SLIPKNOT's CLOWN To Undergo Knee Surgery

SLIPKNOT percussionist M. Shawn Crahan (a.k.a. Clown) will undergo knee surgery tomorrow (Thursday, March 29). He writes on Facebook, "Knee surgery on Thursday. I cannot jump like Sid [Wilson, SLIPKNOT DJ]. When I do, I have to get knee surgery." He adds, "I am going to have a lot of weird questions that my wife and friends make up so they can ask them to me right when I wake up from my surgery. They will film my responses and I will post them. Should be frightening. Filming the surgery as well. Should be fun to watch them manipulate my knee. I get strange when they put me under."

Crahan's photo book, "Apocalyptic Nightmare Journey", which will be published by MTV Books in June, is a collection of explorations in darkness and light from Shawn's experimental photography, his second and equally powerful artistic outlet which he has honed for over a decade. Weird, wired, paranoid, endlessly imaginative and cancerously prolific, he's created thousands of dangerous representations of reality through eye-gouging Polaroids in numerous styles in this hand-picked collection.

M. Shawn Crahan, better known as Clown, is the percussionist and founding member of the Grammy Award-winning hard rock band SLIPKNOT. Crahan is also the art director for SLIPKNOT and directed their DVDs, "Disasterpieces", "Voliminal: Inside The Nine", "Of The (sic)", and "(sic)nesses: Live at Download". He has been the creative vision behind the band since their inception.

Outside of SLIPKNOT, Crahan has had a few other projects of note: TO MY SURPRISE, who released one album (executive-produced by Rick Rubin) on Roadrunner Records in 2004, as well as the alternative group DIRTY LITTLE RABBITS. Crahan produced, played drums, and wrote in both groups. In 2009, DIRTY LITTLE RABBITS released the EP "Simon" on The End Records, which was followed by their self-titled full length in 2010. Recently, Crahan has been focusing his musical energy on his newest band, THE BLACK DOTS OF DEATH. In this latest project, Crahan can once again be found behind the drum kit in addition to writing, recording, and producing the band, whose debut album, "Ever Since We Were Children", hit stores in the spring of 2011.

In addition to producing his own work, Crahan has also worked as a producer for several bands, including GIZMACHI and DIRTFEDD, as well as serving as an executive producer to bands such as MUDVAYNE. Crahan has also remixed several songs for artists, including MARILYN MANSON, COHEED AND CAMBRIA, MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE and SUICIDE SILENCE.