Slipknot’s Clown – ‘I’m Not Ever Going to Stop Wearing a Mask, COVID or Not’
Slipknot percussionist Shawn "Clown" Crahan is a proponent of wearing masks, sharing with Forbes his intent to continue doing so even after the pandemic concludes.
As a touring musician who has come in contact with people from all walks of the earth, Clown stated, "I'm not ever going to stop wearing a mask, COVID or not. I've been in this business 25 years, and people are filthy all over the world. So when I had to be in the studio, and I was asked to put on a mask, it didn't bother me. It was business as usual."
He continued, "I'm glad at least the majority of the world has been profoundly open to the idea of, 'Hey, when you're going to be out in public there's a chance you could be around someone with pneumonia, the flu, or just a nasty cough. Why not wear a mask to just protect yourself?' We live in a filthy world, and we live in a world where people don't wash their hands, they wipe their nose and they open the door and then you touch it. I have four children, and I know what it's like to drop your kid off at school and they come home sick and then you're sick."
Elsewhere in the chat, the percussionist offers some insight to how COVID protocols have played out in regards to being in the studio. "The general atmosphere has been very complex as of recently, and the main reason for that is an obvious one, we have been in a very different world with COVID and abiding by government laws. For instance, I think we had it very bumpy because when we were in the studio if we were in the control room and around the engineers that worked for the studio, we had to wear masks. If we were in the live room where we were recording around each other, and we had all been tested, we didn't have to wear masks. But if an employee was in there we'd have to put them on. Now I think about nine months ago and it was even more restrictive, so it's been very challenging to say the least."
That said, Clown reveals the band has adapted to the changes. "It's been a highly intense album making process because of COVID. There's been lots of testing, there's been different time frames and different restrictions, and it was business as usual. I don't believe anyone in the band missed a beat."
Slipknot have spent time in the studio over the past year. "It’s an expansion of where we were at on We Are Not Your Kind. This band has always prided itself on expanding boundaries, expanding our musical vision. There’s a couple of songs on here that people are gonna be, like… There’s definitely some pit openers that are gonna fucking freak people out," singer Corey Taylor recently stated.
The band also is set to hit the road in September. Dates can be found here.