Russel Hobbs

Infobox musical artist
Name = Russel Hobbs


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Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
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Born = June 3, 1975 (age 33)
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Origin = Brooklyn, USA
Instrument = Drums
Genre = Alternative rock
Occupation = Musician
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Label = Parlophone
Virgin Records
Associated_acts = Gorillaz
URL = [http://www.gorillaz.com/ Official website]
Notable_instruments = Gretsch

Russel Hobbs, known affectionately as Russ (born in New York City) is a fictional member of the virtual band Gorillaz. He provides the drums for the band. He, like other Gorillaz members, was created by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.

Character History

Born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 3, 1975, Russel Hobbs was a well-spoken, considerate and respectful child. However, trouble seemed to linger around him. Originally, Russel attended The Xavier School for Young Achievers, but was forcibly removed when he mauled several other students when, incidentally, a demon possessed him. After being expelled, the possession and the anxiety sent young Russel into a coma. He would not wake for another four years, at which time a man called Father Merrin exorcised the demon inhabiting Russel's body.

Unable to return to the Xavier School, Russel was sent to a school in Brooklyn, in which many students were practiced in the numerous fields of hip hop. Much of his hip hop prowess comes from a bizarre but violent incident involving a drive-by shooting that killed all of his friends from the fictional Brooklyn High School in New York City. Following the shooting, the spirits of all of Russel's friends took residence in Russel's body and have possessed him at unpredictable moments ever since. The most prominent of these spirits was Russel's best friend, Del, who was based on and voiced by Del tha Funkee Homosapien. Del appears as a blue, rapping ghost in such videos as "Clint Eastwood" and "Rock the House." Russel believes the reason for his frequent spiritual inhabitations is because he "vibrates at that frequency."

During the band hiatus, Russel went through a terrible trauma in late 2003. Del's soul was ripped out of Russel by the Grim Reaper in late 2003 and Russel, a mere shell of his former self, took a year to recover. Shortly after the exorcism Russel took recluse in Ike Turner's basement where he began making an album called: "The Seventh Heaven Hip Hop and Harmony Album." It was canceled due to paranormal activities around the songs themselves. He was the last to return to Kong Studios.

After the El Mañana conspiracy, 2-D and Russel were frantic about their guitarist Noodle's supposed death. It was a hoax, however, and the band has once again gone separate ways. It would not last too long, as it was promised by Murdoc in the autobiography Rise of the Ogre that their biggest project to date is apparently being planned. Russel was, according to Murdoc, "all good, too. He's still stitching together his taxidermy army of undead animals and practicing his drums, but I think he's getting into production. It's a great role for him because his knowledge of music's just too big for him to be stuck behind a drum kit."

As of October 31, 2007, according to an official mail-out, Murdoc says that, "Russel is exploring his inner demons somewhere in Brooklyn."

Personality

Russel is severely unhinged. This may be a result of his frequent trauma from numerous possessions. His mental state has deteriorated noticeably since Del's exorcism. Despite his mental status, Russel is known to be a very eloquent speaker, largely due to the private schooling he received in his youth. Russel has also seen the Grim Reaper twice. He is on medication for his depression, psychosis, and traumatism, most likely Xanax; Murdoc (unsuccessfully) tries to calm down Russel during an interview in We Are the Dury by telling him, "go pop another Xanax, Russ" and later in the same interview, Russel talks about how his medication was wearing off during the recording of "White Light" on the album 'Demon Days', resulting in the erratic and violent drumming heard during the track.

He is laid-back for the most part, almost melancholy most of the time, but has very little patience for Murdoc's antics (he once punched Murdoc on the nose, fracturing it in five different places) and 2D's idiocy. He is often the one who has to solve discrepancies between his bandmates, and Russel has often been forced to stick up for his often put-upon and abused bandmate 2D, though he sometimes bullies 2D, such as as scene from one of the Gorrilabitez mini-series, in which the Gorillaz' action figures came and 2D complained that his head didn't wobble like his action figure's. Russel has demonstrated both of these qualitites, when he discovered Murdoc having sex with 2D's ex-girlfriend, Paula; that was when he punched Murdoc and fractured his nose. He also claims that he will do anything to protect Noodle and the two have a close bond with each other. He is sensitive about his admittedly massive weight, which is apparently the result of a wheat allergy.

Russel's hobbies include food, eating, cooking, taxidermy and trainers. Russel is a noted expert on music, not just Hip Hop. He recently put his taxidermy skills to good use by creating "Animal Kwackers", in which the user creates his or her own hybrid animal using an assortment of body parts (the legs section includes wheels) and, if they desire, name it and add it to a worldwide gallery. The reason for this is explained in the last two thirds of the Intro, which mention helping Russel to create an army of beasts. Also, when Gorillaz was featured on "MTV Cribs", Russel was seen hammering something onto the "hot rod warthog" seen in the Animal Kwackers Intro.

His favorite song from the original album was Rock The House and from Demon Days was Feel Good Inc.

Drumset

The drum kit that Russel used in both the "Feel Good Inc." video and the live performance of this song at the MTV European Video Music Awards and the Grammys is a red drum kit which consists of two snare drums, 1 hi-hat mounted much higher than usual (likely due to his size), 1 floor tom, 1 crash cymbal mounted on his right, and a bass drum with a picture of a skull on the front. The kit he used at the performance of "Dirty Harry" at the BRIT Awards and the "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross" appearances was identical, except it lacked the floor tom.Russel is a left-Handed drummer.