White Zombie

小簡介
Rob Zombie1966年1月12日出生，他出生的地方叫Haverhill，是個(gè)制鞋業(yè)發(fā)達(dá)的小城市?！澳抢餂]有什么電影院或唱片店，”Rob說：“我記得小時(shí)侯，孩子們惟一的游戲場所只有一座公墓，我們在那踢足球或打棒球。比我大的孩子就在墻上亂刻些“Black Sabbath”之類的東西，。記得有次我們得到了一張Madonna的海報(bào)，簡直高興極了，甚至為它搞了一次展覽?！蓖瑫r(shí)，看電視也成了Rob打發(fā)時(shí)間的好辦法。他回憶說：“我什么都看，從早上的新聞一直看到晚上結(jié)束。”Rob能記住一周的電視節(jié)目單，而且他吃飯睡覺上廁所等等也是根據(jù)節(jié)目單安排的。正是這種病態(tài)的習(xí)慣讓少年時(shí)的Rob Zombie精神非常混亂。“那段經(jīng)歷肯定對我產(chǎn)生了巨大影響。我記得小時(shí)候看《Willy Wonka and the Chocalate Factory》，我真的信以為真。直到長大后才意識到那些都是假的，于是我對自己說為何不弄假成真呢?！盧ob和他的兄弟Mike把電視看的非常重要，他們經(jīng)常把自己想像的怪物或場景畫出來，他們的想像力在當(dāng)?shù)厮囆g(shù)老師的鼓勵(lì)下得到了充分的發(fā)揮。而Rob Zombie的父親同樣不想扼制兒子身上的反傳統(tǒng)傾向?！案赣H總是對我們說：‘努力表現(xiàn)自己，你們是最好的!’”
少年的這段經(jīng)歷最終使Rob Zombie發(fā)展成一個(gè)極端理想主義者?！叭绻腥朔且嬖V我什么東西是好的，我會發(fā)瘋，對我來說沒有非常好的東西，”Rob回憶說：“我記得有時(shí)候經(jīng)常與別人意見不和，當(dāng)時(shí)我就對自己說：‘這事太糟糕了，我要?dú)Я怂?！’我的媽媽?jīng)常說：‘小心我把你送到精神病院里去?！蠋焺t經(jīng)常問我：‘究竟是什么原因使你痛恨一切事物？’這是我終生銘記的一句話。
1981年, Rob和兄弟Mike看了一支Hardcore樂隊(duì)的演出，他立刻對這種表現(xiàn)自我的方式產(chǎn)生了濃厚的興趣?；氐郊液笏麄兓ハ嘟o對方剪了一個(gè)奇怪的發(fā)型。四年以后，在紐約市的一所藝術(shù)學(xué)校，Rob Zombie認(rèn)識了彈貝司的女孩Sean Yselnt，音樂上的志同道合更使他們之間的關(guān)系顯得非同一般?！拔覀円恢倍枷虢M一支樂隊(duì)，因?yàn)槲覀冎g有非常相近的音樂愛好，” Sean后來說：“Rob喜歡Kiss、 Van Halen和The Misfits，而我喜歡The Cramps，我們也都喜歡Black Sabbath?！边@種想法為以后White Zombie的成立奠定了基礎(chǔ)。之后兩人開始一起探索音樂上的突破，并偶爾在灑吧演出。但他們在一起的時(shí)間并不全部是做音樂和睡覺，為了滿足經(jīng)濟(jì)上的需要，他們不得不從事一些其他工作，有段時(shí)間他們甚至在一家色情雜志做投遞員，這段經(jīng)歷對Rob以后在視覺效果方面的設(shè)計(jì)產(chǎn)生了很大影響。與此同時(shí)，Rob在音樂實(shí)驗(yàn)上的突破——噪音采樣與硬核節(jié)奏的融合加上其扭曲怪異的嗓音，逐漸吸引了許多樂迷，隨著影響的不斷擴(kuò)大，Rob又先后找到了吉他手Jay Yuenger和鼓手Ivan dePrume，并最終為自己的樂隊(duì)命名為White Zombie——一本1932年出版的暢銷恐怖小說的書名。
從此，Rob Zombie開始致力于在樂隊(duì)身上尋找自己小時(shí)侯的夢想：從專輯封套、T恤、舞臺表現(xiàn)到音樂錄影帶，這簡直讓他沉醉了?！拔覐膩聿徽J(rèn)為那是件苦差事，我熱愛自己所做的一切，”Rob強(qiáng)調(diào)說：“面對一幅完美的畫面你會有什么感覺呢？當(dāng)你的愛好變成你的職業(yè)時(shí)，就意味著再也沒有休息的時(shí)間了?！痹谝院蟮娜兆永?，樂隊(duì)獨(dú)立發(fā)行了一系列唱片：1986年的《Psycho—Head Blowout EP》、1987年的《Soul Crusher》、1989年的《Make Thom Die Slonly》和《God Of Thunder》，然而這一切都不過是樂隊(duì)邁向成功的墊腳石。
隨著樂隊(duì)在紐約演出的巨大成功，著名的Geffen公司對White Zombie產(chǎn)生了濃厚興趣并最終把它簽了下來。1992年，樂隊(duì)發(fā)表了一張引起轟動的唱片：《La Sexorcisto：Devil Music Volume I》，它得到了各種各樣的評論：批評家們認(rèn)為它是本年度最邪惡但又最引人注目的唱片；MTV家喻戶曉的動畫人物《Beavies and Buthead》認(rèn)為它“Hah hah……Cool”。《La Sexorcisto》最終賣出了200萬張，并使樂隊(duì)獲得了兩項(xiàng)葛萊美獎(jiǎng)提名。而在另一方面，宗教界把他們列入禁止范圍，井關(guān)照父母不要讓自己的孩子參加這類有“潛在危害”的演唱會。樂隊(duì)成員對此持冷淡態(tài)度，Sean笑著說：“他們難道就沒聽說過Marilyn Manson或GWAR？”為了配合這張唱片的發(fā)行，White Zombie開始巡演。在首場演唱會期間，鼓手dePume被短命的Phil Buerstatte所取代。但時(shí)隔不久，在演出即將結(jié)束時(shí)，樂隊(duì)又換上了新鼓手John Tempesta。隨后在Geffen公司的大力支持下，樂隊(duì)獲得了充分的時(shí)間和創(chuàng)作空間，他們用了7個(gè)月的時(shí)間去創(chuàng)作和錄音。所有沉悶的工作和艱苦的勞動都得到了回報(bào)：新專輯《Astro Creep 2000》以全新的面目出現(xiàn)在世人面前。它明顯不同于樂隊(duì)以前的任何一張唱片——在 Techno風(fēng)格的搖擺和瘋狂的節(jié)奏感上的完美結(jié)合，使這張唱片被視為極具創(chuàng)造力的音樂。這張唱片把White Zombie推向了輝煌的極至：在Billboard Top l0排行榜上停留了兩個(gè)月，在Top 200的停留時(shí)間則長達(dá)89周；其中的單曲《More Human Than Human》獲得了MTV的最佳硬搖滾錄影帶獎(jiǎng)，并獲得一項(xiàng)葛萊美提名。而《Rolling Stone》雜志則把White Zombie推上了最佳金屬樂隊(duì)的位置。后來Rob的老鄰居Gerard Cosloy回憶說：“Rob通?？偘阉胱龅氖略O(shè)計(jì)得盡善盡美。而White Zombie的確是一支非常有才華的樂隊(duì)，他們的思想內(nèi)涵甚至已經(jīng)超出了自己的生命，這與那些偏狹、怪異的朋克樂有天壤之別。早就有人預(yù)言Rob注定將成為美國青少年心目中的偶像?！?br />常言道：物極必反。最絢爛的光華背后往往隱藏著永恒的黯淡，White Zombie也不能例外。雖然樂隊(duì)獲得了非常巨大的商業(yè)成功，但與Rob的理想?yún)s相去甚遠(yuǎn)。“我覺得在我的面前豎起了一座高墻，我可不想僅僅因?yàn)閯e人不喜歡就把自己的得意之作束之高閣，我可不想只為了錢而出唱片，那簡直就是自甘墮落！”于是White Zombie最終以解散而告終?；蛟S在Rob的精神世界里，原本就不能讓別人駐足，他重新帶著童年的黑夢踏上了漫漫征途。在緊張工作了十個(gè)月之后，Rob Zombie于1998年8月推出了首張個(gè) 人專輯《Hellbilly Deluxe》，一張盡情展示Rob Zombie瘋狂內(nèi)心世界的唱片?！斑@是一張放縱自我的專輯，里面傾注了我極深的情感，它是一個(gè)憤怒的邪惡猛獸——徹頭徹尾的Zombie式的作品?！痹谶@張專輯中，鼓手仍是原White Zombie的鼓手John Tempesta、貝司手是Blasko”Nicholson，吉他手則找來了NIN的Danny Lohner。同時(shí)隨專輯贈送一本由Rob Zombie親自創(chuàng)作的24頁的精美小冊子?！斑@是對購買者的一種回饋，”Rob說：“我在一個(gè)注重包裝的全盛時(shí)代長大，那時(shí)的唱片通常能使我看上一個(gè)小時(shí)?，F(xiàn)在呢？你打開一個(gè)唱片的包裝卻什么也看不到。每逢此時(shí)我總有種被欺騙的感覺?！?
現(xiàn)在的Rob Zombie已經(jīng)不僅僅只涉足于搖滾樂領(lǐng)域。在White Zombie解散后，Rob就被授權(quán)為恐怖影片《The Crow》的第三部撰寫劇本并擔(dān)任導(dǎo)演，這得以使他很快從樂隊(duì)解散的沮喪中擺脫出來。要不是后來由于一時(shí)的心血來潮而便Rob重新投入到新專輯及巡演的話，這部電影只怕早已搬上屏幕了?，F(xiàn)在的Rob Zombie又開始打算在銀幕上實(shí)踐自己的構(gòu)想了，他說：“沒有人知道自己到底想要取得怎樣的成功，甚至也沒有人知道成功到底是什么，它其實(shí)就是一部誰也拍不出的完美影片?！苯衲甑摹禜ouse of 1000 Corpses》也是Rob Zombie執(zhí)導(dǎo)的，雖然故事很老舊，但美術(shù)設(shè)計(jì)和人物造型，卻有一看的價(jià)值，設(shè)計(jì)方面明顯地下過心思。無法否認(rèn)，Rob Zombie的唱片和電影，即使再賣座，肯定難登大雅之堂，而且一定會受到衛(wèi)道士們的唾棄。
For metalheads who thought bands like W.A.S.P. and M?tley Crüe just werent menacing or heavy enough, White Zombie was the perfect antidote for a period of time during the mid- to late 90s, as they fused B-horror movie visuals and subject matter with heavy music and growled vocals. And while White Zombie was originally thought to be a full-fledged band, it would later become known that the group was almost entirely the vision of their larger-than-life singer, Rob Zombie. Hence, the White Zombie story begins with good ol Rob (who was then known as Rob Cummings), shortly after he relocated from his hometown of Haverhill MA, to New York City during the early 80s. Although he had long admired such theatrical metallists as Kiss and Alice Cooper (as well as such punk outfits as the Ramones), Rob wasnt quick to form a group in the Big Apple; instead he worked as a production assistant on the TV show Pee Wees Playhouse and did art design for magazines. By 1985 however, Rob opted to pursue a career in music and united with then-girlfriend/bassist Sean Yseult and formed White Zombie (titled after the 1932 Bela Lugosi flick). First considered a New York Underground band rather than a heavy metal band (as proven by such early admirers as Thurston Moore and Kurt Cobain), the group issued several indie releases — 1985s Gods of Voodoo Moon, 1986s Pig Heaven and Psycho-Head Blowout, 1987s Soul Crusher, plus 1989s Make Them Die Slowly — even though guitarists and drummers came and went on a steady basis (a few skinsmen who occupied the slot over the years have included Ivan DePrume and John Tempesta, among others). White Zombie finally found a permanent guitarist in ex-Rights of the Accused member J. (real name — Jay Noel Yuenger), whose metallic riffs helped toughen up the bands sound even further — inching them closer to a heavy metal band more than ever before (as evidenced by the first release with J., an EP that featured a cover of Kiss God of Thunder). It was also around this time that White Zombie began incorporating industrial rock elements into their sound, which made them one of the few hard rock bands of the era that you could also dance to. Sensing that the group was about to rocket straight out of the underground scene, Geffen Records signed White Zombie and issued their major label debut, La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1, in early 1992. Although the world was going gaga over the sound of Seattle rock at the time, hard touring and support of their trashy video for Thunder Kiss 65 from MTV (via the animated comedy show Beavis and Butthead) made the album a late-blooming success, as it hit the Top 30 a year after its release. It took the group an extended period to work up a worthy follow-up to La Sexorcisto, which eventually arrived in 1995: Astro-Creep: 2000 — Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head. Spawning another big rock radio/MTV favorite with More Human Than Human, Astro-Creep: 2000 became White Zombies all-time highest charting album, peaking at number six on the U.S. Billboard charts. But the albums success couldnt hide the fact that Rob Zombie was getting fed up with the group and longed to launch a solo career of his own. So after the albums supporting tour wrapped up and a remix album was issued, 1996s Supersexy Swingin Sounds, White Zombie split up. Subsequently, Rob Zombie has gone on to issue such hit solo albums as 1998s Hellbilly Deluxe, 1999s American Made Music to Strip By, and 2001s The Sinister Urge (and even wrote and directed his own horror movie, House of 1000 Corpses), while Yseult formed the campy surf rock trio Famous Monsters, which released 1998s In the Night!!! and 1999s Around the World in 80 Bikinis.