When Black Flag wasn't going to play Chicago, we made a beeline to Milwaukee to catch Henry and Co. I'd say thia was one (if not the) intensest interviews I've been involved in. Half the talk was "on the edge" and then Henry relaxed and we had a fun (?) talk.

LAST RITES: Explain the changes that have taken place within the bend.
Henry: A lot of the new music we're playing, Chuck couldn't really do justice to it so he decided to back off and manage. Kira and Billy would jam together all the time and it sounded really good and they worked really wall together, so we asked her if she wanted to play. We didn't audition anybody.
L.R.: How long ago did you record My War?
Henry: Just about 8 weeks before we left for this tour. We did it real cheap and put it out real fast. Greg did both the guitar and bass parts.
L.R.: Are you happy with how it came out?
Henry: I like it--but I haven't played it that much.
L.R.: Any reason for splitting up the fast, shorter songs from the longer ones?
Henry: The 3 long songs are side Two and that's what it is. That's the way we like it.
L.R.: Why do you think your writing has changed since you first joined Black Flag?
Henry: I see things quite differently than I did 3 years ago. Let's just say what I want for Christmas has changed and these days, I'd like to have a .357 gun and I'd just--go BANG!!!!!!
L.R.: Meaning, you are getting tired of people.
Henry: Yep, very much. Very cruel, very disgusting, very nasty animals human beings are. I'm really hoping someone's going to do it right and drop the bomb so we can. . . . . hopefully, I won't be around. I want to be one of the first to go. I want to take The Taxi Driver dream about 20 thousand steps further and just wipe it all out.
L.R.: Has touring helped you cultivate this attitude?
Henry: Yes, I've seen a lot of gross stuff and that's just what I think. Every single time I do an interview, I feel like someone bends me over and shoves a fist right up my ass--I feel buttfucked. They are everything I'm against. I would like to be like AC/DC; press releases, records, tours and an interview every 3 years. You don't need to know what I think about nothin'. What I think does not matter. I don't want to influence anybody. The thing I'm trying to get across is that: I AM. That's it, and maybe. . . someone can listen to it and say the same for themselves.
L. R.: But what you're doing is obviously important or else you wouldn't be doing it.
Henry: It's important to me. I think the records and penormances cause people to think and I think that interviews are self-indulgent and I feel that when I do them, I'm selling out and it makes me feel very bad about myself.
L.R.: Even to something like fanzines?
Henry: They're worse. I feel that the audience fanzines cater to are some of the worst closed-minded, fascistic mother-fuckers I've ever met in my life.
L.R.: How do you draw that out of fanzines? Don't you think they're supportive of what's not being supported otherwise?
Henry: I think they're very supportive of some things. I just don't always like the idea of being put in these things, because a lot of people that read them are telling me to get my hair cut and a lot of people who read these live in their mommy's condo and use their daddy's credit card and are telling me I don't dress right.
L.R.: Why does it bother you so much if people say things?
Henry: That's oppression and it makes me want to go the other way. It forces a reaction out of me that might be grotesque--a "bad attitude". I don't want to be recognized when I go into some place, I don't want to sign autographs when the boss of the operation looks at you in the mirror every fucking time you look into it. How can you call your band The Lords Of The New Church when you're the Lord of your church and I'm the Lord of mine? I'm into sticking myself into someone's face, because they can always turn around and bail out. But, I'm not into backing someone against the wall, bending them over and sticking them in their ass.
L.R.: But don't you think that communication can be used positively?
Henry: To a certain extent I'm into certain kinds of communication and this (the zine) to a certain extent does get some kind of communication across. But, if you lump me in with Hard Core, then I'll lump you in with Maximum Rock and Roll.
L.R.: I'm not lumping you in with HC. I take every band and individual on their own level. I'm just saying that some people need to have categories for reasons of security. I'm not saying that you're HC or that everything's HC or that everything's not HC.
Henry: O.K. But I don't need to feel safe.
L.R.: Do you feel that all this comes from being bitter or from being realistic?
Henry: I have no confessions, just realizations. The only things I say that are negative are positively negative and the only reason I say them is because I have experienced them.
L.R.: Could you explain what happened with all the legal hassles you went through with Unicorn?
Henry: They sued us, we sued them. They lost and we won. We got Damaged back, the TV Party single back, a give-away single we put out in L.A. back, we got an interview record we did with Fraiser Smith on KLOS FM back and Unicorn is no longer in the record business.
L.R.: How come Greg and Chuck went to jail?
Henry: The county of L.A. saw the Everything Went Black lp as an illegal record and found us in contempt of court and since Ginn and Dokowski had their known names on everything, they're the ones who went.
L.R.: How's SST doing now?
Henry: Real good. We have a Huskers 7" and a double album coming out, a Minutemen double album, 2 Black Flag albums, new Saccharine album, a St. Vitus album, a Wurm album and a surprise solo artist this fall.
L.R.: I heard you've been doing some poetry readings.
Henry: I've been doing readings in L.A., sent off manuscripts of my first book to a few publishing houses and I've been working with Lydia Lunch. We did a performance together and advertised it as a Gustalt and put on the flyer: "We advise you to stay home". It was a controlled environment--a room with just me and Lyaia in it and for 1 1/2 hours, we took a selected few and had our way with them and let them experience a very controlled environ men t.
L.R.:Was this just verbal abuse?
Henry: It was very confrontational. I can't describe it to you--ask someone who was in there.
L.R.: How did people like it?
Henry: A few people really got off on it. They were really scared, but got off on it. A few people didn't get off on it so much.
L.R.: How did you come to meet Lydia?
Henry: I saw her read one night and 2 days later she called me up and said: "Hi, I'm Lydia Lunch. You and I should get together." and I said fine. She's brilliant. Our minds are in the same place--in the gutter. So I feel very comfortable with her.
L.R.: Are you going to do more with her?
Henry: Yea, we did a movie with a soundtrack thats 8 minutes long. It's called, Where are you Going? and it's violent pornography and basically, I rape the shit out of her and beat her up. It's going to be in the L.A. Erotic Film Festival this summer, I think when the Olympics are in town. It'll be at UCLA I think. She and I also wrote a play which we'll hopefully be doing in a few places this summer.
L.R.: You're going on an European tour with Black Flag this summer, right?
Henry: We get home from this tour--40 shows in 40 days--on May 5th and on May 9th we leave for about 35 shows in 35 days in Europe. We wanted to take Husker Du with us, but they don't want to tour right now. So it looks like we're going by ourselves, which is too bad.
L.R.: Are there any bands that you'd like to see perform?
Henry: The Nick Cave solo band. I've got a tape of the new album that Lydia gave me and I think it's real tremendous. The last good show I way was Einsturzende Neubauten. I thought they were fucking brilliant. I've got all their records except for a couple. I'd go see the Meat Puppets anytime they'd play anywhere within driving distance.
L.R.: Is Black Flag pretty much set for awhile?
Henry: Oh yea. We have things planned out for about a another year. We'll come back from the European tour in mid-June, record, Kira goes back to school at UCLA, UCLA gets off for the Olympics for 2 weeks, we play on the east coast, come back, she gets out in September and we're on the road forever.
L.R.: Do you have any idea why the Chicago show was cancelled?
Henry: I have no idea why we aren't there on this tour. I don't know anything about promotion or booking or anything. Chuck handles all that.
L.R.: Are you happy being in Black Flag?
Henry: No. Happiness is not necessary for playing. I do not enjoy playing in Black Flag nor do I enjoy touring.
L.R.: What's enjoyment to you?
Henry: I like to do anything where there's a risk. Sitting at home with a little wife or a girlfriend in the apartment and the car with the mortgage and the job and the lifestyle is not what I'm into.
L.R.: What would you do if you weren't in Black Flag?
Henry: Write, paint, be in another band, be a terrorist. . .