Slipknot’s Clown Talks Touring Bassist, New Album And More
Slipknot percussionist M. Shawn Crahan (aka Clown) gave both a revealing and characteristically colorful interview to Spin.com regarding the bands upcoming plans. He confirmed that ex-Slipknot guitarist Donnie Steele will once again fill in for late bassist Paul Gray during the bands touring this summer. Steele will still be performing out of sight from the audience, on that Crahan said:
“What gives him the right to be onstage with us right now? When we’re going through an experience like this with our fans, they need to concentrate on the eight members that are grieving, not on someone new. This isn’t a diss on Donnie. I love Donnie, but we chose to tour for just one reason — to share the tragedy, pain and grief of what happened to Paul with our fans instead of going through it alone.”
Discussing the groups forthcoming greatest hits styled release “Antennas To Hell” (due out July 24th on Roadrunner) he offered:
“The songs were put in a certain order by us, so you get a very unique listening experience; it’s like its own piece of art. Not even a machine could do that. Also, I spent two months on the CD booklet. You don’t just get a little piece of paper that goes inside the album cover. You get a huge booklet of some sculpture, photographs and theory that kids can ponder, conceptualize and really enjoy.”
When the topic shifted to the bands new album Crahan revealed that Joey Jordison has written parts for 30 new songs, while Corey Taylor has written some lyrics and guitarists Jim Root and Mick Thomson have both been writing riffs. The group tentatively plan to take around a year off after their upcoming August “Knotfest” appearances before entering the studio for the outing though. On that Crahan stated:
“That’s how everyone is coping with the loss of Paul, by writing. Will all of that stuff be used? No. Will some of it be used? Of course. But until we get to that area I can’t tell anybody anything. It’s like asking me who the next bass player is. I’m not gonna give you an answer ’cause I don’t have to think about it right now.
I need about a year to grieve get my shit together so I can control my emotions in the studio, which is something I can’t do right now. I want to be able to go in there and realize my brother’s not there. And then when I’m asked to do a part, I can control myself and give Paul, the band and the fans everything that Slipknot needs to be.”
COMMENTS
Let me some up this entire article in one word “Procrastination.”
Great “somery”.
hahahaha that somes it all up very well
wurst you silly goose
Q. What gives him the right to be onstage with us right now?
A. He’s playing an instrument in your bands’ performance.
it was a shitty way to put it, but i understand what he’s saying. the other guys in slipknot should gag this dude because his pretentious bullshit reflects poorly on the band. the rest of them seem like pretty cool guys.
That’s a totally arbitrary opinion. Someone could just as reasonably state that a sound guy or lighting guy or guitar tech then belongs on stage with a band. I understand your sentiment; it’s just incorrect.
Last I checked a lighting guy nor guitar tech could not do their job while standing on stage with a band. A lighting tech needs to be able to see the stage in order to ensure the lighting is proper, whereas a guitar tech’s job is to tune the instruments for the forthcoming songs. Lern2Concert.
heres the kicker, the bassist now was there supposed old bassist before the current bassist had died. this guy must be getting payed good to just sit there and play in front of no one but backstage people. its slipknot, they couldve easily found some random dude anywheere for this but as usual, the guy whos proffession is ”banging on kegs”, likes to just be a fucking douche bag and completely disrespectful to any and all musicians alike
If that guy has any pride he’ll say thanks but no thanks if that’s the attitude his “band mates” are giving him.
Or he’ll just respect where his friends are at on the subject right now.
I can respect that in this case.
Even though a fair amount of time has passed for the fans, the band and family close to him are still reliving and dealing with the loss on a regular basis. Encountering different situations that will be new/different without Paul.
Entering the studio without him, will be a first. Touring will be a first. It’s just a way of paying respect to Paul, along with the fans.
Now, Korn for example… making new members wear masks and hiding them off stage because band members just up and left… I thought that was more degrading.
Wow niggas is gay! First Korn now these niggas? No excuses if a nigga performing let the nigga be on stage! Wif Chi out you didn’t see Deftones hide their nigga! Cuz dey real niggas!
weeeerd
My nigga.
I think that’s wack, not letting the dude on stage.
If it’s that big of a deal, maybe they shouldn’t be touring.
“I love Donnie, but we chose to tour for just one reason — to share the tragedy, pain and grief of what happened to Paul with our fans instead of going through it alone.””
Yes, I’m sure the MONEY has nothing to do with it, which is why you choe to do yet another energy drink tour. This guy is so full of shit, he can’t but ooze it everytime he opens his mouth.
Holy shit, I butchered that.
*chose
*can’t help but
Right, because if someone you love died, you’d just stop going to work. Get a fucking clue.
What a fuckin’ fat jerk burger for not letting him play on stage though, It’s almost as bad as not letting your drummer play his drum parts on your album (I’m looking in your direction Daryl Palumbo…)
For what it’s worth, I read somewhere it was Ross Robinson who made the call or at least suggested that someone else record the parts. Apparently there was tension between Robinson and the At the Drive In drummer with Robinson constantly riding his ass.
Everything this guy says sounds so pretentious it’s nauseating.
nice flex shot, you douche.
Feels good, man.
Guys, he’s earned the right to be a pretentious doucher. He play’s the fuckin barrel with a baseball bat for sweet gentle jesus’ sakes! Sorta like how Yngwie has the right to be a twat because he can play really really fast and wears fluffy sleeves.
ha!
Non-issue as long as they either A: They were upfront with Donnie about not wanting him to play onstage with them and B: Donnie didn’t give a shit.
Shawn had a harsh way of putting it, but at the same time, he’s right. Donnie has to earn his stripes, IF he even wants to be upfront and on the stage with the band. Slipknot is an intense band, a work of art, and a unit of 9 unique personalities.
imagine they let him on, and he’s not up to par and leaves or sucks and is fired soon after. then they’ll probably lose some credibility and fans cause they seemingly don’t have their shit together. it’s like an artist letting an apprentice just throw whatever he wants on his painting. that’s just not how it works.
on top of that, anyone can fill in and play parts already laid out for them, but can he write music? can he write it well? does it mesh well with the band? is his individual “personality” unique enough and does it mesh with them. there’s a lot to consider
I’m pretty sure you could have a deaf and/or blind person filling in for Clown and the music would not sound any different at all.
Slipknot is the only thing this dude’s been a part of that’s had any level of success. His side projects have been total disappointments and all the bands he’s signed have died on the vine, gotten signed and failed miserably or are pandering for money on Kickstarter. He was in the right place at the right time to be in a band that made an impact. Maybe he knew that starting out, but he’s obviously forgotten.
Having him play out of site is ridiculous. Just put him on stage and give him a blank mask or something like that. When Chi got into an accident, Deftones put Vega on stage with the bass and everyone is fine with it because everyone knows what’s going on. Slipknot should just have all the bass lines pre recorded for shows if they’re going to hide the bass player.
ya know, im not a huge slipknot fan but i can say i like them and understand the dynamic of all they do live and so forth but seriously, u are gonna have a bassist stand to the side of any audience? why even bother having the guy period then? i mean live ur not gonna hear so much anyways. this guy has to be doing it just for the money then cus if it was me knowing that im not ‘in’ the band, then at least im being compensated well for playing. and last but not least and im gonna say this as softly as i can,””””’fuck shawan crahan aka the clown””””’, dude we get your a weirdo and ya like the media every chance you get but your gonna sit there and criticize people because there not ur old bassist? news flash douche bag, you hit kegs and other metal things with drumsticks and what not, thats it!that is your whole and soul purpose in slipknot period, to reiterate-”you take solid drum sticks and hit them against metal drums, thats it, goddamn id be lying if i said i wasnt jealous of you and what you get for just whacking those metal drums but its a sick fucking world we live in. to end all, maybe in your year off, learn how to play an actual instrument cus at least your name is right, u are a fucking clown
Tom Keifer of Cinderella mastered the “utility musician behind the curtain” deal, dude had his own sectioned-off 2nd stage with massive curtains around it!
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