Rob Zombie Interview

Rob Zombie discusses the idea of a White Zombie reunion, his solo music career and what effect the graphic violence in his music and films might have on audiences.

Stephanie Ng Wan: Hi, my name is Stephanie and welcome to watchmojo.com. Today, we’re speaking with Rob Zombie about his latest album, Hellbilly Deluxe 2 and the evolution of his music throughout the years. How would you say Hellbilly Deluxe 2 is a companion to your solo debut Hellbilly Deluxe? Rob Zombie: I think it's a companion mostly in vibe and attitude. You know Hellbilly Deluxe the first one, the first record I made after leaving White Zombie, and it was a really great experience and really a free experience. I can do whatever I wanted 100%. It was just a really good feeling about it, and this one have the same vibe. I didn’t actually call it Hellbilly Deluxe 2, until we’re done recording, because I didn’t want just put the title on there, just for the hell of it. I want to make sure it actually seen like it did, in some weird way it did. Stephanie Ng Wan: Would you consider yourself now a band? Like you're no longer solo artist? Rob Zombie: Once I left White Zombie, I was oh…and then I try to get a band together and it kept falling apart because—you know, keeping musicians together is incredibly difficult after awhile, I don’t know what year it was, maybe 202 or so, we’re on the sinister urge towards the band started falling apart again. And I really started losing interest in music, every time you thought something was together, they fall apart. And that’s when I really started really focusing on movies, because it just became annoying after awhile, you know the concert, I mean, trying to find new people. It was really difficult to find people, first to work with and the main thing is to tour with, because you're living with these people, you know 24/7, and it's been only now in the past few years that I've had a solid bunch of people that every time I say there’s somebody quits, but it feels like solid. Stephanie Ng Wan: You said in an interview about White Zombie reuniting basically, you wouldn’t think it would happen, because you didn’t want friends to think it would be the beginning of anything, could you elaborate more on that? Rob Zombie: Well, I mean there's sometimes things just end and that the way it is and it will never reunite because there's no purpose for it. The band broke apart because the people didn’t really get along and they really still don’t. I think it wouldn’t be good anyway. I mean, I'm not really big on going backwards. They only want to put the box set together, so that people would stop asking me about it, not because I was – want to go on some trip down to memory lane, you know. Stephanie Ng Wan: What do you say to the people who say that your movies or your lyrics are too violent, too graphic and they can negatively influence other people? Rob Zombie: So stupid, I don’t even have an opinion, or anything to say. With everything that goes on in the world, I don’t think my movies or my lyrics have any bearing on anything. Maybe the fact that the economy sucks, everybody owns a gun, there are war everywhere, its detrimental. We used to joke, I use to talk to Alice Cooper once about that and we always joke about that, I don’t think the prisons are filled people who are influenced by our White Zombie record.