day of journey. I usually end up getting through all of it. I want to have all that packed by tomorrow night.

Today was the 2nd time this year I have gotten a prescription for Malarone, I think thats pretty cool. I know thats a little nuts but I am glad I am getting out to some places that have teeth. I need it. Keeps me from exploding. 2156 hrs.

01-01-09 LAX: 1653 hrs. Where it all starts. Two long flights await me. Several minutes ago, at security, the line forked in two directions. I stupidly took the one with less kids. The men checking the items in my line immediately stopped letting things through and didnt seem interested in even looking at the x-ray screen or doing much of anything. I watched all the people I was behind in the other line pass through and leave the area. It was a good fifteen minutes just to get less than a dozen people through. I guess today is a big travel day as its packed here at Terminal 2.

I am flying to Paris and then on to Bamako, Mali. This is going to be a long haul. The first flight is about eleven hours and the next one is another seven or more. I get a few hours off and then back onto another plane to go to Mopti. After I get there, I have a couple of days where I dont have to be responsible for anything more than myself.

I thought this was the right thing to do, to head out on the first day of the year. This is the way to start things properly. The holiday season is now over and its time to get back to it. I dont mind some down time for a few days but then it gets depressing and I need to get it going again.

Its a relief to be out of the house and on my way back into the world. The hardest part is the wait. Last night was a drag. I checked the pack, came up with different strategies on the pack, reconsidered the packspent way too much time on the pack.

I talked to Ian earlier today. Hes good and all is well. I dont know when I will see him next. I dont know what this year holds. All I know is that its on and the break, short as it was, is over. Theres something satisfying about the later part of the year, the work is done and its a time to catch my breathbut thats just death. I cant imagine what I would do with myself if I was at the house tonight. Well, actually, I can. I would be sitting there, waiting to get out. So, Im out. Im out on this thing for the next two weeks.

I am trying to take what time I have left and have an extraordinary life or at least try to do extraordinary things. Life for me is barely endurable. Going all over the world puts enough of a roar in my ears so I can momentarily forget or be distracted from the grim detail that life is to me. Its all in my head, I understand that. I know that life is different for everyone and for some its great and for others, not so much. I am doing the best I can to keep things off-balance and interesting. I reckon I have a few more years left and then its over so I might as well get some things done. 1732 hrs.

01-02-09 Charles De Gaulle Airport: 1533 hrs. Second leg of the flight. The first one let me out several minutes ago. I am a little stiff but ok. About ten hours and sixteen minutes to get here. I read Kafka and dozed off. I wish I could do talking shows here in France. I did some many years ago and I thought they did really well. I think I only did Paris but the shows were really cool. Without the band, its hard for me to get work in France. I was here a few years ago at a convention in Cannes, trying to get people interested in the IFC show. Ive got a little while here and then onto Bamako.

I am at the gate. Its an interesting batch of people waiting for this flight. Many of us have the same look happening. The thin pants that convert to shorts, hiking boots, etc. I bet many of these people are headed for the festival. This is really cool.