Rollins, the former lead singer of the hardcore band Black Flag, was at the bookstore as part of a tour to promote his new book “Occupants,” a photo-book that chronicles Rollins’ travels to countries such as Mali, South Africa, Vietnam, Burma and North Korea.
While talking about the book, Rollins said that being on tour with Black Flag first afforded him the ability to become well traveled for short money.
“You can barely be able to pay the rent and still have been to Japan five times, Australia three times and Germany 8,500 times because rock n’ roll allows you to starve and travel far and wide,” Rollins said.
Those early experiences on tour fostered a passion within Rollins to travel, which he has decided to follow with his characteristic intensity, he said.
For Rollins, traveling around the globe and speaking about it has become a vocation. It is his way of bringing the people of the world closer together, he said.
“You and me and everyone else in the world are in some way connected, and I don’t mean that in some Kumbaya way,” he said. “I mean it fiscally. I mean it economically. I mean it as far as ecosystems, water, resources, renewable energies.”
Rollins said that he is trying to shorten the gap between human connections, and even prevent the next war.
For that reason, Rollins said he chooses to go to those nations in turmoil, such as Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan or Sudan. Despite their reputations, Rollins said he has found that during his experiences, many of these countries have turned out to be safer than home.
“The only times I’ve ever been nearly killed, and I have been almost killed, have been in America,” he said. “Except for Baghdad. This one mortar attack, but I was in a fortified building. But I’ve never really had to run for my life except in America.”
By scampering across the globe and sharing his tales with others, Rollins said he hopes to accomplish his goal of showing people how humane the world is so that they can live together more comfortably.
“I want the P-Funk, Ramones, DEVO, 24/7 block-party globally before I die,” he said. “I want the world to be a blue, green Mardi Gras fun ball spinning gently in space until we finally get invaded by aliens because they’ll hear the bass throbs of Bootsy from outer space.”
Rollins said that he feels compelled to go to those places where others would not out of a sense of duty to his fans who support his travels by purchasing his books and tickets to his performances.
“If I don’t burn lean tissue and make sure that it hurts me and makes me walk funny and leaves marks in my face, you know, charismatic lines of wisdom, or just, you know, an old guy getting older, I don’t feel I’m worth your time,” he said.
Fans who were in attendance were quick to praise the author, who signed books and took pictures after the discussion.
“He’s such an intense speaker,” said Abigail White, a freshman at Emerson College who first heard of Rollins through his music with Black Flag. “The way he is so candid is almost inspirational and gritty. I love it so much.”
Mike Dwyer, of Somerville, said he discovered the author through his music during the late 1980s. He said he was disappointed that the book reading was only one hour long, but was pleased with its content.
“I’ve gone to a lot of his spoken words shows, so it was kind of short,” Dwyer said. “Usually, he can go on for about three hours. I liked the fact that he didn’t just open the book and read a passage out of it though. He really told stories and talked about the book.”
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