After almost 16 years since its initial release, I finally grabbed myself a copy of this book.
I first got into White Zombie not long after the release of “Astro Creep: 2000” when I was about 12 or 13 years old. I must have heard “More Human Than Human” on the radio or something. I honestly can’t remember.
However, I do remember putting it into my portable CD player, hearing the opening track “Electric Head Pt. 1 (The Agony)” and being blown away at how heavy the guitar sound was. I had never heard anything so brutal in my life up until that point, and I’m not sure that I have since.
My younger brother had their first album “La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One” on CD, so while I did have access to it, I wasn’t able to listen to it as much as Astro Creep. Since then I’ve acquired both albums on vinyl and CD.
I remember being so excited about this band, and then being even MORE excited when Rob dropped his first solo record “Hellbilly Deluxe” in 1998. As a 13 year old kid I just assumed that this meant White Zombie AND Rob Zombie would be two co-existing entities who would put out different music. Sadly, White Zombie announced their breakup very shortly after. I remember feeling really bummed out about that.
Over the years White Zombie had grown to become one of my favorite bands of all time, but their history was always a mystery to me. Before the internet there weren’t many ways to learn information about bands aside from word of mouth and what you’d read in music magazines.
I eventually learned that “La Sexorcisto” was far from their first album / release. It was simply their major label debut. They were apparently a noise punk / rock band who had been putting out records since 1985 - the year I was born.
However, while I do enjoy those insane sounding noise albums for what they are, I prefer their material released in the 90’s by a landslide.
In this book there are many stories about Rob and Sean’s shared interest in classic punk and 80’s hardcore bands that surprised me for some reason. Back in the 90’s when I was first getting into “alternative” styles of music it seemed as though you had to either like punk OR metal. Everything felt very divided. Apparently this couldn’t have been further from the truth when you get even the quickest glimpse of what was going on behind the scenes.
I wasn’t sure what this book was going to entail because of the title and description. I can’t help but think that it could be the reason it took me so long to pick it up.
It’s titled “I’m In The Band: Backstage notes from the chick in White Zombie”.
I thought it was really interesting that Sean was one of the only girls in a male dominated music scene to the point where security sometimes wouldn’t allow her to get to where she needed to be. She wasn’t “with” the band, she was “IN” the band - hence the title.
The next part “Backstage Notes from the chick in White Zombie” was sort of confusing to me. I didn’t know what to expect.
After recently reading somewhere online that in the book she details the history of the band from its inception, I decided to grab it immediately.
Rob seems to avoid talking a lot about things regarding White Zombie (especially in any sort of a positive light), so I’ve been more than curious to learn about the history of the band. It doesn’t seem like White Zombie is something he would ever really write about. He seems very focused on the future despite continuing to play White Zombie’s biggest hits in his live sets since the band’s breakup.
I respect that, but it’s also good to acknowledge your past at the same time. There’s clearly some bad blood with the other members. But between his movies and solo career, I can understand why he doesn’t want to bother with it. After all, their last real all-encompassing compilation album was titled “Let Sleeping Corpses Lie”…
I love the fact that Sean has no issue whatsoever giving us a history lesson of the band’s journey that began when she first met Rob up until the band’s eventual breakup.
It doesn’t feel like a bitter ex-member writing a tell-all book where they’re trying to make other people look bad, expose them for being awful people, etc. Although while at times it does come out a little, it seems fairly necessary as far as painting a good picture of where the band was at the time. It just feels like someone genuinely telling the story of an amazing time in their life, and a band that they are grateful and proud to have been a part of.
This thing is filled with photos, flyers, journals, backstage passes, bass guitars, and a lot of other memorabilia that she collected throughout her time with White Zombie. Clearly a very enthusiastic and thorough archivist.
The book is equal parts visual and written storytelling. It’s the perfect balance for my taste. A lot to read and learn about combined with enough visual stimulation to make you keep coming back to it even for that reason alone. You can simply put on a White Zombie record and flip through it without reading a word and it can serve as a great way to enhance the listening experience.
Overall, I would say that this book is essential reading / viewing for anyone looking to learn more about White Zombie beyond “Thunder Kiss ‘65” and “More Human Than Human”. This band was far from being an overnight success, and their story is truly inspiring. I highly recommend it.
I know that I’m 16 years late on this, but thanks for all the art Sean.
Order your copy here: https://a.co/d/00HSUbTE
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