Henry Rollins

Henry Rollins's press notes call him a Renaissance man -- and why not? A bandleader and champion screamer, he fronted Black Flag, one of the greatest Los Angeles punk bands of all time, and later the Rollins Band. He's an actor (most recently seen in Bad Boys II) and the former scary host of the short-lived Night Visions horror-anthology series -- a meatier and more menacing Rod Serling, without the cigarettes and smug delivery. Rollins is a self-published poet and essayist, and a stand-up comic of sorts. In fact, he's also been referred to as Spalding Gray on steroids. Maybe he's the lashing, smashing Artie Shaw of our generation.

In any case, he's recently off his newest spoken-word tour, dubbed "Shock and Awe My Ass," and on the heels of a troop-visit-and-performance tour of the Middle East, he's likely to have a lot to say about politics and war. And if he tires of that, ask him about his new CD collaboration with William Shatner and guitarist Adrian Belew or his upcoming reunion work with some ex-Black Flaggers or his love for F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Hardy, American history, and Celine. Rollins has a lot to say, and he's not shy.