Before the Chop II by Henry Rollins

Author:Henry Rollins [Rollins, Henry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781880985649
Publisher: 2.13.61

LA WEEKLY #150

12-05-13 Toronto Canada

We Are the Machine

What a week. Over the last several days, I have been repeatedly shot and stabbed, acquired bruises and scrapes whose origins are lost in the mist of adrenalized hours and had a great time.

It is quite a marvelous thing to be a part of this high speed, incredibly kickass group of people all working with great focus and intensity. For me, it’s like living in a dream. I have always had a low tolerance for bullshit. Suffering people in a work environment who are not full on is not worth it. It’s one of the reasons being in a band got stale for me. Often there would be someone in the line up who was dragging the whole thing down. As life went screaming by, I had to downshift because of someone’s chemical dependency or whatever bullshit drama they were starring in. It’s some bullshit I don’t miss. At this point, life is too short for anything but a full burn.

We usually finish the day well past midnight. Last night, we wrapped out at 0230 hrs. An hour later, I was staggering through a 24-hour market on a food acquisition op, hunger overriding my exhaustion. I got a couple of long looks from some other early morning shoppers as I was wandering the aisles and realized the right side of my head still had a considerable quantity of artificial blood stuck to it, left on by an exhausted Anthony, our hair guy. You have to be careful with this stuff. It reminded me of a couple of experiences I have had in the wild world of showbiz.

Many years ago, I was in a film called The Chase. I play a policeman who plays with less than a full deck, which forces some great one liners out of him. My character is chasing Charlie Sheen’s character down a highway in California, conveniently shot on a bit of unused highway in Houston, Texas. It was very hot and after awhile, the make up would melt off and have to be re-applied. The bounce of the sun into my eyes required that eyeliner be used. By the end of the day, we would be drained from the heat and the work. I was determined to hit the gym near the hotel, no matter how exhausted I was. After a particularly hot and grueling day, I bypassed the make up trailer and caught a crew van to the hotel, I suited up and ran to the gym before I fell over asleep.

The size of the men working out in this gym was reflective of the size of the state itself. They were lifting insane amounts of weight. I am in the middle of them struggling away and they all start looking at me. At first, I thought it was the “are you on MTV?” stare, but the looks on their faces had a uniformity of angry curiosity that made me wonder what I had done to insult them.

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