Rob Zombie denies being a control freak – but says there's only one colleague he'll trust with everything.
And he’s compared his current situation of being seen as a unique creative force to a time when even his bandmates didn’t think it was worth putting in as much effort as he did.
Zombie tells Music Radar: “There’s really no one I can delegate to. These are artistic pursuits; either you’ll do it or you’ll not do it.
“The type of thing I delegate is saying to John 5 – because I trust John with everything – ‘Get the band together. You guys rehearse for a week before I get to town and then I’ll come in and play.’
“That’s about as much as you can do. Even if the merchandise company goes, ‘We have 20 new shirt designs,’ I’ll look at them and go, ‘None of these seem like they came from me.’ So I’ll do it myself.
“That’s not being a control freak; that’s just maintaining a level your fans expect of you. If the design was awesome I’d go, ‘Great, that saves me from doing it!’”
With a successful career as movie and TV director alongside his musical achievements, the former White Zombie frontman is seen as something of a creative mastermind. But there was a time when even his bandmates queried whether his approach was worth the effort.
He recalls: “I don’t want to name names, but there were certain members who didn’t want to do what we were doing. They’d say, ‘What are my friends going to think?’ It was like, ‘Who gives a shit? They’re going to think you’re a fucking rock star!’
“And I don’t mean ‘rock star’ like some pompous douchebag. I mean get on stage – it doesn’t matter if you’re Dave Lee Roth or Henry Rollins. Give me something!”
Rob Zombie plays this year’s Download festival on June 13. Meanwhile, guitarist John 5 is set to release a solo album entitled Careful With That Axe in the coming months, with a lead track called Here Is My Rifle due in July.
