Background

Robert Bartleh Cummings was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts on January 12, 1965. He is the oldest son of Robert and Louise Cummings. His younger brother, Michael David Cummings, is the lead singer of the band Powerman 5000. Growing up, Cummings had a fascination with horror films and has stated that he always "wanted to be Alice Cooper, Steven Spielberg, Bela Lugosi and Stan Lee." His parents worked in a carnival, but they chose to leave after a riot broke out and tents were set on fire. Cummings recalled the experience in an interview, stating, "Everybody's pulling out guns, and you could hear guns going off. I remember this one guy we knew, he was telling us where to go, and some guy just ran up to him and hit him in the face with a hammer – just busted his face wide open. My parents packed up real quick, and we took off."

Education

Cummings graduated from Haverhill High School in 1983. He moved to New York City and began attending Parsons School of Design.

Career

At the Parsons School of Design Rob met Sean Yseult and the two quickly became a couple. Together they formed White Zombie, taking their name from a 1932 horror film starring Bela Lugosi. Before launching his music career, Zombie took on a number of offbeat jobs. He served as an art director for a pornographic magazine and a production assistant on the children's television show Pee-Wee's Playhouse starring Paul Reubens.

White Zombie, which sounded more alternative rock than heavy metal at first, soon got its first taste of success. The band started to develop a following with its late 1980s releases Psycho-Head Blowout (1987), Soul-Crusher (1988), and Make Them Die Slowly (1989).

Signing with a major record label, Geffen, Zombie and his band hit the big time with 1992's La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1. The song "Thunder Kiss '65" helped the album become a top 30 hit the following year. But Zombie found himself under attack from evangelists for his dark, disturbing lyrics, most of which he wrote himself. He also worked on the art for the band's albums and on their music videos.

Zombie scored again with the 1995 follow-up album, Astro-Creep: 2000 - Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head, which featured the hit "More Human Than Human." Behind the scenes, he was becoming dissatisfied with the band and eventually split the group up.

Zombie explored other genres around the time he broke ties with his bandmates. He worked with Mike Judge on the 1996 animated film Beavis and Butthead Do America, providing music for the soundtrack and inspiration for a dream sequence in the film. Zombie also collaborated with one of his inspirations, rocker Alice Cooper, recording the song "Hands of Death" together.

With 1998's Hellbilly Deluxe, Zombie made his first foray as a solo artist. The album did well, but he soon sought to tackle other creative challenges. Zombie designed a Halloween maze at Universal Studios in 1999. Comic books proved to be another creative outlet for Zombie. He has authored several comic books, including 2003's Rob Zombie's Spookshow International.

Universal backed Zombie's first feature film, House of 1,000 Corpses, but they refused release it after it was completed. The studio thought that the horror film was too violent. Zombie was able to get the rights back eventually, and the movie got a theatrical release in 2001. While it was a modest success, the film's sequel, Devil's Rejects (2005), did better at the box office and with critics.

Alternating between film and music, Zombie released the well-received Educated Horses album in 2005. Two years later, he revived a horror classic. Zombie offered movie-goers his own take on the John Carpenter Halloween series, which he wrote and directed. The movie earned approximately $26 million in its opening weekend, his biggest hit to date. His sequel, Halloween II (2009), did not fare as well with audiences or critics.

It was announced in 2009 that Zombie had begun working on his fourth studio album, the follow up to his 2006 album Educated Horses. Prior to the release of the album, it was confirmed that Zombie had parted ways with longtime label Geffen Records, penning a new deal with Roadrunner Records. Zombie later claimed that Geffen had "morphed into a different label" and that being signed didn't "work for [him] anymore." The album was confirmed to be titled Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls and the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool, with Zombie describing it as a sequel to his 1998 debut as they sounded similar in both "vibe" and "attitude". Hellbilly Deluxe 2 was released on February 2, 2010. The album sold 49,000 copies in its first week of release, becoming his fourth top ten album in the United States. The album received a mixed to positive critical reception upon its release. Zombie released a special edition of the album on September 28, 2010 featuring three new songs. Zombie promoted the release through his Hellbilly Deluxe 2 World Tour, which served as his first international tour since beginning his solo career. The tour featured 150 dates, spanning over a two-year time span. Zombie released the Icon greatest hits album on October 5, 2010, through Roadrunner Records.

Zombie launched his seventh and final comic book series, Whatever Happened to Baron Von Shock?, in 2010; the series spawned four issues. Zombie had another voice-only role in the 2010 film Super, portraying God. In 2011, Zombie directed a horror-themed commercial for Woolite. Zombie announced work on the horror film The Lords of Salem in 2011. The film, whose name is derived from the Rob Zombie song of the same name, is about a coven of witches in modern-day Salem, Massachusetts. In an interview Zombie said that the film would be his cinematically biggest film and described it as "if Ken Russell directed The Shining". The Lords of Salem premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2012, with a limited theatrical release following in April 2013. The Lords of Salem became the last film of veteran actor Richard Lynch, who died in 2012.

Zombie later stated that Tyrannosaurus Rex would be his next released film after The Lords of Salem, though the project has since been put on hold for a second time. In 2012, it was confirmed that Zombie would be writing and directing a film titled The Broad Street Bullies, which would be based on the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team. The film will be Zombie's first non-horror film. He has since stated that the film was in the "research stages", and a release date is unknown. Much like Tyrannosaurus Rex, the film, along with Rock Bottom Creek, has been put on hold indefinitely. Zombie released a second remix album, titled Mondo Sex Head, on August 6, 2012. The album featured remixed material from Zombie's first four studio albums, as well as his releases with White Zombie. The album was released through Geffen Records, despite Zombie having left the label. Zombie embarked on the Twins of Evil Tour with American rock band Marilyn Manson beginning on September 28, 2012. The tour concluded following a publicized feud between the artists while on tour, with the two groups often feuding while on stage. The tour officially concluded on December 12, 2012.

Recording for Zombie's fifth studio album began in June 2012, with Zombie announcing the then-untitled project in July 2012. On the record, Zombie claimed "We just want to make a dark, heavy, weird record and stick to that idea [...] If something comes up that isn't, we won't finish it. We'll stick to the plan." Zombie parted ways with Roadrunner Records, instead releasing the album through his new record label Zodiac Swan through Universal Music Enterprises and T-Boy Records. On January 30, 2013, Zombie announced that the album was titled Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor. The album was released on April 23, 2013. Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor became Zombie's fifth consecutive studio album to debut inside the top ten of the Billboard 200, though it boasted the lowest first week sales of his career. The album has since became Zombie's lowest selling album to date.

Zombie designed and launched the Great American Nightmare haunted attraction in 2013. The attraction, based in Chicago, featured references to Zombie's films and other significant horror events in pop culture. He designed the attractions "Lords of Salem Total Black Out", "The Haunted World of El Superbeasto 3D", and "House of 1000 Corpses", which were combined with a music festival from artists in hard rock, alternative, EDM, and more in 2013. In 2014, Zombie had the voice-only role of Ravager Navigator in the superhero film Guardians of the Galaxy. He released his first video album, The Zombie Horror Picture Show, on May 19, 2014. He released his second live album, Spookshow International: Live, on February 24, 2015.

Zombie announced work on his sixth studio album as early as April 2014, having begun working on the project that January. On January 11, 2016, Zombie confirmed the title of the record to be The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser, along with the album's cover art and track listing. The album was released on April 29, 2016. Zombie described it as "seriously [their] heaviest most fucked up musical monster to date." Zombie began working on a new horror film, 31, in 2014. Zombie described the film as "old-school", and raised money for the film through crowdfunding. The film follows a group of individuals attempting to survive a night in a carnival filled with murderous clowns. Zombie has stated that he wanted to have a "very nasty, gritty, guerilla-style approach to the filmmaking" for 31, as it "fits the story and the vibe of the movie". 31 premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2016. It has been announced that Zombie signed on to direct the film Raised Eyebrows, a movie about the life of comedian and actor Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx. The film has yet to receive a release date. Zombie is set to launch his "Spookshow International" pinball machine in February 2016. The limited edition item features ten of Zombie's classic songs, as well as voice contributions from Zombie, Sheri Moon, and Sid Haig. On May 22, 2017, Zombie posted a short snippet of audio to his Instagram account of a live recording of the White Zombie song "Electric Head Part 2" stating he was in the process of mixing the Astro Creep 2000 live set from the Chicago date of the 2016 Riot Fest.

On August 1, 2017, Zombie announced on his Instagram page that he has begun working on his seventh studio album.

Works

More photos

• movie

  • Airheads VHS 1994
  • Extreme Makeover 2010
  • House of 1,000 Corpses 2003

• music

  • The Sinister Urge 2001
  • Educated Horses 2006
  • Hellbilly Deluxe 2 2010
  • Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor 2013
  • The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser 2016

Religion

Zombie generally prefers not to speak about his religious views. An exception occurred in a 2008 interview where Zombie admitted that he does not believe in an afterlife, calling the concept of Heaven "insane". He also noted that he does not believe in concepts such as unidentified flying objects, Bigfoot or extraterrestrial life and believes that "this life is all you get". An additional exception to discussing his religious background occurred in a separate interview when Zombie mentioned that at one point his mother contemplated becoming a nun.

Politics

Zombie generally refrains from sharing his political and religious beliefs with the public, explaining, "It is best to not discuss religion or politics. It always ends in broken noses...because it upsets people to question their faith in things be it Jesus or George Bush. It's easier to just get angry."

Views

Zombie's music has been noted for its use of horror and suspense elements, which is inspired by Zombie's love of horror films. Zombie's music also contains elements commonly found in heavy metal music. Zombie's music has been described as "melding metal with industrial, hypnotic rhythms and haunting sounds" and having a "complicated beat, distinctive vocals and a killer story line". Zombie's songs have also been known to feature quotes and samples from classic horror films. Numerous songs on his debut album, Hellbilly Deluxe, feature quotes from classic horror films that Zombie grew up with. Zombie has classified himself as a metal musician, and stated "It felt like hard rock and heavy metal had really been struggling you know, like top of the charts – it felt like they were being kicked to the curb for a long time. It was almost like you were doing something but you feel like nobody cares anymore so now you’re just chuggin’ along doing what you do and it’s like the world had forgotten. However, it’s felt like in the last few years that’s kind of changed and you feel it coming back."

While The Sinister Urge continues the themes of horror and suspense, it is noted as featuring more dance-oriented beats in songs such as "Never Gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy)". Zombie claimed that whereas Hellbilly Deluxe featured electronics, The Sinister Urge was recorded with a live band as to emphasize the instrumentals. With the Educated Horses album, Zombie further distanced himself from the sound of his first two albums. Zombie described the album as experimental, and explored a number of acoustic productions with John 5. Despite a shift in sound, many of the album's lyrics feature horror elements found on his prior releases. Hellbilly Deluxe 2, Zombie's fourth studio album, saw a return to the heavy metal sound of his early releases. The album was considered a direct sequel to his debut studio album, with which it shares a name. Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor continued these themes, and features "bass-heavy" beats. The record was deemed a throwback to his debut album due to similar lyrical and sonic themes.

Zombie and his wife are vegans. He has been an ethical vegetarian since 1982 after viewing slaughterhouse footage. He is a supporter of PETA and was once thanked by the organization for his realistic portrayal of the link between adolescent animal abuse and psychopathy in his remake of Halloween.

Quotations: "I think probably the scariest thing, as weird as it sounds, was ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and the flying monkeys with the witch. I remember seeing that – it still seems freaky."

"Every cool riff has already been written by Black Sabbath. You’re either playing it faster or slower or backwards, but they wrote it first."

"I really just do what I like. I don’t understand what the general public likes sometimes."

"The hardest part was convincing people that I was serious. The people were like ‘you want to do this again’?"

"I don’t do anything for the money. I don’t need to. I could have retired after White Zombie and been just fine. Money doesn’t matter. But there is still a good living to be made, even in the niche. The funny thing is, as time goes on, the niche stuff gets bigger and bigger."

"Sometimes, you just have to realize, I’m not doing stuff that is really mainstream stuff, and to try and put it out in a mainstream way is almost psychotic."

"All the classic bands that have been around forever, they came up gradually."

"Just getting movies made is difficult because it takes a lot of money; I mean, it costs more money to make one movie than most bands will spend on every single record of their entire career; it’s a huge undertaking."

"Every time I start the next movie, it’s as exciting as the first time."

"Once you feel like you’re being dictated by other people’s expectations, it usually backfires."

"When you have too many people and you’re trying to satisfy everybody’s input, you usually end up with something so incredibly generic that it has no point of view."

"The pirating thing is bad. The people it hurts the most are the ones you least think it hurts. It’s not the big Britney Spears albums that are being pirated; it’s the indie bands that don’t have two cents to their name."

“You just have to do the thing that you feel is true to your vision, and then the audience will make the decision. But as soon as you feel like you’re creating a product to just cater to what you think they want, it never works. It always feels phony. And the audience can tell immediately.”

"A lot of times the best trailers are for complete dogshit movies. It’s a shame that people are beyond quick to judge things these days. Lots of great stuff gets lost that way."

"The funny thing is, I’m so used to not caring what anyone says, good or bad, that unfortunately even when people say good things… I wish it made me feel good, but it doesn’t."

Personality

Rob Zombie enjoys his solitude and prefers to work alone. He needs time to contemplate his ideas without the intrusion of other people's thoughts. He is a lone wolf and a person who lives by his own ideas and methods. Zombie needs his space and privacy, which, when violated, can cause him great frustration and irritation.

Physical Characteristics: Since he began working with White Zombie, Zombie has been known for his long hair and beard.

Quotes from others about the person

• Music Enthusiast: "If you are a fan of Rob Zombie’s, or even if you aren’t, you can definitely recognize his style of music- that is to say, if Alice Cooper wrote songs for strip clubs. Rob Zombie albums have always had bombastic, almost danceable grooves, over the top guitar effects [...] and loads of B-movie sci-fi/horror lyrics."

Interests

• Music & Bands

  Metallica, Twisted Sister, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Queen, Elton John, Babymetal

Connections

In 2002, Zombie announced his engagement to longtime girlfriend Sheri Moon, with a wedding date set for November 9, 2002. Only ten days before the wedding date, the couple decided to elope on October 31, 2002. Moon said, "We were actually taking a walk in our neighborhood the day before. The wedding date was to be November 9th. We're like, 'Oh, God, we've been together for nine years. We should just say our vows privately'. It was just like a spur of the moment decision. It just happens that the next day was Halloween. We didn't do it for any spooky reasons or anything". Now married, Moon officially changed her name to Sheri Moon Zombie.

Father:

Robert Cummings

Mother:

Louise Cummings

Brother:

Michael David Cummings

Michael David Cummings, better known as Spider One, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and director. He is the founder and only consistent member of the rock band Powerman 5000 and the owner of Megatronic Records. He created the horror/black comedy mockumentary series Death Valley, which aired on MTV for one season in 2011.

Wife:

Sheri Moon Zombie

colleague:

Alice Cooper

Zombie collaborated with Alice Cooper on the song "Hands of Death (Burn Baby Burn)" (1996) for Songs in the Key of X: Music from and Inspired by the X-Files. The song was nominated in the category of Best Metal Performance at the 39th Annual Grammy Awards, though lost to Rage Against the Machine.

References

• Sinister Urge: The Life and Times of Rob Zombie