Music

Rob Zombie on AUX TV's HARD

by Theo Kapodistrias

Horror rocker / film director Rob Zombie has been hitting the road hard promoting his much anticipated companion piece to his first solo attempt entitled Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls and the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool. HARD had the privilege of talking to Mr. Zombie about the new record, how film making has changed his perspective on making music, and the longevity of his career.

“I don’t like records where every song sounds the same, even production-wise,” stated Rob Zombie when asked about the recording process of his latest album. “We try to make every song very different. Some songs have a 100 piece orchestra and they were very lavish and we went to a big studio and we did this whole big thing and some songs were literally the four of us in tiny little room playing; so that way every song kind of feels like its own little thing.” Hellbilly Deluxe 2 debuted at # 8 on the Billboard top 200 chart and # 1 on the Hard Music chart.

Rob Zombie is also known for his unique style of film making. His latest endeavor was a sequel to his 2007 remake of Halloween. HARD asked Rob Zombie if film making has had an affect on how he views music. “Working on movies has changed my perspective on records in the sense that it now seems incredibly easy [to make records]. I remember before I made movies I hated making records. It seemed like a drag. But now making records just seems so easy.

“Working on records is pretty easy because it is small,” Rob Zombie continued. “It is me, the band and an engineer. There are five people involved in the whole process all the way through. The label never gets involved; they don’t have an opinion. We finish the record, we hand it to them, and that’s the end of that. And touring is like being on vacation for me. What other job allows you and a bunch of other guys to go out and do whatever you want all day long? The show is the only thing that really matters—the rest of the time we’re pretty free. But making movies is very different. It is a very long process. Sometimes it can take years and years, day after day of very meticulous work. And there are so many people involved. There is just so much nonsense you have to wade through all the time whereas with a record it is very easy to keep your vision intact. With a movie that’s the biggest challenge, just keeping your vision of what you’re trying to accomplish intact and not having someone come in and ruin it.”

Staying true to his vision is a quality to which Rob Zombie attributes his success and his musical endurance. “The longevity I’ve had is just due to just being honest about what [I am] doing. I really only do things that I like and that doesn’t always makes sense; it hasn’t always made sense to the label or management. There’s always ways you can do things that would seem more palatable to an audience—but to me that just seems phony. I think if you stick to what you do and you are true about it, it usually lasts.” Rob continued to talk about his survival through an inconsistent musical landscape. “I always try to not fit into anything. I just do what I do… When you’re part of a trend, when the tend dies a lot of times you die with it.”

You can see a full video interview with Rob Zombie on Wednesday at 10pm on AUX’s Hard. You can also pick up Hellbilly Deluxe 2 in stores now and look for Rob Zombie on the Mayhem Festival Tour in the summer.