Rob Zombie Had Crippling Social Anxiety As a Kid!

It's such a crazy leap that you've made. I mean, people know you as much now for your films as they do for your music. Yeah, pretty much. Especially, I really noticed that when I'd be like in an elevator. Like the music fans, I can pretty much spot them. You know, but like when some guy comes up to me in an elevator, it looks like he's a lawyer or something, which I have to get to grips with that because I'm not, you know, I'm old. Every time a cop comes up to me like, what does this guy want to like? Oh, he's like a fan because he's 30 years younger than me. But like, yeah, when normal people like, oh man, I'm so into this or that because, you know, I figure like, you know, heavy metal music is very specific, but everybody likes movies. Right. So you can never spot the fans. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I can pretty much spot them. What do you look for? Metal fan? Like what do you see? Like what's coming your way? Well, it's changed, but now it's always a guy with a shaved head and a long goatee. That's very similar to an anime fan. Yeah. Nobody has hair anymore. It's like, I swear sometimes they're backstage. The fans like, what's with the long hair? That's funny. Yeah. Right. That was rock and roll synonymous. Yeah. It's like not, not anymore. What made you make that leap in the horror films? Well, I always wanted to make movies. That was always my main goal in life. Really? Before music? Well, it was, well, let me back it up. I loved everything equally, but as a kid, it all seemed unattainable. So it was all fantasy. Like, oh yeah, I'm going to go to Hollywood, make movies. I'm going to have a band. Like, no, you're not. You're just living in some crap town. You're going to do nothing is what it felt like. You grew up in Haverhill? Yeah. Yeah. I grew up in Newton. Newton never falls. Yeah. It's so funny. I think when I was a kid and played ice hockey, we would play against and you'd be like, I'm sure. I think we wrestled you guys. Yeah. Oh God, wrestling, man. I hate it having a wrestle. It's fucking horrible. It's so exhausting. It's the most exhausting. Like, I was like 30 seconds. I'm like, that was the worst 30 seconds of my life. What was I saying? Oh yeah. Growing up, I mean, it's like you can have a crappy band in the garage with your friends, but it's not going to do anything. And then we had a super eight camera, so we'd make crappy super eight movies. But none of it seemed realistic. I thought my life was going to be, you know, world's worst bike messenger in New York City. That seemed to be what I was destined for. But then as the band started taking off and which seemed odd on its own and there was a chance to make music videos, like fuck it. I'm directing these music videos. This will be film school for me. And that's what it sort of became. Did you have this thing that a lot of people have when things start going well for them, you have sort of like imposter syndrome? Like you kind of, you're like, is this, what the fuck? Are they going to find out? Oh yeah. My whole life is like, ah, fool them again. I think everybody feels like that. I think so too. I mean, because I was always so, I was so shy and I was so shy, I wouldn't even like want to talk to people on the phone when I was a kid because that was too much. Yeah. So one day I realized, I just, this is how I realized it one day. Like in high school, I didn't associate with anyone. Like no one remembers me because I was just invisible. But me and my friends were sort of like into punk rock, like in a place where like no one knew what that was. That was just like, and then the day we graduated, we were at like hanging out around McDonald's and the main asshole jock kid came up who would be the worst, your worst enemy. And you're suddenly like, Hey man, I'm going to college. Where do you guys get like your cool clothes and stuff? Like, wait a minute. It was four years of torture from you and your douchebag friends. And now the day we graduate, you're like, Hey, you guys were. So that's what I knew. Everyone's so fucking insecure. It doesn't matter. And then the next day I was like, I don't care anymore. Oh, that's crazy. I'm a different person. Yeah. It's hard to forgive those people. You know, the people that fuck with you in high school, it's hard to let that go and realize though they just were probably tortured at home. Well, you can't let it go because that's your motivation. I'm always motivated by probably by anger and revenge and things of that nature. That's why when people want anti-bullying, I go, might be anti-success later on in life because you know, people to get fucked with tend to make it. Yeah. Chris Rock has a bit about that. Yeah. It's true. I mean, certainly true for fighters. Almost all the best fighters in the UFC have some story where someone was fucking with them and they're young and they had to figure out how to fight. Yep. What's the first thing we all do? Take karate lessons. Yeah. Well, you know, Chris Rock's bit involves Steve Jobs and a lot of other people like, do you not want Microsoft? Like, yeah, no, it's super true. It is super true. And it's also, it's interesting that you said that you were, you had social anxiety. So many people that become entertainers also had some form of social anxiety when they're young. Yeah. I had to do this thing last, no, the night before last, I was presenting this award to somebody at this event. And I'm picturing all the stage will be really big and high, and I can get up there, it's super impersonal, it doesn't matter. And I get there, the stage is like lower than this desk and it's like all the tables with people eating dinner right there. I'm like, oh man, this is a nightmare. I can't do this. Yeah. Because you have to sort of be normal. I used to freak out when I had to talk to bank tellers. I used to like, you're in the line. It doesn't make any sense, right? But the line of like, I'd have to deposit my check and I'd be in the line. I'm like, four more people and I got to talk. I don't believe in that feeling. I was like that about every, I was like that with my own, not my family that lived in the house, but like an uncle came over, I can't deal with dealing, talking to Uncle Bill. Yeah. Call me upstairs, call me when he leaves. Yeah. And then it's crazy that a guy like you winds up singing in front of fucking thousands of people playing guitar in front of thousands of people. I wish I could play guitar, but I will sing in front of the people. It doesn't bother me. Oh, it's a festival. It's a hundred thousand people. I'm like, who gives a crap? It's crazy. So there's two people out there that want to say hi. I'm like, oh, that's weird. Yeah. Especially if they're right in front of you. Like the, one of the weirdest shows that any comic ever has to do is shows where there's a really tiny audience, like the comedy store at one o'clock in the morning and there's like five people. That's brutal. It's just so weird. It's like 500 people, no problem. Yeah. Five people. That's why starting like when, when people are like, oh, do you ever want to go back and play clubs and more intimate? Say, I'm like, no, no, I want the shows to be bigger as, as impersonal as humanly possible because I hated playing clubs and the people like right in front of you, like doing that. Yeah. I'm like, I know we do kind of suck, but can't you just go with it? I mean, I'll give you a break, man. You know, let us get our feet. I don't know.