Sean Yseult, bass guitar player for defunct band White Zombie, has recently published a coffee table book of her years in White Zombie. Even though it has been almost 20 years since White Zombie became nationally known and 14 years since the band broke up, they still seem like a new band to me. Some form of time distortion, no doubt. Lead singer, Rob Zombie, has stayed in the public eye: releasing albums under his own moniker, touring and directing four major motion pictures while the others in the band quietly faded away. Sean didn’t disappear immediately, though. I was lucky enough to have access to a kick ass record store, circa 1998, that stocked odd, indie music. Browsing, I happened on a CD by a band called Famous Monsters. The album was called. “In the Night!!!” and I was intrigued. After all, there were three exclamation points. The cover featured three hot girls dressed all Halloween like, standing on the hood of a car from the sixties, floating in a cosmic background. There was a little sticker that read: Featuring Sean Yseult of White Zombie. I asked the always knowledgeable, if a bit dour, shopkeeper called Jeff, what he knew about the band. He said it was a surf rock band and it didn’t sound anything like White Zombie, matter of factly. That was fine, I was still intrigued and I bought it. It was surf rock but with a Halloween horror humor about it and it was excellent. Sean had remade herself into Devil Doll, guitar player and singer for Famous Monsters. It was a dramatic change but in keeping with the horror element found in White Zombie and I began to suspect Rob Zombie was not solely responsible for that particular aspect of the band. Up till then, I presumed Rob called all the shots in the band. Sean’s new book, I’m In The Band: Backstage Notes From The Chick In White Zombie, tells the story behind Famous Monsters and proves that Rob Zombie was only a part of what made the band interesting and unique.
The book is a colorful collage of photos, notes and memorabilia Sean collected over the years. Most interesting is Sean’s story, well written and informative: it has changed the way I look at White Zombie and Sean Yseult. I know it’s been in vogue for awhile to bash Rob and everything he does but I have always admired him as a renaissance man. Rob was brave enough to step into unfamiliar territories and has been rewarded with a certain degree of success. Perhaps people are just jealous? But Rob was not the only renaissance man in the band. After reading I’m In The Band, it was evident that Sean was every bit as much a renaissance “man” in her own right.
Since releasing the book, Sean has gone on a press tour promoting her book and making herself available for interviews. These interviews have been as interesting as the book as Sean is forthright, smart, charming and candid with her answers. She is also on a mission of sorts: To tell the story of White Zombie, the story untold. She felt the White Zombie box set, released in 2008, cheated the fans by not including any liner notes whatsoever from the band. Sean was contacted for input, but she and the rest of the band were snubbed out of the loop and the box set was released without their input. She decided to put her book together to fill the void. She seems to be enjoying the press tour and one can hope she will put together a larger book delving a little deeper into her time with the band.
Whether a fan of White Zombie or not, it’s an interesting story of a talented and multifaceted girl named Shauna Reynolds who became Sean Yseult: The Chick in White Zombie.
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