In an interview with Music Week, SLIPKNOT manager Cory Brennan talked about the band’s decision to launch Knotfest back in 2012, saying the event “started out of necessity and opportunity, chiefly a need in North America.”
He said: “There was Rock on the Range, but there weren’t any other heavy music destinations out there. They were all being hipster. There was nothing for rock bands in many parts of the US.
“We went into areas where there was no competition, where no-one was thinking about the fans there, and we did it. The first one was in Omaha, Nebraska, the second one was in Wisconsin – they were back to back and it was amazing.
“They’ve created a community that can travel from country to country and resonate with 50,000-100,000 fans each time and it’s not like anything else.”
He added: “In 2017 and 2018, we got to prove the model could work without SLIPKNOT. A PERFECT CIRCLE headlined one, SLAYER headlined one, then AVENGED SEVENFOLD headlined one. It proves people care about what we can offer as a brand.”
Earlier today, SLIPKNOT have unveiled details of their very own craft spirit, No. 9 Iowa Whiskey, which will be available this summer at select retailers in all 50 states and at the band’s headline Knotfest Roadshow North America tour. A collaboration with the Iowa-based Cedar Ridge Distillery, No. 9 Iowa Whiskey (90 proof) and No. 9 Reserve Iowa Whiskey (99 proof) are made with corn from the award-winning distillery’s family farm in Winthrop, Iowa.
SLIPKNOT will release their sixth studio album, We Are Not Your Kind, on August 9 via Roadrunner Records.
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 have refused to reveal the identity of the new member, who is replacing Fehn, but some fans on Slipknot Reddit had speculated that Zach Hill is the new percussionist, and said they saw him at Jimmy Kimmel Live.
