Editing Rollins Band (section)

==History==
===Precursors (1980–1986)===
[[File:Melvin Gibbs.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Gibbs in a July 1980 performance in Paris, France]]
Rollins was the singer for the Washington, D.C. [[punk rock]] band [[State of Alert]] from October 1980 to July 1981. Afterwards, he sang with California punk rock band [[Black Flag (band)|Black Flag]] from August 1981 to August 1986. Black Flag earned little mainstream attention, but through a demanding touring schedule, came to be regarded as one of the most important punk rock bands of the 1980s.

Less than a year after Black Flag broke up, Rollins returned to music with guitarist [[Chris Haskett]] (a friend from Rollins' teen years in Washington D.C.), bass guitarist [[Bernie Wandel]], and drummer Mick Green.

This lineup released two records: ''[[Hot Animal Machine]]'' (credited as a Rollins solo record and featuring cover art drawings by [[Devo]] leader [[Mark Mothersbaugh]]) and ''[[Drive by Shooting]]'' (credited to "Henrietta Collins and the Wifebeating Childhaters"). The music was similar to Black Flag's, though it flirted more with [[heavy metal (music)|heavy metal]] and [[funk]].

===First edition (1987–1994)===
Soon after, Rollins formed Rollins Band with Haskett, bassist [[Andrew Weiss (musician)|Andrew Weiss]], and drummer Sim Cain (Weiss and Cain had previously played with [[Gone (band)|Gone]], an [[instrumental rock]] group led by guitarist and Black Flag founder [[Greg Ginn]]). Live sound engineer Theo Van Rock was usually credited as a band member.

Critics Ira Robbins and Regina Joskow described this lineup as a "brilliant, strong ensemble ... the band doesn't play punk (more a jazzy, thrashy, swing take on the many moods of [[Jimi Hendrix]]), but what they do together has the strengths of both. The group's loud guitar rock with a strong, inventive rhythmic clock borrows only the better attributes of metal, ensuring that noise is never a substitute for purpose."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=henry_rollins |title=Rollins Band |website=TrouserPress.com |access-date=January 6, 2016}}</ref>

===Second edition (1994–1997)===
Rollins's tour diaries from this era details the personal and creative tensions that led to Weiss being fired following the ''End of Silence'' tour. These diaries were published by Rollins's 2.13.61 company as ''See A Grown Man Cry'' and ''Now Watch Him Die''.

The band's new bassist was jazz and funk veteran [[Melvin Gibbs]], who'd been highly recommended by [[Living Colour]] guitarist [[Vernon Reid]], a friend of the Rollins Band since the first [[Lollapalooza]] tour. Cain and Gibbs had also both played in different versions of guitarist [[Marc Ribot]]'s band. Gibbs performed on Ribot's album ''[[Rootless Cosmopolitans]]'' (1990) and Cain on ''[[Requiem for What's His Name]]'' (1992).

The first video from 1994's ''Weight'', "Liar", was a huge hit on MTV, with Rollins sporting numerous costumes (including a cop and a nun). The band appeared at [[Woodstock '94]], and Rollins was a guest-host for several MTV programs, including ''120 Minutes''. 
[[File:Rollins Band 1994 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|Rollins Band performing in 1994]]
This version of Rollins Band had some of the most overt jazz leanings of the band's history: Gibbs had begun his career with Reid in the 1980s [[jazz fusion]] group of drummer [[Ronald Shannon Jackson]], and worked with [[Sonny Sharrock]] on albums like 1987's ''Seize the Rainbow''. These influences, along with Rollins' obsession with the late '60s/early '70s electric/fusion era of iconic trumpeter [[Miles Davis]], shaped this version of the band's music. During the sessions for ''Weight'', Rollins Band recorded with [[free jazz]] saxophonist [[Charles Gayle]], though these sessions remained unreleased for ten years at Gayle's request to avoid conflicts with his contractual obligations. The Gayle sessions were released in 2003 as ''Weighting''.

In 1996, there was a legal battle with the band's former label, Imago Records. Rollins claimed "fraud, deceit, undue
influence and economic coercion" on the label's part.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/508008/henry-rollins-sues-imago-records/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214045341/http://www.mtv.com/news/508008/henry-rollins-sues-imago-records/|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 14, 2015|title=Henry Rollins Sues Imago Records|work=MTV News|access-date=24 February 2016}}</ref> They signed with the then-new major label [[DreamWorks Records]], who released 1997's ''[[Come In and Burn]]''. The album had a minor hit with the single "Starve" and the band appeared on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' to promote the album (season 22, episode 18). However, ''Come In and Burn'' was not as successful as ''Weight'' and, after touring for ''Burn'', Rollins dissolved the group, citing creative stagnation.

===Third edition (1999–2003)===
Rollins replaced the Haskett-Gibbs-Cain lineup with the Los Angeles rock band [[Mother Superior (band)|Mother Superior]], retaining the name Rollins Band, and released ''[[Get Some Go Again]]'' (2000) and ''[[Nice (Rollins Band album)|Nice]]'' (2001). They also released a two-disc live album, ''The Only Way to Know for Sure''. 

This lineup was a more straightforward [[hard rock]] group. Their first album featured "Are You Ready?" a cover of a [[Thin Lizzy]] song, featuring Lizzy guitarist [[Scott Gorham]]; Rollins has often expressed fondness for Thin Lizzy and its founder, [[Phil Lynott]].

===Fourth edition (2006)===
In between other commitments (his radio show ''Harmony in My Head'', his cable/satellite TV show ''The Henry Rollins Show'', and his spoken word tours), Rollins also reunited the Haskett-Gibbs-Cain lineup.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.punknews.org/article.php?sid=16588&mode=&order=0&thold=0#515823 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070827192308/http://www.punknews.org/article.php?sid=16588&mode=&order=0&thold=0#515823 |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 27, 2007 |title=Rollins Band returns |website=Punknews.org |date=March 31, 2006 |access-date=January 6, 2016 }}</ref>
In a March 2006 blog entry on henryrollins.com, Rollins admitted, "Actually we have been practicing on and off for months now, slowly getting it together ... It's been really cool being back in the practice room with these guys after all these years."<ref>{{cite web|url= http://21361.com/site_2004/dispatchs_archive/03-29-06.html |title= Dispatches|publisher= 21361.com|date= March 29, 2006| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090217000303/http://21361.com/site_2004/dispatchs_archive/03-29-06.html |archive-date=February 17, 2009}}</ref>

Rollins told Alan Sculley of ''[[The Daily Herald (Utah)|The Daily Herald]]'' that this reunion with Haskett, Gibbs and Cain would not become long-term unless the group decided to write new songs: "Let's put it this way. I don't want to go out and hit America again without a new record, or at least a new album's worth of material. Otherwise the thing will lack legitimacy ... [[Miles Davis]] would never do that. And I'm not into a greatest-hits thing. I think a band, if you're going to be around, you should be moving forward and putting in the time and working for it, getting after the art. Otherwise you're just playing retreads. ... Imagine a tree that grows canned peaches. It's nothing I want to do."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/188648/3/|title =Herald Extra|date= August 2, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215044144/http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/188648/3/ |archive-date=February 15, 2009 }}</ref>

The band opened some concerts for [[X (American band)|X]], and played on the first-season finale of ''The Henry Rollins Show'' on August 12, 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=56407 |title =ROLLINS BAND To Perform On Tonight's 'The Henry Rollins Show': Video Available - Aug. 12, 2006|publisher= Roadrunnerrecords.com Blabbermouth.net News archive |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607002158/http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=56407 |archive-date=June 7, 2011}}</ref>

===Hiatus and retirement===
In 2011 Rollins stated that he has retired from music, meaning that Rollins Band has come to an end.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 25, 2021 |title=HENRY ROLLINS: Why I Stopped Making Music |url=https://blabbermouth.net/news/henry-rollins-why-i-stopped-making-music |access-date=May 25, 2024 |website=Blabbermouth}}</ref>

Former member Jason Mackenroth died on January 3, 2016, in Nevada from [[prostate cancer]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Doc Rock |url=http://www.thedeadrockstarsclub.com/2016.html |title=The Dead Rock Stars Club 2016 January to June |website=Thedeadrockstarsclub.com |access-date=January 6, 2016}}</ref>