Get in the Van

Henry Rollins

Get in the Van is Rollins' tour journal from his five years as the lead vocalist of Black Flag. That it is a compendium of journal entries should tell you a good deal of what you need to know to figure out if you're going to like this book or not; there's a good deal of repetition. It's the nature of the beast. If that's not your bag, you'll want to pass here.

That said, Get in the Van is interesting for all manner of reasons, especially for those of us who actually grew up listening to Black Flag. If you're in a more fringe area of the music industry, a lot of this will probably sound familiar to you, if on a larger scale (most underground musicians probably don't embark on extensive tours outside their home country, though as Henry points out, people are pretty much the same everywhere). If you don't, you'll get a lot of insight into what it is to be a "rock star"-- people ripping you off, mishaps on the road, jerks everywhere you look. It ain't easy being at the top (and Black Flag may have ruled the roost where hardcore punk was concerned, but in the greater scheme of things, to call the members of Black Flag rock stars-- putting them on the same level of success as bands who sold out arenas-- the very idea is something of a joke, as Rollins sourly points out a number of times).

The best thing about the book, though, is watching Henry's psyche and contrasting it with what we see on the page. Henry Rollins was a mass of contradictions during the turbulent Black Flag years. He often complains here that he feels detached from those around him, including the other members of the band, and that he feels less and less human. The truly sad bit is how human it all is.

Those not yet familiar with Rollins' writings would likely be better off starting with one of his other books (I've always been very partial to Bang!, myself) or, even better, one of the spoken word cassettes from 2.13.61. But once you've found yourself a convert to Rollins' particular brand of dark, heavy humor, Get in the Van is a fine chronicle. ½