Utilising technology to transform his emotions into the sound of Pleistoscene, he uses the web to inform a substantial [Marilyn Manson-related] fan base of his cult-like manifesto. The faithful become free-acting disciples of the faction known as PIST [Pleistoscene Internet Street Team], a hybrid of an organised religion and a military operation, through which they spread the Pleistoscene word. His birth name is no longer relevant. He has become known by the intriguing moniker of Zim Zum, avant-garde anarchist and executant of sounds to chill and thrill.
Growing up, who and what were your biggest influences?
Directly and indirectly, my mother's single- mother-in-the-1970s lifestyle, how it was offset by my grandmother's single-mother- in-the-1960s lifestyle, and the complete lack of a male role model. It was also my mom's album collection and the unique people that always seemed to be around. I remember Pink Floyd, David Bowie and The Beatles playing in the background and someone always letting me drink some of their beer. I had no idea what that music or lifestyle was about but it was all I knew, and being a kid in a loose 1970s environment of freedom made me part of the entertainment, and I usually rose to the occasion.
This was all offset by my grandmother who was, and continues to be, the most stable influence in my life. My grandmother came from a very different and respectable generation. She was president then treasurer of the local American Legion and, being so, I was shuffled from one stranger's wake to another in rooms filled with ageing war vets and widows. My grandmother told me I was doing this out of respect. But I had a hard time balancing the opposites coming together to make my childhood, the celebration of life and the inevitable reality of death. I spent all but my last year of education in private Lutheran schools. I was confirmed and even an acolyte who lit and extinguished the candles at the altar for church services. I was told very early on by my teachers and pastors that Hell was whatever I feared most. I knew even then that what they were trying to make me was what I feared most.
Were you in any way delinquent?
Yes, though I was never motivated by typical delinquency. It was always in the pursuit of entertainment or necessity. I had already run away and spent a day in lockup by the time I was 13. There was an old schoolbus yard near where I lived where a friend and I once found a dead body. The head was crushed by a bit of concrete and an upside-down cross was carved into the ground above the head. My friend, brother and I made a clubhouse there out of one of the abandoned buses. It was your typical extremely cold Chicago winter and we lit a fire in an electrical control box. It didn't take long for the fire to get out of hand and the police and fire departments to arrive. I managed to evade the police but my brother got caught, so they were waiting when we went back for him.
Growing up, what did you want to be?
I wanted to be Evel Knievel; probably because he was someone who was glorified for being so self-destructive and looked so very cool doing it. I was also really drawn towards wanting to be one of the enigmatic individuals behind the music I was hearing. I could just not explain how alive they made me feel.
People know you from your Marilyn Manson days. Recall an incident when you had to double-check your sanity.
It was the Halloween show shortly after we had started the Anti-Christ tour. The rumour was going around that Manson was going to off himself live on stage. The whole day was very surreal. There were two guards with each band member at all times. We weren't even allowed to go near the windows of the hotel room. People protesting, bomb-sniffing dogs, police and fire engines actually stopping the soundcheck and being everywhere I looked was all a bit unnerving. But this became quite the norm from that day on. It was very strange because it was never something we talked about as a band but dealt with individually. I was immediately faced with the reality that I could actually die while in this band, and I couldn't find the feelings to care about anything other than the fact it was all insanely amusing and highly entertaining.
What's the worst case of excessive fan adulation you've ever experienced?
I never really looked at fan adulation as something that was bad. Everyone wants to be appreciated. It was, in reality, excessive at points when people asked you to carve your name in their back with a razor blade (which I did do) or tell you after a show that they can now finally kill themselves, as all they were waiting for was to see the band live.
What possessed you to create your own Pleistoscene musical manifesto?
Even when I joined Marilyn Manson, I knew it wouldn't be the last band I'd be in. I knew it was a good chance to infiltrate an industry I was more than capable of handling, but I always felt there'd be more for me in the future and I had not yet felt I was where I was meant to be. Even the biggest bands run their course and I felt Marilyn Manson had when I left. It was leaning towards glorifying a state of mind that was very unpleasant to be in and it was literally killing me. I am also a deconstructivist. I need to break things down to sort them out and have a better overall understanding of what I am really all about and how I fit into the bigger picture. I had hours and hours of songs and ideas that didn't fit into that band and I needed a different outlet, one that broke out of the box that society tends to put you in. I needed a bigger canvas. I felt that if I continued in that band I'd lose my own developing identity. So I made the proper decisions and took the first steps toward something I really feel is much more of a musical manifesto and brings me back to who I always should have been - myself. Pleistoscene was an idea that was based more on an introspective musical movement than traditional band format. It's more a social movement through music than a product, and it continues to grow to reflect that. It took two years to cleanse my mental system. I channelled my isolated emotions into the songs. They are personal, angry, introspective and, at times, very at ease. I wanted to do nothing more than make people feel how I did when the songs were recorded.
There are magic and caballistic elements in Pleistoscene's music. Was experimenting with ritual magic ever part of the process?
I studied a lot of philosophies during my isolation experiment. I read The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Essential Tao and The Three Pillars of Zen, and immersed myself in books based on magical alphabets, numerology and some of the symbolism from the Necronomicon and The Anarchist's Cookbook. I'd say that I'm more into avant-garde anarchy than alchemy.
Have you ever woken up dreaming?
To me, life itself is a surrealistic dream state and I always wonder what would happen if everyone was to wake up simultaneously. There was one time recently where I thought I was awake and in reality I guess I wasn't and fell down a flight of stairs. When I finally did come out of it there were paramedics in my living room. My dreams are dangerous.
During your self-imposed lockdown, did the isolation have any adverse effects on your mind?
Yes. I've learned the cleansing effect of extreme isolation is not without long-term side effects that at times have forced me back into isolation. I have extreme mood shifts and feel more now than ever that I don't try to adapt to society. I tend to feel like an educated animal freed from an uncomfortable but necessary cage.
How did you feel the first time you stepped back out?
It took some time to adapt again to being what the world considers civilised and I'm not sure I will ever really truly adapt. My world was nothing but studying and creating sounds, understanding the relation numbers have with reality and trying to utilise them in the recording process for an entire year. I heard everything around me very clearly for weeks and it was nothing but noise to me, and I immediately felt the pollution trying to make its way back into my psyche. I truly felt enlightened when I stepped back out but was immediately forced to be more introverted with my discoveries as I realised I live in a world not openly accepting of enlightenment.
What is your greatest fear?
I fear the loss of those I truly trust with my life, because if they're gone who'll be left to save me when I really do need it?
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