ZZIV: ALL THINGS ZIM ZUM: Interviews: Pulling Back the Curtains (part 4)

Pulling Back the Curtains
Part 4 of an exclusive Zim Zum interview by Rosie Green + other fans
November 8, 2004

I wanted to do this interview a bit different from last time so, I gave Zim Zum's fans the opportunity to ask Zim questions as well. Without further adieu, here is the fourth installment:

Annie: What do you think of your fans and what we have done for you over the years?
ZIM ZUM: I always appreciate the support be it simply by letters sent to me saying "hello" or in the form of telling others about my music from every single fan. I've always been and always will be very accomodating when it comes to my fans.
Annie: How does it make you feel to receive stuff (gifts) from fans through snail mail?
ZIM ZUM: I think it's cool. Who wouldnt like that?!
D1Rk:What made you go play guitar/why do you play guitar?
ZIM ZUM: I'm not sure really. It was just always there. I liked rock n roll so a real guitar as opposed to a tennis racquet seemed like a natural evolution for a 13 year old. I just love to play and write and experiment with sounds.
Genocide87:Is Zim Zum really bisexual? I have been to several Zim Zum fan sites. Some of them say he is bisexual and some say he isn't. Just wondering.
ZIM ZUM: Which fan sites say i'm not? Which ones say I am?
Xx{Plastic}x{Doll}xX: What do you (you MUST have the emphasis on the you) do with whip cream? BOOYEA! ANSWER THAT! :p
ZIM ZUM: I put it on my ice cream of course.
MWG:What was the first music did u play on guitar?
ZIM ZUM: I think, it was "Since you've been gone" by Rainbow.
Curiosity:What is your ultimate goal in life? What would you like to accomplish?
ZIM ZUM: I just want to make music and be creative, always pushing what I do further than the day before.
Larissa: If you spend your time in such isolation then how do you find time for your girlfriend or are you still dating anyone?
ZIM ZUM: The isolation really comes down to me not leaving the house socially for long periods of time. Staying in the studio, 14-16 hours a day for a year with no cable tv, no radio, no new cd's and rarely ever having phone conversations is isolation, a cleansing from the outside world if you will but I do have contact with the people close to me.
Tourniquet: What's your favourite guitar?
ZIM ZUM: I dont know, maybe my 76' Les Paul or one of my signature guitars (Les Paul special style) or the SG that I completely overhauled or the Tele Deluxe...I like each for what they do tonally.
Eileen6669: How does it feel to have so many people adore you? when you where young did you ever think that you would have gotten this far?
ZIM ZUM: Adoration or validation were never the motivating factors and I still dont know how to deal gracefully with either. I tend to just say thank you before I start to stumble over my own words. I dont know how anyone could ever really get used to it. I am a simple person in not so simple circumstances but I worked hard to get to where I am and I am at a good place for which I am very grateful to be experiencing, it's just that you dream about things and sometimes they are suddenly reality and it's all very surreal and strange and not at all what you might have expected. I just hold on and stay true to who I am and what I was taught were the right things to do whether the rollercoaster is going up or down.
ZiPpy:Where do you get inspiration for your lyrics?
ZIM ZUM: Life. Experiences. Society. Pain. Pleasure. Being happy. Being sad. Being me. The human condition.
deniiall: Where does the creative process when writing come from?
ZIM ZUM: I'm not sure. I just try to channel the things I hear in my head into some sort of song structure.
LIKWID: Zim, when you was on stage (or in rehearsals with Pleistoscene) and you had/have to play a solo, do you feel like all the focus is on you and does it put more pressure on you? Are you comfortable with it or do you prefer not to be the main point of attention?
ZIM ZUM: I'm not someone who needs the validation of being the focus of attention but I'm comfortable with it. It's part of what I do, that is, the execution of arrangements. Playing my guitar like there is no tomorrow is all I know how to do live.
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SPECIAL THANKS TO: Zim Zum for taking the time out to answer my questions. ::top::