Zombie, Rob

views updated Jun 11 2018

Zombie, Rob

Singer, songwriter

One of the most recognizable figures in the world of hard rock, Rob Zombie follows in the ghoulish footsteps of musicians that have mashed theatrical rock into a macabre mix of audiovisual stimuli. Zombie has sold millions of records, won an MTV video music award, and even ventured into horror films and comic books. Since 1985 the multitalented monster-loving frontman has translated the loud, gross, and gory into visual spectacles with unique soundtracks.

Rob Zombie was born Robert Cummings on January 12, 1965, in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Although he may have not initially envisioned himself a musician, he knew, even as a youngster, that he was determined to avoid the mundane. As the dread-headed singer explained to Stuff Magazine, "I always knew since I was a kid that all I ever wanted to do was make movies, draw comics, work in a wax museum, or wear a big animal suit at Disney... I just knew I wanted to do something like that. I never had any aspirations to do something that wasn't fun." Influenced by late 1960s kitsch horror programs like The Munsters and The Addams Family as well as theatrical shock rockers of the 1970s such as Alice Cooper and Kiss, Cummings always intended to find a way to parlay his unique interests into a career.

Immediately after graduating from high school, Cummings moved to New York's seedy lower east side. He took a series of jobs to pay the rent, including layout for a soft-core pornographic magazine, Celebrity Sleuth, and work as a production assistant for the then-popular children's television show Pee Wee's Playhouse. Cummings met Sean Yseult in 1985, and the two became romantically involved. The two formed White Zombie, with Cummings, now known as Rob Zombie, on vocals, and Yseult, who had no previous musical experience, on bass; completing the original line-up were musicians Tom Guay on guitar and Ivan de Prume on drums.

Named after a 1932 Bela Lugosi horror film, White Zombie meshed metal with monster affection and stomped through New York's rock scene, attracting much attention from both clubgoers and the local press. Zombie, who was inspired by both horror and theatrics, knew from the outset the importance of visuals to rock acts. As Zombie explained to City Link Magazine years later, "You can't have a great rock band with no visuals. Just like you can't have a great rock band with only visuals. If you look back through the history of rock music whether it's Elvis or The Beatles or Led Zeppelin or Jimi Hendrix or Kiss. Musically they were great but visually they were great too. They had it covered on every level."

Marketing themselves, however, was another problem. When White Zombie formed in the early eighties, few groups—with the exception of well-known acts such as the Misfits and the Cramps—were doing highly visual performances. Regardless, White Zombie put out two singles and several works on their own label, Silent Explosion, prior to being discovered by independent Caroline Records who put out their next few releases.

After releasing the independent LP Make Them Die Slowly, the group embarked on a European tour, which they followed with the 1989 EP God of Thunder. The release got the attention of executives at Geffen Records, and the group signed a recording contract in 1990. White Zombie's major label debut, La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Vol. 1, was released in 1992. The band's B-movie slasher magic fused with metal riffs made their first single "Thunder Kiss '65" a staple on MTV and propelled the album into the top 40. To support the album, White Zombie embarked on an ambitious tour, playing more than 350 shows. The album eventurally went platinum, and "Thunder Kiss '65" was nominated for a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance.

The band's 1995 triple-platinum follow-up, Astro Creep: 2000, Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head debuted on the top ten album charts and stayed there for over two months before retreating to the Billboard Top 200, where it sat for over 89 weeks. A single from the album, "More Human than Human" was nominated for a Grammy, and won an MTV Video Music Award. Supersexy Swinging Sounds, which featured Astro-Creep remixes, arrived in 1996 and went platinum as well.

Zombie, who had creative control of the band's ventures, directing their videos and designing both artwork and stage shows, began to branch out on his own. While still on tour for Astro Creep, he worked with cartoonist Mike Judge on the 1996 movie Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, a film version of the popular television series of the same name that prominently featured the band. Zombie performed "The Great American Nightmare" on the Private Parts soundtrack with shock-rock deejay Howard Stern and sang "The Hands of Death" with horror-rock legend Alice Cooper on Songs in the Key of X: Music from and Inspired by "The X-Files." The latter was nominated for a Grammy and competed against (unsuccessfully) against yet another Zombie track, "I'm Your Boogieman" from the platinum soundtrack to The Crow: City of Angels.

Resentment began to build among White Zombie members, and the tension and burnout from being together for over 10 years eventually split the group. Zombie and drummer John Tempesta left to form their own act, with Zombie now in total control. Although the sound changed slightly, he kept his loud, horror-rock theatrical edge, much to the delight of his fans. "When White Zombie broke up it was at the height of the band's success, not on its way down," explained Zombie to the Jersey Alive. "That in itself is kind of a crazy thing to do, because you work your whole life to get somewhere and then it falls apart right at that moment. So going solo was tough to do but it worked out great. I have no complaints."

In 1998 Zombie released his first solo album, Hellbilly Deluxe: 13 Tales of Cadaverous Cavorting Inside the Spookshow International, which immediately went into the Billboard top five and eventually sold over three million copies. With his theatrical rants and extravagant stage show, Rob Zombie was just as successful solo as he'd been with his band. To promote Hellbilly, Zombie joined the multiact metal tour Ozzfest in 1999.

For the Record . . .

Born Robert Cummings on January 12, 1965, in Haverhill, MA.

Formed rock band White Zombie in New York; released several albums, EPs, and singles independently, 1985-89; band signed to Geffen Records, 1990; released debut album La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Vol. 1, 1992; parted with all members of White Zombie except drummer John Tempesta, 1995; worked with famous cartoon series creator Mike Judge on the movie Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, 1986; released first solo effort Hellbilly Deluxe: 13 Tales of Cadaverous Cavorting Inside the Spookshow International, 1998; wrote and directed film House of 1000 Corpses, 2000 (released, 2003); released Sinister Urge, 2001; published horror comic book series, Spook Show International, 2003; released greatest hits album, Past Present and Future, 2003.

Awards: MTV Video Award, Best Hard Rock Video, for "More Human than Human," 1995.

Addresses: Record company— Geffen/Universal Music, 2220 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90404. Publicist— Deborah Radel Public Relations, 1123 N. Flores St., Ste. 12, Los Angeles CA 90069.

In April of 2000 Zombie began to write and direct House of 1000 Corpses, featuring cult movie stars Karen Black, Sid Haig, and Michael J. Pollard. The studio, however, claimed the violent, sadistic film would require an NC-17 rating, which they refused to accept. Zombie was skeptical. "I was really upfront with them," he told the Guardian. "They had the script ... They saw the dailies.... [I]t's not like they didn't know what I was doing." Universal stood their ground and refused to release the film.

Undeterred, Zombie went back to the studio in 2001 to record his new album Sinister Urge (named for a 1961 Ed Wood crime flick). Boasting an impressive list of guest performers including Ozzy Osbourne, Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, and Slayer guitarist Kerry King among others the album debuted at number 11 on the Billboard chart, confirming Zombie's consistent popularity. He took his show on the road, embarking on the Merry Mayhem tour with the legendary Ozzy Osbourne.

In 2003 Lions Gate Entertainment agreed to release Night of 1000 Corpses, fulfilling Zombie's dream and scoring major points with his fans, although it was panned by the critics. (Zombie began to work on the sequel in 2004.) In 2003 Zombie also released a greatest hits collection and launched his own comic book line, Rob Zombie's Spook Show International.

Although some have accused him of building on his exaggerated image, Zombie argues that he's simply being true to himself. "I try never to portray myself as something that isn't me. Onstage it's kind of a hyped up version of myself because I'm trying to reach the guy on the lawn but I am trying to keep it real because it's hard to live some lie." Zombie continues to remain a formidable spook in the haunted house of heavy metal.

Selected discography

With White Zombie

Soul Crusher, Caroline, 1987.

Make Them Die Slowly, Caroline, 1988.

God of Thunder (EP), Caroline, 1989.

La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Vol. 1, Geffen, 1992.

Astro Creep 2000: Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head, Geffen, 1995.

Super Sexy Swingin' Sounds (remix), Geffen, 1996.

Solo

Hellbilly Deluxe: 13 Tales of Cadaverous Cavorting Inside the Spookshow International, Geffen, 1998.

American Made Music to Strip By, Interscope, 1999.

Sinister Urge, Universal, 2001.

Past, Present, and Future (compilation), Geffen, 2003.

Sources

Periodicals

Blender, January/February 2002.

Chicago Sun Times, December 8, 2001.

Circus Magazine, March 26, 2002.

Citi-Link, November 21, 2001.

College Times, April 9-15, 2003.

Daily Variety, March 20, 2002; May 8, 2003; December 9, 2003.

Entertainment Weekly, March 14, 2003; April 4, 2003.

Guardian (London), September 19, 2003.

Guitar World, January 2002.

Hit Parader, January 2002.

Hollywood Reporter, May 8, 2003; October 10, 2003.

Los Angeles Times, March 21, 2002.

Meltdown, October/December 2001.

Metal Edge, February 2002.

Request, October/December 2001.

Rolling Stone, December 12, 2001; November 27, 2003.

Record, December 21, 2001.

Transworld Stance, May 2002.

Online

"Movies Put the R back in Horror," Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com/ (July 14, 2003).

"Rob Zombie to Write Comic about Bigfoot, Sinister Metal Band," MTV, http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1481061/20031211/zombie_rob.jhtml?headlines=true (December 12, 2003).

"Rob Zombie's New Creep Show," RollingStone.com, http://www.rollingstone.com/news/newsarticle.asp?nid=19077 (December 12, 2003).

"Rob Zombie's 'Spookshow' 1 & 2 Sells Out, Series Goes Monthly," Comic Book Resources, http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/printthis.cgi?id=3069 (December 19, 2003).

"Six Debuts Rocket to Top of the Charts," New York Daily News, http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story.122621p-110192c.html (October 2, 2003).

"Un-Dead Head," New York Post, http://newyorkpost.com/entertainment/56683.htm (April 19, 2003).

Additional information was obtained from materials provided by Deborah Radel Public Relations and Geffen Records, 2004.

—Nicole Elyse

Contemporary Musicians Elyse, Nicole

Zombie, Rob 1965(?)– (Robert Cummings, Rob Starker)

views updated May 23 2018

Zombie, Rob 1965(?)- (Robert Cummings, Rob Starker)

PERSONAL

Original name, Robert Bartleh Cummings; born January 12, 1965 (some sources cite 1966), in Haverhill, MA; son of Robert Cummings, Sr. (a furniture maker); mother, a saleswoman; brother of Michael David "Spider" Cummings (a singer); married Sheri Moon (an actress), October 31, 2002. Education: Attended Parsons School of Design. Avocational Interests: Collecting classic movie posters.

Addresses:

Manager—Andy Gould, Spectacle Entertainment Group, 8484 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 425, Beverly Hills, CA 90211. Publicist—I/D Public Relations, 8409 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069.

Career:

Musician, vocalist, songwriter and composer, producer, director, and illustrator. Powerman 5000 (metal band), former manager; White Zombie, band leader (originally under the name Rob Starker), 1985-98; solo performer and recording artist, 1998—. Zombie a Go Go (record label), founder, 1998, and owner; Universal Studios, maze designer for Halloween Horrors Night, 1999, 2000; Creek Entertainment International, principal. Designer of cover art for most of his albums and illustrator of pamphlets to accompany his compact discs; creator of the comic book lines Rob Zombie's Spook Show International and The Adventures of El Superbeasto. CBS-TV, production assistant for Pee Wee's Playhouse, c. 1986-91.

Awards, Honors:

International Fantasy Film Award nomination, best film, Fantasporto, 2004, for House of 1000 Corpses; Chainsaw Award, scariest killer movie, Fangoria Chainsaw Awards, 2006, for The Devil's Rejects; Grammy Awards from National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences include Grammy Award nomination for the songs "Thunder Kiss '65," "The Hands of Death," "I'm Your Boogieman," "More Human than Human," and "Superbeast;" triple platinum certification from Recording Industry Association of America, for the album Astro-Creep 2000: Songs of Love, Destruction, and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head.

CREDITS

Film Appearances:

(As Robert Cummings; with White Zombie) Airheads, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1994.

We Sold Our Souls for Rock 'n Roll (documentary), Divine Pictures, 2001.

End of the Century (documentary; also known as End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones), Magnolia Pictures, 2004.

Mayor of the Sunset Strip (documentary), First Look International, 2004.

Metal: A Headbanger's Journey (documentary), Seville Pictures, 2005.

Voice of Dr. Karl, Slither, Universal, 2006.

Interviewee, Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (documentary), ThinkFilm, 2006.

Too Tough to Die: A Tribute to Johnny Ramone (documentary), Rhino Entertainment, 2007.

Heckler (documentary), Jizzy Entertainment, 2007.

The Secret World of Superfans (documentary), Sam Okun Productions, 2007.

Film Work; Music Performer:

"The Great American Nightmare," Private Parts (also known as Howard Stern's "Private Parts"), Paramount, 1997.

"Spook Show Baby," Urban Legend (also known as Mixed Culture), TriStar, 1998.

Title song and "Living Dead Girl," Bride of Chucky, MCA/Universal, 1998.

"Living Dead Girl," Psycho, Universal, 1998.

"Dragula (Hot Rod Herman Mix)," The Matrix, Warner Bros., 1999.

"Dragula," Idle Hands, Columbia, 1999.

"Superbeast," End of Days, MCA/Universal, 1999.

"Scum of the Earth," Mission: Impossible II (also known as M:I-2), Paramount, 2000.

"Living Dead Girl," Attraction, Trimark Pictures, 2000.

"Dragula," Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (also known as Book of Shadows: Blair Witch Project 2, BW2, and BWP2), Artisan Entertainment/Lions Gate Films, 2000.

"Return of the Phantom Stranger," Wings of the Crow, 2000.

"Dragula" and "How to Make a Monster," The Watcher, Universal, 2000.

"Living Dead Girl," Mrs. Death 3 (also known as Eyes of Terror: Mrs. Death III), 2001.

"Superbeast," Valentine, Warner Bros., 2001.

"Feels So Numb" and "Never Gonna Stop," Rollerball, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 2002.

"Bring Her Down (to Crippletown)," Dark World: Duel of the Assassins (also known as Dark World), Dark Night Films, 2003.

"The Man Without Fear," Daredevil (also known as Daredevil: A Daring New Vision), Twentieth Century-Fox, 2003.

Multiple songs, House of 1000 Corpses, Lions Gate Films, 2003.

"Reload," The Matrix Reloaded (also released as The Matrix Reloaded: The IMAX Experience), Warner Bros., 2003.

"Two Lane Blacktop," Venom, Dimension Films, 2005.

Film Work; Other:

Designer and animator of hallucination sequence, Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, Paramount, 1996.

Director, House of 1000 Corpses, Lions Gate Films, 2003.

Producer and director, The Devil's Rejects (also known as TDR—The Devil's Rejects), Lions Gate Films, 2004.

Executive producer, The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (animated), Anchor Bay Entertainment, 2005.

Director of fake trailer segment "Werewolf Women of the S.S." Grindhouse (contains Quentin Tarantino's "Death Proof" and Robert Rodriguez's "Planet Terror "), Weinstein Co., 2007.

Producer, director, and music supervisor, Halloween, Dimension Films/Weinstein Co., 2007.

Television Appearances; Series:

Headbangers Ball (also known as MTV Headbangers Ball), MTV, multiple appearances, 2003.

Host, TCM Underground, 2006.

Television Appearances; Miniseries:

100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock, VH1, 2000.

I Love the '70s, VH1, 2003.

I Love the '80s Strikes Back, VH1, 2003.

The 100 Scariest Movie Moments, Bravo, 2004.

Heavy: The Story of Metal, VH1, 2005.

I Love the '70s: Volume 2, VH1, 2006.

30 Even Scarier Movie Moments, Bravo, 2006.

Television Appearances; Specials:

A Fistful of Alice, 1997.

Host, MTV Sports & Music Festival 2, MTV, 1998.

MTV20: Live and Almost Legal, MTV, 2001.

MTV Icon: Metallica, MTV, 2003.

The Osbourne Family Christmas Special, MTV, 2003.

Super Secret Movie Rules: Slashers (also known as SSMR: Slashers), VH1, 2004.

Monsterama: Basil Gogos, 2004.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

"Piledriver," Space Ghost Coast to Coast (also known as SGC2C), Cartoon Network, 1997.

"Alice Cooper," Behind the Music (also known as VH1's "Behind the Music"), VH1, 2999.

WWF Raw Is War (also known as Raw Is War, WWE Raw, and WWF Raw), The National Network, 2001.

WWF Smackdown! (also known as Smackdown!, Smackdown Xtreme, World Wrestling Federation Smackdown!, and WWE Smackdown!), UPN, 2002.

Voice of Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard, "Law of the Jungle," Spider-Man (animated; also known as Spider-Man: The New Animated Series), MTV, 2003.

Voice of Ichthulhu, "The Terror Beyond: Part 2," Justice League (animated; also known as JL and Justice League Unlimited), Cartoon Network, 2003.

Henry's Film Corner (also known as The Henry Rollins Show), Independent Film Channel, 2005.

Himself, "Buried Alive," Criss Angel Mindfreak, Arts and Entertainment, 2005.

Himself, "The Demon Lives," Gene Simmons: Family Jewels, Arts and Entertainment, 2006.

Television Guest Appearances; Episodic:

Howard Stern, E! Entertainment Television, 1996, 1997.

The Howard Stern Radio Show, syndicated, 1998.

MTV Cribs, MTV, 2000.

The Andy Dick Show, MTV, 2001.

The New Tom Green Show, MTV, 2003.

Dinner for Five, Independent Film Channel, 2005.

Late Night with Conan O'Brien, NBC, 2005.

Last Call with Carson Daly, NBC, 2005.

Weekends at the DL, Comedy Central, 2005.

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, CBS, 2005, 2006.

Late Show with David Letterman (also known as The Late Show and Late Show Backstage), CBS, 2006.

Television Appearances; Awards Presentations:

Scream Awards 2006, Spike, 2006.

Fuse Fangoria Chainsaw Awards, Fuse, 2006.

Television Music Performer:

"Hands of Death," Secrets of the X-Files, Part 2 (special; also known as More Secrets of the X-Files), Fox, 1996.

"Living Dead Girl," Witchblade (pilot), TNT, 2000.

RECORDINGS

Albums; With White Zombie:

Gods of Voodoo Moon, 1985.

Psycho-Head Blowout, 1986.

Soul Crusher, Caroline, 1987.

Night Crawlers, Geffen, 1992.

Le Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1, Geffen, 1992.

Resurrection Day, 1993.

Astro-Creep 2000: Songs of Love, Destruction, and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head, Geffen, 1995.

Supersexy Swingin' Sounds, Geffen, 1996.

Also recorded Make Them Die Slowly, Caroline. Singles include "Pig Heaven," 1985; "Real Solution #9," Geffen, 1995; "Super-Charger Heaven," Geffen, 1995; and "The One," Lava, 1996.

Albums; Solo:

Hellbilly Deluxe: 13 Tales of Cadaverous Cavorting Inside the Spookshow International, Geffen, 1998.

American Made Music to Strip By, Geffen, 1999.

The Sinister Urge, Geffen, 2001.

Past, Present & Future, Geffen, 2003.

Greatest Hits: Par, Present & Future, Geffen, 2003.

The Best of Rob Zombie, Geffen, 2006.

Educated Horses, Geffen, 2006.

20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection, Geffen, 2006.

Several of these albums were also released in expurgated versions. Singles include "Dragula," 1998; "Living Dead Girl," 1998; and "Spookshow Baby Remix a Go Go," 1999.

Videos:

Song performer, "Living Dead Girl, XPW Hardcore Conception! (also known as Xtreme Professional Wrestling Presents: Hardcore Conception!), Extreme Associates, 1999.

Song performer, "Feel So Numb," WWF No Way Out (also known as No Way Out), 2002.

Song performer, "Never Gonna Stop," Wrestlemania X-8 (also known as Wrestlemania X-VIII and WWF Wrestlemania X-8), Koch Vision, 2002.

Himself, Fangoria: Blood Drive, Fangoria Films/Koch Vision, 2004.

Himself, 30 Days in Hell (also known as 30 Days in Hell: The Making of "The Devil's Rejects"), Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment, 2005.

Himself, Ozzfest: 10th Anniversary, Clear Channel Entertainment, 2005.

Himself, Halloween: 25 Years of Terror, Anchor Bay Entertainment, 2005.

Video Games:

Composer, Twisted Metal III, Sony Computer Entertainment America, 1998.

Song performer, multiple songs, Twisted Metal 4, Sony Computer Entertainment America, 1999.

Composer and song performer, "Dragula," Gran Turismo 2 (also known as GT2), Sony Computer Entertainment America, 1999.

Song performer, "Never Gonna Stop," WWE Smackdown! Shut Your Mouth, THQ, 2002.

Song performer, "Never Gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy)," Wrestlemania XIX, 2003.

Song performer, "Never Gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy)," WWE Raw 2: Ruthless Aggression, THQ, 2003.

Music Videos:

Thrilling Chilling World of White Zombie, Geffen, 1997.

Performer and director of his own music videos "Dragula, " 1998, "Living Dead Girl," 1998, and "Superbeast (Girl Riding on a Motorcycle Mix)," 1999; performer and director of White Zombie music videos "More Human than Human," 1995, "Electric Head, Part 2 (The Ecstasy)," 1995; "Super Charger Heaven," 1995; and "I'm Your Boogieman," 1996; also director of "Tokyo Vigilante #1" by Power man 5000, "Rude Awakening" by Prong, 1996; codirector of "Haulin' Hearse" by the Ghastly Ones, 1998.

WRITINGS

Screenplays:

(And composer and songwriter) House of 1000 Corpses, Lions Gate Films, 2003.

(And composer) The Devil's Rejects (also known as TDR—The Devil's Rejects), Lions Gate Films, 2004.

Fake trailer segment "Werewolf Women of the S.S.", Grindhouse (contains Quentin Tarantino's "Death Proof" and Robert Rodriguez's "Planet Terror"), Weinstein Co., 2007.

Halloween, Dimension Films/Weinstein Co., 2007.