Wired for Chaos: Shooting the Shit With Harley Flanagan

Founder of the pioneering band Cro-Mags and a legend of the NYC hardcore scene, Harley Flanagan is a punk rock icon who has battled chaos, defied the odds, and come out the other side. But while his career has been a no-holds-barred ride, Wired for Chaos isn’t just about the music; it’s about a man forged in fire, a survivor of neglect, sexual abuse, drugs, violence and PTSD, who’s lived to tell the tale.

His story encompasses playing at CBGBs with The Stimulators at age 11, squatting as a teen in Alphabet City, stealing food, dodging gangs and living in a world that he describes as “some serious Lord of the Flies shit!”. But Harley was a fighter. Whether on stage, in the streets, or in the jiu-jitsu gym with Renzo Gracie, he never backed down. The streets made him, but they also nearly destroyed him. This film dives deep into Harley’s past, but it’s not just war stories. It’s about what happens after.

Harley Flanagan: Wired for Chaos interviews friends like Flea, Henry Rollins, Roger Miret, Keith Morris, Michael Imperioli, Matt Serra, Jocko Willink and the late Anthony Bourdain, revealing the man behind the legend, confronting demons, raising a family and sharing the knowledge of his experience to help others.

Ahead of the anticipated release of the film, we caught up with the man himself to discuss the vulnerability of allowing someone else to tell your story, his advice for the young men of today, and what he hopes the future holds.

Diana: So what can you tell us about creating a film that speaks truth into this kind of sensationalised legend surrounding your life, and the honesty that had to be a part of that?

Harley: I didn't actually have very much to do with making the film. You know, I actually didn't even get to see it till it was done. You didn't know how it would turn out, which was really kind of nerve-wracking. Because, as you can imagine, when you have someone else telling your story and you have the input of as many people as were interviewed… there were a lot of interviews that didn't even make it in, so it was a little nerve-wracking, because I know I haven’t lived a perfect life. I've done a lot of shady things, and I've fucked up a lot.

You never know how it's going to be perceived. I was a little nervous, but I think the director did a pretty good job. It tells the same story as my book, really, just from the viewpoints of more people, and that's wild, because he never read my book. He didn't want to read my rendition of my life. He wanted to learn it from all the interviews and from all the archives and piece his own story together. He didn't want my version of it because people tend to leave out the things they don't want to talk about, and they embellish things that they want to brag about.

If anything, it just validated what I have been saying all along. I was really honoured that some of these people even came forward to be a part of it. I mean, Ian Mackaye, he doesn't typically do documentaries like this. Michael Imperioli, for example. There were just so many people that I didn't realise how much of an impact I had had on some of these people. And maybe if I had realised that when I was younger, I might not have beaten myself up so hard.

Craig: When I grew up, I basically just listened to nothing but American hardcore. Everyone in that documentary was phenomenal to see, a beautiful ode to your life.

Harley: Yeah, actually, we're working on a book that's going to be a lot of outtakes from the film and photos and stuff. And there's a lot of really cool stuff in there, like behind the scenes, because each one of those interviews was about an hour to two hours long. So there's a lot of stories and a lot of things that obviously couldn't make it into a film. You're working with a limited amount of time. I would never in my life have ever imagined that there'd be a film about me. It's pretty weird.

Photo credit- Jeanie Pawlowski

Diana: There was an incredible amount of material in there, and I found it fascinating. It must be quite emotionally challenging to see those pictures and footage of yourself when you're younger. What would you tell your younger self if you could go and meet him? What would you tell him now?

Harley: Well, you know, that's a tricky one. I probably have a lot of things to tell him, but I don't think he'd listen. I have two sons, and I raised a young lady. I have been giving a lot of that advice that I would have given myself, and a lot of things we have to learn on our own, sadly.

I have a really good relationship with my kids. They know I've been a bit of a madman throughout my life, and I'm able to talk about a lot of things with them that I think most kids and most parents would be too uncomfortable or too squeamish, shy, or whatever, to talk about. I understand what it's like to be a young man in the world and in the streets, and there's a lot of pressure. Sometimes you get in a place where it's like being a man and holding your own isn't always necessarily right, but sometimes what choice do you have? You want to tell your kid you shouldn't do this, you shouldn't do that, but you also understand what it's like to be in that position.

Craig: Yeah, especially growing up as a punk back then.

Harley: Yeah, especially growing up as a punk back then. I mean, if you were a punk rocker, any old-school punk or skinhead from back in the day will tell you you were a walking target. And that's just the facts. The closest you could explain it, it was like being gay or a tranny back in the day, people were gonna fuck with you. You couldn't really walk around and not get some kind of drama somewhere along the way. Things were different, man. Now everybody's got tattoos on their face and fluorescent, crazy hair, and it wasn't like that back then.

Photo- Anthony Bourdain and Harley: New York Natives Interview

Craig: Do you have any advice for young men today who may struggle inside a hyper-masculine environment, struggling to make their way out of that patriarchal machine?

Harley: Well, it's a little tricky, because what the fuck is hyper-masculine? What is natural? It seems like there's been a lot of emasculating going on over the last decade or so. I don't think there's anything wrong with being a man. I think there's nothing wrong with being a woman. I think there's a place and a time for all those things that took millions of years of evolution. I train in jiu-jitsu, and that made me hyper-masculine. That's my drive. That's who the fuck I am… you can't take the man out of me. What the fuck does that mean? Does that mean there's something wrong with me? No, it means I'm a motherfucking man, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. It doesn't mean that you have to go out and be a sexist or a racist or a bigot or an arsehole. What is being a fucking human? Are we supposed to be soft? I don't really give a fuck. Everybody's got their path. There's nothing wrong with being sensitive and emotional and all that shit. Why the fuck can't you be all of the above? I'm a lover and a fighter.

People that I actually respect, I can have an argument with them and walk away and still respect them. I don't have to agree with people on every single thing. I could still learn from them anyway. In fact, some of my best friends, I've had some of the best arguments with them and I still love them. We don't agree on everything. You don't fucking have to. I came to that realisation a while ago. My master Renzo Gracie, who gave me my black belts, I love him. I love him like a brother, like a friend. He means so much to me. Now, do I agree with him on everything? Fuck no. He’s like a right-wing conservative, this, that, the other, whatever. I still love the man.

Because I thought for a minute, me and my dad, we don't agree on everything, but I fucking love him. Especially your politics, when your politics start to matter more than loving, you’ve got a fucking problem.

Diana: I particularly enjoyed the part of the movie when you were speaking about getting clean. It was so obvious that you had dragged yourself up from hell at a certain point in your life. I wanted to ask, what was a part of that journey that nobody could have prepared you for?

Harley: At this point in my life, I know that I'm not going to relapse into shooting heroin or smoking PCP or shooting meth or smoking meth or whatever the fuck. I know that I'm not going to fall down to that level again because I've climbed the mountain, man, I've come to the other side. I realised that I was in a lot of pain, in my mind, in my soul, and I was doing everything that I could to try to just shut that off. I realised that that's why I've been doing drugs practically my whole life.

You get to a place where, I guess something has to matter. And I don't want to spoil the movie, but if you see the film, you see that something happened in my life where someone else, who was really important to me, needed me to get my shit together. So I did.

Sometimes other people are more important and you have to handle your bullshit, and so I handled mine. And you know, life is fucking great, man. I'm having the best life right now, and I've been through so much crazy shit. I'll tell you, I don't even care about the bad shit anymore. I don't regret much. I am so grateful for where I am right now.

Craig: Yeah, that’s so good to hear, especially with all the stuff you’ve been through. It’s great to hear you just have such a positive attitude and outlook, and you’ve definitely earned it.

Harley: It's wild, you know. Sometimes I think back, and I'm just like, wow, man, what the fuck. I really appreciate everything I have. I know what it's like to walk the streets in the rain at night, not knowing where you're going to go, not knowing how you're going to eat next, how you're going to stay straight.

I don't really feel like I was ever a junkie, though. I feel like I was just a drug addict, because it didn't matter whether I was shooting smack or meth or whatever, I was just drowning myself, you know, smoking dust, whatever. I was a fucking mess. But here I am, 59, feeling fine.

Photo credit- Ehud Lazin

Craig: And in great shape as well. So talking about this, obviously you're currently reaping the rewards of immense emotional work and giving back to your community in the process. What can we expect to see from you next, and what do you hope for in the future?

Harley: Well, I am currently finishing up a new album, which should be out sometime this year or, at the latest, the beginning of next year. I'm in the studio. We've got a bunch of tours coming up this summer, a bunch of festivals, and I've been keeping so fucking busy, man, my head is spinning. It's like I don't even feel like I landed from last year. I've done over 600 shows since COVID opened up. And you know, I've been recording non-stop and just keeping really busy.

As far as what I hope, I just hope I fucking live a really long time, because I'm having a fucking great time. My only regret is that it took me this long to get my head together. I would have met my wife sooner. I've got maybe another 40 years, if I'm lucky. I'm having a great time, so I'm just going to do my best to stay in shape so I can really maximise this fucking ride. I'm really enjoying it.

But in the meantime, I'm enjoying every second of this. Some people think you have to renounce all these desires while you're alive in order to be prepared for the afterlife. I don't know. I'm really enjoying my desires. I'm having a great time fulfilling them, and when it's time to let go, I understand this shit isn’t forever, but I'll be damned if I’m not going to have a great time while I’m here.

Frank White: Harley with Lemmy

Harley Flanagan: Wired for Chaos is set to release on 11 May 2026. You can pre-order the limited edition DVD here:https://screenbounddirect.co.uk/product/harley-flanagan-wired-for-chaos-limited-edition/

WARNING: Harley Flanagan: Wired for Chaos contains flashing images which may affect viewers who are susceptible to photosensitive epilepsy.