The punk group Henry Rollins called “one of the best live bands ever”
Punk, more so than maybe any other genre, is a style of music that is firmly rooted in live performance. Sure, you can listen to the records and read the fanzines, but until you’ve stood in a packed-out room, dripping with sweat and bellowing with rage, you can never truly appreciate the vital nature of punk music. Live performances can make or break a punk band, something that former Black Flag frontman Henry Rollins is all too aware of. If anybody is qualified to list the greatest punk performers, it is probably Rollins.
In addition to being an intense, somewhat frightening frontman who rose to prominence with the pioneering West Coast punks Black Flag, Henry Rollins is a self-confessed music nerd. From his early days orchestrating mosh pits and terrifying journalists, Rollins seems to have mellowed out somewhat with age. Nowadays, he is more likely to be found flicking through a stack in a record shop, preaching the genius of The Clash to anybody who is willing to listen.
Within his endearing ramblings about the brilliance of punk rock, Rollins has regularly shared some anecdotes from his youth spent in Washington D.C. Outside of New York, D.C. likely had the most vibrant local punk scene in the entirety of the USA. Harcore punk was born in the city, and Henry Rollins had a first-row seat to its development. Attending countless punk gigs with his dear friend Ian McKaye – of Minor Threat, Fugazi and Dischord fame – Rollins always held a special appreciation for one group in particular: The Cramps.
The Cramps are something of a rarity within punk rock, they seemed to transcend scenes and subgenres, always operating exclusively within their own lane. Often noted for their penchant for old-school rockabilly and Americana, the band were regularly hailed as one of the premier live acts in the US punk movement. Rollins tends to agree with that sentiment, once affirming, “The Cramps – not only are the records amazing, but they’re one of the best live bands ever. The singer, Lux Interior, was a madman genius.”
Speaking in San Francisco back in 2016, Rollins continued in his gushing appreciation for The Cramps, recounting his pre-Black Flag days in D.C., “They used to come down to Washington D.C. because they knew that all 75 of us would show up at the small clubs they played,” adding, “To see The Cramps from that [close up] was magic, and terrifying.”
Seeing The Cramps as a young man clearly had an impact on Rollins, maybe even setting him on the path that would eventually see him become one of punk’s most iconic frontmen. After all, seeing Lux Interior in the flesh must have been akin to a spiritual awakening. “Lux Interior was hairless and oily and cold to the touch,” Rollins recalled, “The reason I know that is because he always fell on me. He’d be down to his underwear, dancing on the bar, punching out the ceiling panels. Then he’d fall over, usually on me, and there’s this salamander of a man on me.”
Interior was known for his wild onstage antics, usually revolving around deep-throating a microphone and wearing very little clothing. He was the archetypal punk frontman and an absolute master of his craft. Throughout their long tenure, few other groups could ever come close to replicating the energy and excitement of a Cramps gig, not even Rollins himself.
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