JAY WEINBERG Reflects On His First Official SLIPKNOT Drum Set

Jay Weinberg has reflected on his first official SLIPKNOT touring drum kit, created six years ago by SJC Custom Drums, the Dudley, Massachusetts company started by brothers Scott and Mike Ciprari.

Weinberg took to his Instagram earlier today to share a few photos of his pre-SLIPKNOT drum set, as well as what became his SLIPKNOT kit, and he wrote in an accompanying message: "In the summer of 2012, I took my first shot at designing my own drumset. I drove up to the @sjcdrums warehouse with some acrylic and spray paints. They gave me three shells and a corner of their shop, and I made this...thing? ?
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"The 'PokéVomit' kit, as I came to call it, had a brief touring life, and resides in Europe at the moment. I love this drumset and can't wait to play on it again someday. It's very punchy, for its smaller dimensions, and the addition of SJC's 'Butcher' badges to color-match elements of the shell was a good call by @mike.sjc.
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"Painting this drumset was a thrill. Such a trip to paint on a circular canvas; hoping things would connect, mirror each other, make sense, and line up on the other side. I'm still pretty stoked with the design. But these wouldn't be the last drums I'd design with SJC. Not by a long shot...

"A year and a half later, when I first started playing with @slipknot, I knew that when we would eventually start playing live, I'd need a drumset that would match the intensity and complexity of the music we'd be playing. The three-piece I had painted wasn't gonna cut it.
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"I vividly remember calling @mike.sjc after recording #TheGrayChapter, and sort of non-explaining: 'OK...something's happening, and I can't tell you about it...but...can you make two giant double-bass kits with five toms and snare drums and marching snares and gong drums by mid-October?.....Yeah, no, I can't tell you what it's for.....OK, yeah, it's going to be awesome.....OK, great.'
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"A testament to Mike and SJC's trust and character: they beasted-out two copies of the touring #TheGrayChapter kit: an 'A-Rig' all-mirrored finish on Maple shells and a 'B-rig' set of stained Bubinga shells. To this day, it blows me away that Mike was willing to journey down the rabbit hole — given ZERO information — and understand that something larger than explanation was happening.
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"Mike's first time finding out what that drumset was built for was right before our first show together: @knotfest 2014, as he and @lindseyciprari were seated next to @brandensteineckert and my mom. I finally got to thank him profusely for this tank of a kit after the show.
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"Sitting at those mirrored drums every night was boot camp, and I'm grateful for @sjcdrums' support throughout the process. A process that doesn't stop, ever. Thankfully, neither does SJC."

Jay discovered SLIPKNOT when he was a pre-teen, through his father Max, of Bruce Springsteen's E STREET BAND, and leader of the house band on Conan O'Brien's talk show. He was hooked immediately and was a huge fan of SLIPKNOT by the time he was invited to Los Angeles to try out as replacement for Joey Jordison in 2013.

For the first few months after the release of 2014's ".5: The Gray Chapter", the members of SLIPKNOT had declined to name the musicians who were playing drums and bass on their tour, despite the fact that their identities were revealed as Weinberg and bassist Alessandro "Vman" Venturella by a disgruntled former drumtech for SLIPKNOT who posted a picture of a backstage call sheet on Instagram.

SLIPKNOT announced its split with Jordison in December 2013 but did not disclose the reasons for his exit. The drummer subsequently issued a statement saying that he did not quit the group.