Comedian Gilbert Gottfried, has revealed in a video he sent to Loudwire, that he is a SLIPKNOT‘s new percussionist, who is nickname “Tortilla Man,” because of his mask.
“I’d just like to finally tell you, I’m Tortilla Man from the band SLIPKNOT,” Gilbert says in a video below.
During an appearance on recent episode of SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation,” SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylortalked about the new member, who is nicknamed “Tortilla Man,” by fans.
“I did an interview with Rock Feed news like a week ago or so, and I said that it was Tito Puente [American musician, songwriter and record producer, who died in 2000], Corey said.
“And people who had never heard of Tito Puente were, like, ‘Oh my God! He totally revealed who it is.’ I’m, like, ‘Are you kidding?’ It is amazing the level of ridiculousness that not only permeates this band but permeates the fandom of this band.
“I’m just sitting back going, ‘I’ll feed you guys whatever.’ I mean, it’s beautiful. Just laying those little clues and people lose their minds. It’s awesome.”
Whether has anyone guessed Tortilla Man‘s identity so far, Corey said: “I’ve seen a couple of things, and none of ’em have been right so far. I’m loving it, dude.”
When asked for how long are they planning to keep new member’s identity a secret, Taylor responded: “For us, it’s more about just keeping the spirit alive. ‘New guy’ doesn’t care. Even if somebody gets it right, we’re not gonna confirm it. It’s one of those things.
“For us, it’s more about getting the band out there. Because, to be honest, the one thing that kind of reminded us that the band is more important is that even after the album came out, people were still into the band no matter who was in it.
“So, to us, it’s a reminder that the band is more important than worrying about conjencture about who ‘Tortilla Guy‘ is. So we just basically politely answer those questions, but never fully commit to any correct answers. [Laughs]”
In an interview with The Art And Span Show, band’s guitarist Jim Root has revealed some interesting details about Tortilla Man.
“He’s a character. I didn’t really know him very well before he started playing with us. But he’s a hell of a musician,” Root said.
“The guy is a world-class pianist,” Root adds. “He’s a great percussionist, he’s schooled in music. He’s not just a garage musician who came up and learned on his own. He obviously had natural ability, but he took it to another level and actually got a degree in music.
“So the guy is next level. Plus he’s just out of his mind! I didn’t think it was possible for anybody to match us.
“I’ll be standing there playing and all of a sudden I’ll hear this thump next to me, and he’ll have jumped down from his drum set. He’s next to me and I’m like, ‘You’re insane, dude. Your knees are going to f*cking just be done.’”
After the interview, a new theory on Reddit appeared where the fans pointed out that the new percussionist could be Michael Pfaff.
Pfaff handles the keyboards and organ in DIRTY LITTLE RABBITS, which also consists of SLIPKNOT‘s other member M. Shawn “Clown” Crahan.
Earlier this month, Root said that he is amazed that SLIPKNOT‘s newest member has managed to remain anonymous for this long.
He said: “I’m actually surprised that nobody has sussed out who it is yet, but nobody has. And in this day and age of social media, with phones and cameras everywhere, that’s kinda interesting. I’ve seen the Tortilla Guy hashtag when I’m going through my Instagram and all of that and I think it’s pretty funny.
“It’s weird because I’ve met this guy before, I know who he is, but he’s really kind of elusive, even around our camp. I’ve had some people tell me, ‘Don’t tell us who he is. We’re having fun trying to figure it out!’ So I’m gonna keep my mouth shut about all of that and see what happens. Eventually someday someone’s going to figure it out…”
In March, SLIPKNOT announced the departure with the percussionist Chris Fehn after he filed a lawsuit against his band members over unpaid loyalties.
In his lawsuit, Fehn claims to have always been told that the money from merchandise and touring is funneled through one sole company that splits profits and pays the members of the band. However, Fehn claims he recently discovered that his bandmates have set up several other SLIPKNOT-affiliated business entities in different states that appear to be collecting money from the band.
SLIPKNOT released their sixth studio album, We Are Not Your Kind, on August 9 via Roadrunner Records. Album was once again recorded at a Los Angeles studio with producer Greg Fidelman, who engineered and mixed SLIPKNOT‘s 2004 album Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) and helmed 2014’s .5: The Gray Chapter.
