SLIPKNOT turntablist Sid Wilson has reflected on the passing of late founding drummer Joey Jordison, offering both personal memories and high praise for his former bandmate’s unmatched talent in a new interview with Get On The Bus.
Wilson spoke candidly about his friendship with Jordison, noting that even after Joey’s departure from the band, their connection remained intact. “He wasn’t in the band anymore at that time… [But] I was still friends with Joey. I always maintained a friendship with Joey, man. I love that guy,” Sid said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
“Yeah, people just choose different lifestyles sometimes, and sometimes that lifestyle’s more important than hanging out with your buds,” he continued. “It sucks. Did it stop us from hanging out? No.”
Reflecting more broadly on Jordison’s death in July 2021, Wilson admitted there is no easy way to process such a loss: “Yeah, there’s nothing easy about it, dude. Life’s tough, man. And you either got nerves of steel or you don’t. And sometimes even the guys that got nerves of steel, that s**t gets beat down after a while, man. No one can understand it. You can’t understand anything about anybody. You’re not inside anyone else’s skin. If we could get a skin ticket to anybody’s life, then maybe we would understand, but it’s not for me to understand or try to figure it out or whatever. I just have to accept it and know that he was my buddy.”
Beyond personal reflection, Wilson also highlighted Jordison’s extraordinary drumming abilities, describing him as one of the most gifted musicians he had ever encountered.
He said: “I’ll say this: Joey was the best that ever did it. Hands down. The greatest drummers would come to our shows to watch this guy play. [Stewart Copeland] came and saw us play and said, ‘He’s the one.’ And he was. He was. That dude would hear anybody’s music once and could play it. [Lars Ulrich] didn’t make it to a [METALLICA] show once [at a 2004 festival in the U.K.]. We were playing with METALLICA. Joey got up there and played the set for him. He could hear anyone’s music once and know how to play it without playing it. He was like that. He was amazing. And he was such a little dude. All that power. It’s ’cause he was so little. He was, like, ‘I’m gonna f**king show you, man. Don’t think I ain’t got it. Don’t think I’m just some little dude, ’cause I’ll f**king tear your face off.’ He was like that. He had something to prove, man. Yeah, he was the best. And then I’ll say [current SLIPKNOT drummer] Eloy [Casagrande] is a fresh breath of air for us. It hasn’t felt like the beginning until he came along. And I’ll leave it at that.”
SLIPKNOT parted ways with Jordison in December 2013, with the band not publicly detailing the reasons at the time. Jordison later stated that he did not leave the group voluntarily.
Joey Jordison died on July 26, 2021, at the age of 46. His family did not specify the cause of death, but said he died peacefully in his sleep. Jordison had been diagnosed with transverse myelitis, a rare neurological disorder that causes inflammation of the spinal cord, in 2013. He said he had recovered from the condition with physical therapy and medication. Transverse myelitis can cause symptoms such as weakness, pain, sensory alterations, and autonomic dysfunction.
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