Zombie lives for the music

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Fans of Rob Zombie should be grateful that the shock rocker was born in Haverhill, Mass., and not, say, New York City.

When asked how Robert Cummings became Rob Zombie, the musician laughingly answers: "Growing up someplace incredibly boring as a kid." He explains, "I lived my life through television. I'd see things on television, not comprehending whether things were real or not real, and think, 'That's the life I want.'"

The career of one of rock's most creative personalities may give parents a reason to let their youngsters stay up late watching TV. It certainly gave Mr. Zombie plenty of inspiration.

The singer plays Nissan Pavilion tomorrow night to promote his latest album, "Educated Horses," co-headlining with Godsmack. Mr. Zombie promises "a big show, with a lot of everything: fire, dancing girls, robots; everything's there."

In fact, he says, fans should expect the "greatest rock show they'll ever see. And if they're disappointed, Godsmack will give them their money back."

Writing, singing, directing, designing album art -- and showing a sense of humor, too. Is there any area of creative endeavor in which Mr. Zombie hasn't any talent?

He burst onto the music scene in 1992 with the major-label debut of White Zombie. The mix of metal-influenced guitar rock and lyrics about fast cars and scary monsters became a surprise hit. The follow-up, 1995's "Astro Creep: 2000," went up to No. 6 on the Billboard chart and spawned the catchy hit "More Human Than Human."

White Zombie disbanded, and its frontman released his first solo album in 1998, "Hellbilly Deluxe." The late 1990s saw the beginning of a resurgence of male singer-songwriters who poured out their hearts in their music. Not Mr. Zombie.

"This is no small, self-indulgent album filled with whining about deep feelings," he said at the time. "This is a full-blown evil raging beast -- a total Zombie extravaganza."

One song from the album, "Dragula," was featured on the "Matrix" soundtrack. It must be the only song in history written about a car from "The Munsters."

That stuff on television Mr. Zombie watched religiously as a boy? It was mostly horror and B-movies. "It's something as a kid I was exposed to, and it grabbed me," he says. "Some kids see baseball and they become obsessed with baseball. I saw baseball and thought it was boring."

The 41-year-old has built a 20-year career out of the obsession. When asked if anything more contemporary inspires him, he demurs. "I've been so bombarded by stuff already, I don't need any more influence," he says. "I have enough ideas that hopefully I can accomplish them before I die."

Mr. Zombie doesn't just write and perform music. He also designs album artwork, writes comics and directs music videos and films ("House of 1000 Corpses" and "The Devil's Rejects"). He freely admits to being a workaholic. "It's a double-edged sword," he says. "I don't really need time off because I do everything I love for a living. It becomes a careful-what-you-wish-for scenario."

So Mr. Zombie has no choice but to combine his personal and professional life. His wife and muse, the beautiful Sheri Moon, has been in all of his movies and also graces the cover of his 1999 remix album, "American Made Music to Strip By." She tours alongside her husband, whom she married on Halloween 2002.

"It's the only way to do it," he says. "Things become so all-consuming that you couldn't have both unless the other person was intertwined into everything you're doing. She's part of the show, she's onstage. If not for that, we'd never see each other."

Mr. Zombie won't even allow himself time to recover from his current tour, which ends in October. In November, he starts production on a quasi-prequel to "Halloween," the classic 1978 horror movie directed by John Carpenter. He's finishing up the script.

"The first 'Halloween' movie is awesome, and the sequels became hokier and hokier. I want to make it serious," he says -- which is why you shouldn't expect any of the original stars in Mr. Zombie's version.

"Cameos break out of the seriousness of a movie," he explains.

And Mr. Zombie takes his horror very, very seriously.