SLIPKNOT percussionist Shawn “Clown” Crahan talked about the new member to Spotify‘s “Metal Talks,” nicknamed “Tortilla Man,” who is replacing former percussionist Chris Fehn.
“We just had a lot of things happen. We’ve been doing it so long. I just put my foot down. We changed all of our crew. We’re just a whole new family,” Charan said. “We really wanted to bring it in. It’s got nothing to do with everybody that was with us; it has to do with us trying to find each other and literally being happy with the nine of us being out here. ‘Cause there’s things happening all the time. We’re older. I’m gonna be 50 in September.
“Recently, we just had to get a new member,” he continued. “Things happen. It’s nobody’s fault. These things happen. Humans are humans. Things happen. I always hate it when things change, and I always feel bad, but people have to be responsible for their own lives. I can’t tell people what to do or what I think — they have to make their own decisions. And like I said, we’ve been doing this a long time now. We’re not just a baby band anymore. And we’re all getting older. We were old to begin with. I started the band when I was 26, got signed when I was 29, and was 30 years old when I was on the road. I’m gonna be 50 in September. So, you know, things are tough.
“I think the world has an expectation that a band can stay together. Health — mental, spiritual — these are all things that get alleviated as you go on. Things change. And we’re not really good with change, but we’re really good with picking up the pieces and getting to work.
“I’m really ecstatic with the new member,” Crahan added. “It’s a lot of fun. And it’s just nice that, at this stage of the game, when something like this happens, we can actually get someone who appreciates it and will bring 190 percent. Because we could easily get down, and I can easily let the press get to me, and fans and things, but they don’t know all the circumstances, do they? And they’re never gonna, because they shouldn’t anyway. It’s our family business, and there’s much love for all the guys who are no longer in SLIPKNOT.
“Paul Gray has passed away, and he’s missed every single day. Not our choice, but if SLIPKNOT‘s gonna continue, we’ve gotta pick up the pieces and we’ve gotta do the best we can for the culture. So that’s what we do. So we just picked up the pieces recently, and we’ve done what we’ve done, and we’re moving on and everyone’s really happy, and we’re very happy. Sorry things had to change.
“There’s no such thing as control for all of us,” Crahan concluded. “All of us have to let that go. I can’t control people. I can’t control their outcomes. I can only get up and do the best I can every day, so that’s what I’m doing.”
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.
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.
