Shawn "Clown" Crahan Clears The Air About The Future Of SLIPKNOT - Interview Available!

The dudes over at Metal Injection caught up with Clown, aka M. Shawn Crahan at SXSW, right before he hosted a Q&A session for his NEW photo book, 'The Apocalyptic Nightmare Journey', out June 19th. Crahan discusses how the book came about and addresses all the recent controversy about the future of Slipknot. Here are some excerpts from the interview.

"I can clear it up easily for you. Everyone in the band is writing all the time. Whether it's a micro-cassette recorder or a memo on your iPhone or Corey writing random things he invents in his head on a piece of paper or Joey saying 'I got nothing to do, I'm gonna go in the studio with all these ideas. I'm going to rent out a studio for a month and a half and I'm going to fucking write.'

"I think what people don't understand about what's being said is that we're all dealing with Paul's death differently. Some want to move, some want to take time. But basically, what's being said is of course things are being written. But nothing is done because we're not together yet. And there is no reason to get together to talk about it because there are other things moving, like the grieving process.

"Stone Stour is going to go out and do their thing, which they should. They've earned it. It's a good thing. Just me down here at SXSW, I'm the only guy here, doing something. I should be allowed to have this outlet.

"Really, what it all comes down to is that, yes, writing is being done seriously every day, but it is going to be a while. It's just going to be. There's things going on. It gets a little perverted in the press, almost like 'he says yes, he says no, we got a problem.' It's more like, yeah, writing is going on but it's going to be a while, and both of them are telling the truth, and I'm here to tell you, we're not going nowhere!"

ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK MAYHEM FESTIVAL 2012 TOUR DATES:

6/30 – San Bernardino, CA
7/1 – San Francisco, CA
7/3 – Seattle, WA
7/6 – Phoenix, AZ
7/7 – Albuquerque, NM
7/8 – Denver, CO
7/10 – Dallas, TX
7/11 – Houston, TX
7/13 – Tampa, FL
7/14 – Atlanta, GA
7/15 – Indianapolis, IN
7/18 – Oklahoma City, OK
7/20 – St. Louis, MO
7/21 – Chicago, IL
7/22 – Detroit, MI
7/24 – Cincinnati, OH
7/25 – Cleveland, OH
7/27 – Philadelphia, PA
7/28 – Pittsburgh, PA
7/29 – Washington, DC
7/31 – Saratoga, NY
8/1 – Buffalo, NY
8/3 – Boston, MA
8/4 – Scranton, PA
8/5 – Hartford, CT

Tune in to Rockstar Mayhemfest.com and Livenation.com for up-to-date ticketing information.

Related links:
Slipknot

Slipknot's Shawn "Clown" Crahan Confirms NEW Studio Album & Discusses 10th-Anniversary Reissue Of 'Iowa'!

Ever since the tragic passing of Slipknot's bassist Paul Gray in May of 2010, the future of Slipknot has been one of the biggest mysteries within the Heavy Music world. While the band did make a triumphant return to Europe this summer, where they headlined the Sonisphere Festival show in Knebsworth, England, the remaining members of Slipknot are taking their time and are strategically planning every step the band takes after the passing of # 2. Here is what percussionist Shawn "Clown" Crahan had to say about this matter, on a recent interview with Kerrang! magazine.

"There's plans [to make another record] but that's a way off. No one will push it, because it's going to be a big one. It'll be closer to 'Iowa', but it'll be sadder and crazier. And really thought provoking, it could even be conceptual. We're still taking some time to reflect on our brother [Gray]. Everybody needs to be collecting thoughts so they can get it out and no one has really had time to collect thoughts yet. But we're the fucking 'KNOT. And when we come out, you'll know your band is done."

This is what vocalist Corey Taylor had to say regarding a NEW Slipknot album.

"It's still too soon. At least that's how I feel. I'm not ready to make a Slipknot album. I think there will be a day when we do. But for me, doing it now wouldn't make sense. You can't do a three-week tour then jump into the studio, especially after something like this. It makes more sense to do a few more tours and reconnect as a band first. If we jumped right in, it wouldn't be about the absence. It would be about the rest of us. We were the nine, but there's a piece missing. We should allow people to pay their respects before we come out with new music. We should do this right."

Regarding the reissue of "IOWA" (set for release on November 1, 2011, via Roadrunner Records), this is what "Clown" had to say to Terrorizer Magazine the external influences that went into the writing process behind "Iowa".

"Basically being on the road for a long, long time for the first record [1999's self-titled debut], not knowing if we were ever going to stop, taking all that knowledge, not making a fucking dollar that whole time, the drugs, the alcohol, the isolation, the sadness of being alone for some. Those are just a few things that went into making "Iowa". And lets not forget where the world was at that time the world was a very scary place at that time, things that happened in 2001, that changed the world forever."

As far as touring plans, both Corey Taylor and Shawn Crahan confirmed a few weeks ago that Slipknot are planning a US tour for Spring of 2012. Stay tuned for more Slipknot news!

Related links:
SLIPKNOT's Official Site
Roadrunner Records