Sunday, July 3, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
GENE COLAN
I was very sad to hear that comic legend Gene Colan has died at the age of 84. Gene was always in my opinion one of the greatest artist to ever work in comics. His art for Daredevil, Tomb Of Dracula and Howard The Duck alone is insane. Gene was a nice guy and cool enough to do art for my first album HELLBILLY DELUXE.
In the early 90's Gene did the art for a White Zombie comic featuring both Drac and Howard, but unfortunately the book was never published for some reason.
Below are a few pages of the amazing art he did for me.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
A ROOM WITH A VIEW
This is what I see when I look out the window of my room in Nurburgring. Across that street 85,000 rock fans await.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
FIRST TOUR
Man, that first Hellbilly tour was insane. If you missed it back in 1998 here isa taste of the shit that went down.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
ZOMBIE INTERVIEW
Rob Zombie Talks "The Lords of Salem", Woolite Commercial, and Next "Dark, Crazy" Record
Rob Zombie really can do it all.
He's one of the most versatile artists in history seguing from making music to making movies seamlessly and always creating unique, unforgettable, and undeniable art no matter the medium. Right now, Zombie's busier than ever.
He's gearing up for what's bound to be a legendary tour with Slayer aptly titled "Hell On Earth", he just wrapped up a commercial for Woolite, he's contemplating new music, and he's about to get started on his next feature, The Lords of Salem. Even though he's beyond busy, he preserves that palpable passion for every nuance and detail that made White Zombie records like Astro-Creep: 2000 - Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head classics. Zombie approaches each work with a pure enthusiasm that's infectious when he speaks and even more infectious when the finished product is ready…
In between all of this, Rob Zombie sat down for an exclusive interview with ARTISTdirect.com editor and Dolor author Rick Florino about the commercial, touring with Slayer, The Lords of Salem, and what he keeps learning along the way.
Did you get to apply a lot of your personal storytelling techniques to the Woolite commercial? You have to tell a story in about 30 seconds so it's not that different from what you normally do.
Somewhat! It was an interesting situation to handle. It was just one of those projects that came to me. I wasn't searching out shooting a commercial. A lot of directors do commercials, but most of the time they don't talk about it so you don't realize it. I just thought it was cool so I'd been mentioning it. I was on tour in Australia when it came up. I got a call that this ad agency had pitched this crazy idea to Woolite, and they wanted me to direct it. They essentially wanted a commercial that the first half resembled a horror movie trailer. They needed something along those lines, and they thought I could handle it. It was fun. We shot it over two days in Vancouver. My director of photography who worked on Halloween II came in and worked with me. I like doing things like that for the experience. It was like when I did CSI, I wanted the experience of doing a television show. You just want to have it under your belt. Also, the more direct gigs I can get between films, I always learn something from everything.
You can take everything you learn and infuse it into the next feature as well.
Yeah, there's always something because every situation calls for a different set of techniques, and it's just a good experience. Experience is the one thing that you always want to be gathering. I don't know how this is useful, but it will be at some point someday.
Your career is a testament to that. Each art form you immerse yourself in will inform the next.
Exactly! It's always good to shake it up and step outside of what you would normally do because it forces you to think about things a different way. If you're always doing the same thing, you fall into a big rut. Whenever these opportunities come up, I'm intrigued. With this commercial in particular, I was more interested in shooting the moments that weren't supposed to be dark and scary because that's a different type of challenge for me. It's something that I wanted people to see. Sometimes, people pigeonhole you. They think, "We didn't call him for that because he doesn't do that." It's nice when you have more diverse things on your resume so to speak.
Where there any commercials you remember being inspired by as a kid?
I'm sure there was stuff, but it's all sort of a blur. Some commercials are absolutely horrible, but some are absolutely brilliant. Like you said, you have to tell a story in about 30 seconds. That's how long this spot was. Some are really funny and cool. There was that famous commercial during this past Super Bowl with the little kid as Darth Vader. It was a great commercial. You're selling a product, but it's cool when it can be done in a skillful, artful way that's actually entertaining as opposed to being just crass like so many commercials are. When they come on, you just groan.
A commercial is even shorter than a song so the narrative is genuinely compact.
If you break it down, we probably told the whole story in a matter of 15 shots or something like that.
Where are you at on The Lords of Salem?
We're in early pre-production. It's a very effects-heavy movie so the effects department had to start much earlier than they have on my other films. They've been working for a month or so now, building and working on things. Once I finish the tour with Slayer, then we'll go into full-blown pre-production with everything. The difference with film as opposed to the other films I've done, the producers on this are the guys who did Paranormal Activity. They have a different company and they run it a different way. I've been working on this movie for a while in different ways. Usually, you're not working at all and the studio goes, "Okay, green light! We need it done by this time" and you're in complete madness. Whereas this time, I've already location-scouted many times so I have a lot of locations. It's a more drawn out process which is good because you get to dig deeper into the project. From the moment Halloween II started to when it was in theaters, it was a period of about seven months. That's complete madness. You're just racing like maniac every single day to get it done. It's nice to have a little more time to reflect on what you're trying to accomplish. We'll start shooting at the end of the summer.
Are you going back to Massachusetts to shoot?
For some of it probably.
Salem has so much history that has never been really explored in a movie.
And it's a very unique-looking town when it comes to the architecture of the buildings and the streets. I had kind of forgotten. I hadn't been there since I was a kid, and I went back there recently to do some scouting. I forgot how interesting the houses and the buildings were. It's very cinematic. It's a great back backdrop for something like this.
Is the film deeply connected to your song "The Lords of Salem"?
Not really, the film idea actually came first. I had the idea for the movie a long time ago. I started writing the script and, at one point, I was possibly going to do it as a comic. I just get ideas, and I'm never really sure how they're going to manifest themselves eventually. I shelved that for a while, but I still liked the title. Then, it became a song. The song is actually sort of about the Salem Witch Trials. In the last year or so, it popped back up. I found the script, and I thought, "This is pretty cool" so I went ahead with trying to get it made.
You and Slayer do very different things, but you speak to the same audience.
I think it's a good match because it's not unlike the tour with Alice Cooper where both acts are very different, but there's a certain sensibility that crosses over in both audiences. Rather than two full sets of being pounded over the head with the same type of thing, musically we're so different and we complement each other well. It feels like it's going to be a really great tour.
Have you begun working on any new music yet?
I was actually talking about it with John 5 the other day for a long time. We're very excited to get back to it. I feel like it's been a journey back. It's like the long way around. Educated Horses was sort of this weird reformation of the band. Hellbilly Deluxe 2 was edging back to the old days. Now, with the new band, we really want to take it back to the beginning in a weird way—just a dark, crazy Zombie record. It's almost exactly like what I think people would want us to do.
—Rick Florino
Rob Zombie really can do it all.
He's one of the most versatile artists in history seguing from making music to making movies seamlessly and always creating unique, unforgettable, and undeniable art no matter the medium. Right now, Zombie's busier than ever.
He's gearing up for what's bound to be a legendary tour with Slayer aptly titled "Hell On Earth", he just wrapped up a commercial for Woolite, he's contemplating new music, and he's about to get started on his next feature, The Lords of Salem. Even though he's beyond busy, he preserves that palpable passion for every nuance and detail that made White Zombie records like Astro-Creep: 2000 - Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head classics. Zombie approaches each work with a pure enthusiasm that's infectious when he speaks and even more infectious when the finished product is ready…
In between all of this, Rob Zombie sat down for an exclusive interview with ARTISTdirect.com editor and Dolor author Rick Florino about the commercial, touring with Slayer, The Lords of Salem, and what he keeps learning along the way.
Did you get to apply a lot of your personal storytelling techniques to the Woolite commercial? You have to tell a story in about 30 seconds so it's not that different from what you normally do.
Somewhat! It was an interesting situation to handle. It was just one of those projects that came to me. I wasn't searching out shooting a commercial. A lot of directors do commercials, but most of the time they don't talk about it so you don't realize it. I just thought it was cool so I'd been mentioning it. I was on tour in Australia when it came up. I got a call that this ad agency had pitched this crazy idea to Woolite, and they wanted me to direct it. They essentially wanted a commercial that the first half resembled a horror movie trailer. They needed something along those lines, and they thought I could handle it. It was fun. We shot it over two days in Vancouver. My director of photography who worked on Halloween II came in and worked with me. I like doing things like that for the experience. It was like when I did CSI, I wanted the experience of doing a television show. You just want to have it under your belt. Also, the more direct gigs I can get between films, I always learn something from everything.
You can take everything you learn and infuse it into the next feature as well.
Yeah, there's always something because every situation calls for a different set of techniques, and it's just a good experience. Experience is the one thing that you always want to be gathering. I don't know how this is useful, but it will be at some point someday.
Your career is a testament to that. Each art form you immerse yourself in will inform the next.
Exactly! It's always good to shake it up and step outside of what you would normally do because it forces you to think about things a different way. If you're always doing the same thing, you fall into a big rut. Whenever these opportunities come up, I'm intrigued. With this commercial in particular, I was more interested in shooting the moments that weren't supposed to be dark and scary because that's a different type of challenge for me. It's something that I wanted people to see. Sometimes, people pigeonhole you. They think, "We didn't call him for that because he doesn't do that." It's nice when you have more diverse things on your resume so to speak.
Where there any commercials you remember being inspired by as a kid?
I'm sure there was stuff, but it's all sort of a blur. Some commercials are absolutely horrible, but some are absolutely brilliant. Like you said, you have to tell a story in about 30 seconds. That's how long this spot was. Some are really funny and cool. There was that famous commercial during this past Super Bowl with the little kid as Darth Vader. It was a great commercial. You're selling a product, but it's cool when it can be done in a skillful, artful way that's actually entertaining as opposed to being just crass like so many commercials are. When they come on, you just groan.
A commercial is even shorter than a song so the narrative is genuinely compact.
If you break it down, we probably told the whole story in a matter of 15 shots or something like that.
Where are you at on The Lords of Salem?
We're in early pre-production. It's a very effects-heavy movie so the effects department had to start much earlier than they have on my other films. They've been working for a month or so now, building and working on things. Once I finish the tour with Slayer, then we'll go into full-blown pre-production with everything. The difference with film as opposed to the other films I've done, the producers on this are the guys who did Paranormal Activity. They have a different company and they run it a different way. I've been working on this movie for a while in different ways. Usually, you're not working at all and the studio goes, "Okay, green light! We need it done by this time" and you're in complete madness. Whereas this time, I've already location-scouted many times so I have a lot of locations. It's a more drawn out process which is good because you get to dig deeper into the project. From the moment Halloween II started to when it was in theaters, it was a period of about seven months. That's complete madness. You're just racing like maniac every single day to get it done. It's nice to have a little more time to reflect on what you're trying to accomplish. We'll start shooting at the end of the summer.
Are you going back to Massachusetts to shoot?
For some of it probably.
Salem has so much history that has never been really explored in a movie.
And it's a very unique-looking town when it comes to the architecture of the buildings and the streets. I had kind of forgotten. I hadn't been there since I was a kid, and I went back there recently to do some scouting. I forgot how interesting the houses and the buildings were. It's very cinematic. It's a great back backdrop for something like this.
Is the film deeply connected to your song "The Lords of Salem"?
Not really, the film idea actually came first. I had the idea for the movie a long time ago. I started writing the script and, at one point, I was possibly going to do it as a comic. I just get ideas, and I'm never really sure how they're going to manifest themselves eventually. I shelved that for a while, but I still liked the title. Then, it became a song. The song is actually sort of about the Salem Witch Trials. In the last year or so, it popped back up. I found the script, and I thought, "This is pretty cool" so I went ahead with trying to get it made.
You and Slayer do very different things, but you speak to the same audience.
I think it's a good match because it's not unlike the tour with Alice Cooper where both acts are very different, but there's a certain sensibility that crosses over in both audiences. Rather than two full sets of being pounded over the head with the same type of thing, musically we're so different and we complement each other well. It feels like it's going to be a really great tour.
Have you begun working on any new music yet?
I was actually talking about it with John 5 the other day for a long time. We're very excited to get back to it. I feel like it's been a journey back. It's like the long way around. Educated Horses was sort of this weird reformation of the band. Hellbilly Deluxe 2 was edging back to the old days. Now, with the new band, we really want to take it back to the beginning in a weird way—just a dark, crazy Zombie record. It's almost exactly like what I think people would want us to do.
—Rick Florino
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
AVENGE OF THE ZOMBIES
I found this pic from back in 2007 (I think) of RZ & SMZ hanging with Avenge Sevenfold. Good dudes.
Monday, April 11, 2011
TIME FLIES
Well, it was 16 years ago today that White Zombie released their final album. The record hit #6 on the Billboard charts and went triple platinum.
I think this might have been the last photo the band took together.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
GET READY DOWNLOAD!
This is going to be without a doubt the biggest Zombie stage show I have ever done... ever. This is one you do not want to miss!
Monday, March 28, 2011
ROLLING STONE PIC
Old pic from 1995 from a White Zombie photo shoot for Rolling Stone.Sixteen years ago, wow.
EUGENE CAN SING!
Well, I did a little digging an uncovered a song recorded by our pal Eugene. I guess back in 93 kid was shopping his demo around town for a top producer. For your pleasure Eugene's letter.
Dear Producers at XXXXXXXX
Here is my self-produced “Demo” album that I promised you. As I explained in my previous letter, these songs are in the rough state and I placed guitar riffs and a baseline in where they should be placed…etc. I feel with your musical expertise we could turn this into “Gold”! These songs flowed out of me and I have a whole catalogue of similar songs from “the Broken Heart”. I think this can be an unusual concept album that a whole market (in multiple demos) can relate to, I mean who hasn’t been there before?
Again I really feel that this is a diamond in the rough and if properly re-mastered and fine-tuned it could be lucrative for all parties. We don’t necessarily have to use my voice but I am open to receiving professional training.
I look forward to meeting with you in the near future. Rock on.
Singer/Songwriter
Eugene S. Van Dekak
THIS SONG IS AMAZING!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
HELL ON EARTH !!!!!!!!
SLAYER AND ROB ZOMBIE TO BRING HELL ON EARTH TO NORTH AMERICA
The Two Metal Icons Will Together for the First Time in More than a Decade
LOS ANGELES, CA - MONDAY, March 28, 2011 -- Get ready for hell on earth, because for the first time since they tour together on Ozzfest 1999, Rob Zombie and Slayer are teaming up to hit the road, bringing a glorious purgatory to fans in 12 North American cities. The co-headline trek kicks off Wednesday, July 20 at the Sovereign Center in Reading, PA. Tickets go on sale this Friday, April 1 at 10:00AM local time. Tickets for all shows are available at the venues' box office, and via the online outlets as listed below.
"We haven't toured with Zombie since Ozzfest 1999, so you can expect no less than 'hell on earth,'" said Slayer's Kerry King. "Total sonic annihilation and a visual bludgeoning. Bring your own body bag..."
"Total destruction on stage and off is what this combination promises," states Zombie, "Seriously, how much more Hell could you ask for? The answer is none more Hell."
Both Zombie and Slayer will present their full headline sets at every show, and both bands will close shows over the course of the tour. San Francisco's thrash-metal band Exodus has been confirmed to open all shows.
Slayer has been performing its classic 1990 Seasons In the Abyss album in its entirety over the past several months, but will instead draw from its entire 30-year catalogue for this tour's setlist.
Never one to play it safe, Zombie will be bringing his legendary stage show out in full force. Audiences can expect an exploding non-stop barrage of sin, sex and Satan guaranteed to rip your face off. This a true rock and roll spectacle at its finest.
Rob Zombie: With more than 15 million albums sold, seven Grammy nominations, the helming of five major motion pictures (including the #1 record-breaking Halloween) and dozens of music videos under his belt, Zombie is truly a force to be reckoned with in today's entertainment landscape. For over 25 years his unique meld of horror and hard rock has influenced his sound as a musician, and more recently, his vision as a director and writer. After the tour, Zombie will be starting production on his sixth feature film, The Lords of Salem, with the producers of the Paranormal Activity franchise.
Slayer: The Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot wrote that the four-time-nominated, two-time Grammy winning Slayer is "one of the great American rock bands of the last 30 years, forget about genre." Indeed, few bands come close to matching the intensity that Slayer brings to its live shows, having been named "Best Live Band" by numerous media outlets including Revolver, SPIN, and Metal Hammer. With songs that mirror the turmoil and aberrations of our society - God's terrifying global genocide, the chaos of our broken political system, chemical warfare, the hideous minds of serial killers, and the way-too-close proximity of world horrors that technology has brought us, Slayer remains crushing and brutal, steadfastly refusing to cater to the Mainstream.
Dates for the Slayer and Rob Zombie tour are as follows:
JULY
20 Sovereign Center, Reading, PA - ticketmaster.com and all Ticketmaster locations
22 DTE Amphitheatre, Detroit, MI - ticketmaster.com and all Ticketmaster locations
23 Stage AE, Pittsburgh, PA - ticketmaster.com and all Ticketmaster locations
24 Heavy T.O. at Downsview Park, Toronto, ON Canada - ticketmaster.ca and all Ticketmaster locations
27 MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MB Canada - ticketmaster.ca and all Ticketmaster locations
29 Credit Union Centre, Saskatoon, SK Canada - ticketmaster.ca and all Ticketmaster locations
30 Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, AB Canada - ticketmaster.ca and all Ticketmaster locations
31 Rexall Place, Edmonton, AB Canada - ticketmaster.ca and all Ticketmaster locations
AUGUST
2 Save-On-Foods Memorial Center, Victoria, BC Canada - SelectYourTickets.com
3 Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC Canada - ticketmaster.ca and all Ticketmaster locations
5 Rose Quarter Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR - ComcastTix.com
6 WaMu Theatre, Seattle, WA - ticketmaster.com and all Ticketmaster locations
Friday, March 25, 2011
FEEL THE VOODOO!
Hey kids! Fun for the whole family! This is not a joke. Okay, it's kind of a joke but it is real.
Available at The Official Zombie store.
Available at The Official Zombie store.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
ROCKING OUT SOMEWHERE
Found this pic on my computer. I have no idea where we are but I'm pretty sure it is from 2009.Can you find yourself?
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
WHO'S NEXT?
Fuck it sure is tough holding a band together. And again I ask who's next? Any drummers out there looking for a gig? Are you the next zombie?
Monday, March 21, 2011
LIVE VIDEOS THROUGH THE YEARS
WHITE ZOMBIE 1988
WHITE ZOMBIE 1995
ROB ZOMBIE 1999
ROB ZOMBIE 2006
ROB ZOMBIE 2010
WHITE ZOMBIE 1995
ROB ZOMBIE 1999
ROB ZOMBIE 2006
ROB ZOMBIE 2010
Saturday, March 19, 2011
DUDE, SIGN ME!
"sign my arm so I can get a tattoo". I hear this all the time. Here are few folks who actually went and did it. Rock on!
Friday, March 18, 2011
TONIGHT ON FUSE
Zombie and The Coop on Hoppus on music tonight on FUSE.
Straight from the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame after party and into the FUSE studio. Yep, I was brain dead.
Straight from the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame after party and into the FUSE studio. Yep, I was brain dead.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Hall Of Fame
The original Alice Cooper band - Michael Bruce, Alice Cooper Dennis Dunaway, Neil Smith and RZ.
After the show.
Rocking School's Out with The Coop.
After the show.
Rocking School's Out with The Coop.
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