Henry Rollins is hardly your typical book publisher. The muscular, india-inked performer hardly looks bookish while screaming through a Rollins Band set. If Rollins, who releases tomes through his publishing company called 2-13-61 (his birth date), was a book, he couldn't be judged by his cover. The former Black Flag frontman is a jack of all trades in entertainment. Rollins records with his aforementioned band, he hosts IFC's The Henry Rollins Show, acts and does spoken word, which he will deliver Thursday at the House of Blues in a show he's dubbed Provoked. - Ed Condran

How do you manage such a schedule? You're always working on something.

Every day I get up at 6 a.m. and bust my butt. It's the only way I know how to do things. I try to do as much as I can. I worked hard for things my whole life.

You're not just acting, you're an activist. You spoke out for gay rights. Usually anyone who speaks up for gay rights is, well, gay, not that there is anything wrong with that.

I think it's really lame what's going on with those that are gay and I'm not gay. I was raised around gay folks. I was raised in the DC area. There are a lot of gay people there. My mom had gay friends. I had gay bosses. I worked at a movie theater and got propositioned four times a weekend. It was like, "You like boys; nah, it's not going to be me." I never wanted to kick some guy's ass. Some guys are creeps. But when you see the kind of hatred exacted at these people who can't help how they feel about men, it's sad. What if it was weird to be straight? What if someone said, "What's wrong with you?" for staring at a woman? I think if Bill and Tom want to get married, they should be able to in America. If someone has a problem with that, go on your way.

How ironic is it that Sen. Larry Craig was nailed for coming on to an undercover cop after he ran under the family values flag?

It's really ironic but if someone is gay, he should be able to express himself and not eat hand grenades every day. He [Craig] is an older guy. Coming out was not an option for him. He had to be so suppressed and so he married a woman and procreated. It's too bad that's the life he had to live, and it's especially weird if he voted for anti-gay legislation. If you put your hand under the men's room stall, that's not going to go quietly in the night. The hypocrisy is obvious in his case. I'm being easy on the guy and I shouldn't because he's an asshole.

Some of the best parts of your spoken word shows are your travel stories. Where have you gone recently?

Iran, Syria and Jordan are some of the places I went to. The vibe I got in Iran was really good. Everyone was very friendly to me. They told me how much they love America. They wanted me to move in, meet a nice Iranian girl and settle down.

What's it like for an American there?

As an American, you have to have a government tour guide. I did get to strike out on my own. I had home cooking every night. People were gracious and educated. They said, "We love America.' I said, "What do you think about war with America?" They said, "Please don't. We don't want to fight anyone. Saddam [Hussein] killed all of our friends." None of this was ever reflected on any news carrier.

If you're positive about Iran in any way...

You're accused of treason or being with Al- Qaida, which I'm not. There are some bad guys in Iran. They have their share of assholes telling people that their hair is too long or whatever. Iran needs some work or at least an option. The people I met there were great.

In the back of Iranians' minds, they have to think about the possibility of an American invasion.

I'm sure it's there and the people in America have no idea how scary that is. I can't blame people for being upset about someone else invading a country. If Belgium invaded us tomorrow, that would freak everybody out. If some country or group tried to invade Texas, I would be down there immediately defending my country.

Who will you vote for in 2008?

I will be behind the Democratic candidate. But I hope it's not Hillary [Clinton]. I'm not a fan. I think she is more politician than human. Her husband was the same way. When he spoke, I felt like I was coated in some kind of aerosol lubricant. As a traveler, I didn't mind the goodwill other countries felt toward our president. When a Democrat is president of this country, the world is friendly and it's the opposite when a Republican is in office. We'll see what happens, but Hillary is a player.