Henry Rollins is turning his back on spoken word -- at least for a little while. The power-lifting former frontman for Black Flag is resurrecting his punk past with the help of a new outfit called Mother Superior. A year and a half ago, Rollins took the Los Angeles-based outfit into Berkeley, Calif.'s Fantasy Studios as a favor for a friend, and put them through their paces producing a few demos -- which eventually became their debut record, Deep. During his two days with the band, Rollins fell in love with their sound and has kept close tabs on them ever since. So close, that he's decided to draft them as the new Rollins Band. Guitarist Jim Wilson, bass player Marcus Blake, and drummer Jason Mackenroth have decided to forgo the Mother Superior moniker for the time being and work with the Pater Famalis of punk.

With more than twenty songs tucked under his beefy biceps, Rollins and the band holed up in Los Angeles Cherokee Studio and a month later emerged with a new album titled Get Some Go Again, the first ever Rollins Band album produced by Rollins himself. The new opus -- which includes the surprisingly lyrical "Illuminations," the rawer "Monster " and the title track -- is "powerful but eminently listenable," according to a source at DreamWorks. The label will release the album in January 2000. But before the album sees the light of day, the band will embark on a brief U.S. tour to preview the new material.

"He's really excited about the band, and he's invigorated about this project," said a source close to Rollins. In addition to working with Mother Superior, Rollins also collaborated on a song with George Clinton last March, which will appear on Clinton's upcoming album. But don't think the big guy has abandoned all his other projects for the sake of his music: he's currently editing a manuscript on weight lifters, and is planning to hit the road himself this October for a spoken word tour.

The dates for the Rollins Band tour are:

8/4 Santa Barbara, Calif., Coach House
8/6 San Diego, Brick By Brick
8/7 West Hollywood, Troubadour
8/10 Washington, D.C., Nation
8/11 New York, Bowery Ballroom
8/12 Boston, Paradise
8/14 Philadelphia, Theater of Living Arts

JAAN UHELSZKI
(July 20, 1999)