I bought "Get In The Van" about a year ago at a local Barnes & Noble. Not really knowing what to expect besides reading the back cover I decided to purchase it so I could educate myself a little bit more on the early days of Rollins.

To my surprise, after reading this book and the grueling experiences he had been through, I had a new and deeper respect for this man and his works. Henry Rollins has indeed worked his a** off to get where he is today.

Henry Rollins didn't grow up rich, he wasn't born into a rock star type of life, it was something that took many many years for him to achieve. And even then he would be the first to tell you, he likes to work and keep himself busy or else he'll lose his mind. I think this book explains why and where he got his dedication for what he does today. You could call him a workaholic.

From life on the road with Black Flag, this book is written from personal journal entries as well as add-in's by Henry's recollections of hardship he dealt with on a daily basis. From being a no-name band with many hardships to personal struggle to having to find your next meal not knowing if it will come. Stories of being spit on by fans to dealing with smaller venues treating them like total dirt, this book tells all about the reality of being a struggling musician. Not just a struggling musician but about Henry Rollins in Black Flag.

Henry goes into personal stories about fans, women, his bandmates, as well as daily encounters of life on the road in the early 80's. This book is a great read for anyone wanting a bit of information on Henry and his roots.

Specific stories that stick out in my head from this book are simplistic things that people everyday take for granted. Things like sleeping in a bed...Henry spent many nights sleeping in the back of the band's truck freezing, hungry, and exhausted. From gig to gig it was about the same situation. They were poor, they had no food, the van broke down but they still kept going on. Kind fans would feed them and let them sleep on their floors for the night if they were in town.

Other stories range from Black Flag playing with other bands who were either somewhat well known or became big around the same time Black Flag was popular.

Most of all this book really lets you know exactly what a band back in the early 80's had to deal with. There is no sugar coating on this or any of Henry's other books, it is the tell it like it is in-your-face truth.

I don't like to ruin books or movies so for me to go into great detail would ruin it for the reader. My suggestion is for you to go get this book if you are interested in learning about where it all started for Henry Rollins. It gives you a great perspective on how he has developed his opinionated viewpoints from such an early age. And most of all it lets you understand a bit more about Henry and why he's had to be so tough his entire life. Henry's a no BS kinda guy and I don't think he'd have it any other way.

I suggest reading this book. It has original photos from shows they did, everything is dated by the journal entry as Rollins wrote it back then, and it's overall a great read.









Recommended: Yes