SLIPKNOT's CLOWN: 'We're The Greatest Band In The World'

February 23, 2012

Martin Boulton of TheAge.com.au recently conducted an interview with SLIPKNOT percussionist Shawn "Clown" Crahan. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

On SLIPKNOT's live performance:

Crahan: "We give you everything. We're the greatest band in the world as far as I'm concerned. I always laugh when bands say, 'You know, without the masks they'd be nothing.' OK, try playing one of our songs, try playing my drummer's parts, try playing my guitar player's parts. Now put on a mask and all this other shit and run around like you're in a rugby game — then I might start listening. Otherwise, why don't you take your shirt off and tell everybody how hot you are and how you've gotta slow things down for a minute. We have never had to pretend what we are — what we are is intense."

On how the strength of people within and around the band following bassist Paul Gray's sudden death in a hotel room in 2010 pulled them together tighter than they'd ever been:

Crahan: "We're not a band, we're a culture and it's only going to get bigger. When we're on tour, all I want to do is see all of them … we're a special thing, we're our own entity.

"Don't get me wrong, when I get home from tour I don't want to see any of them.

"I don't want to brag but I have duality, I have yin and yang, and I'm very proud to be able to go out and work hard to support my family. I got married three years before I started the band. I already had two kids and as we were getting closer to getting [the band] signed, we got pregnant with our third.

"I remember bandmates thinking, 'Oh fuck, Clown's going to have another kid, he's not going to be in the band.' I'm like, none of you guys understand me. I'm the oldest so you think I'm out because of that, I'm married and have three kids so I'm just out — this is all I ever wanted to do and it's only getting bigger."

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