{"id":20259,"date":"2016-08-15T11:50:44","date_gmt":"2016-08-15T18:50:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insider.ticketmaster.com\/?p=20259"},"modified":"2018-05-29T17:50:35","modified_gmt":"2018-05-30T00:50:35","slug":"unmasked-interview-slipknot-corey-taylor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/origin-blog.ticketmaster.com\/unmasked-interview-slipknot-corey-taylor\/","title":{"rendered":"Unmasked: An Interview With Slipknot’s Corey Taylor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Heavy metal nine-piece Slipknot<\/a> have won over tons of metalheads with their sonic intensity and live sets.<\/p>\n

Now the mask-wearing madmen are teaming up with Black Sabbath<\/a> to throw the monster of all metal festivals when Ozzfest Meets Knotfest<\/a> at San Manuel Amphitheater<\/a> in San Bernardino, CA on September 24 & 25.<\/p>\n

We got a chance to catch up with Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor to discuss all the details \u2013 plus get the inside scoop on the group’s live show, his recent emergency spinal surgery, and his surprising love of soul singers like Prince and Lionel Richie. But, if there’s one thing we learned from talking to him, it’s that there’s a lot going on under Corey Taylor’s mask.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BI3IZCLAupy\/<\/p>\n

Ticketmaster:<\/strong> You joined Slipknot a couple years after the band formed. How did you first get involved with the group?<\/p>\n

Corey:<\/strong> For the most part, we all knew each other, because we all grew up in the scene. We played gigs together in different variations: my band would open for Joey (Jordison’s) band, and we would all play with Clown (Crahan’s) band. I had actually moved to Denver for about six months to try my hand at starting a band out there, because I was convinced I was never going to make it big in Des Moines \u2013 ironically. I came back and all the sudden there was this Des Moines supergroup called Slipknot that was happening with all of these people that I knew. I remember going to their first show and being blown away. Stone Sour and Slipknot did some shows together and then one thing led to another. I don’t know if it was just mutual respect, but those guys approached me about joining the band and after some consideration, I decided to take the gig.<\/p>\n

Ticketmaster:<\/strong> How were those early days? What was it like playing your first live shows together?<\/p>\n

Corey:<\/strong> It was chaos man. You get those good vibes when you know you’re onto something, just that raw, palpable vibe that you get when you’re in the room and you’re making some crazy stuff happen. But for me it was also a learning experience. I was so used to being the guy in the band that had the ideas, and now I was a part of this brain trust where you could bounce ideas off of people and really flesh stuff out. It was much less the frontman-driven vehicle and more about the collective, which I really found appealing at the time. It was “all for one and one for all,” and we were ready to musketeer across the country.<\/p>\n

Ticketmaster:<\/strong> How has the live show evolved during your 17 years in the band?<\/p>\n

Corey:<\/strong> It’s always a reflection of where we are in our lives. Obviously the first five years were pretty brutal, just because we were young and nuts, full of all the crazy stuff that tends to kill people after a while. The next five was a renaissance for us, trying different things and dabbling with different kinds of staging and production. Especially as the band got bigger and bigger. And then the last five, after dealing with the loss of Paul [Gray] and splitting ways with Joe, we had to figure out who we were as a band again \u2013 and the staging reflected that. So, for the first year and a half it was very much fire, pyro, and all that crazy stuff. But then we went for a more technological, visual, electronic vibe. We have a giant video screen and each song that we play has different video content that Clown programmed. We upped our lighting package to keep it as visual as possible. Plus, with this band, you could come to twelve different shows and watch a different band member, and you\u2019d get a different show each time.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BFUKuaRoRvQ\/<\/p>\n

Ticketmaster:<\/strong> Crowds feed off the chaotic energy the group brings to the stage. How do you amp yourselves up before shows?<\/p>\n

Corey:<\/strong> The cool thing about this band is that we’ve always thrown our energy in the pot for each other. We get each other ready for the show, we walk around, we talk to each other, we hug, and then we get in a big huddle before the show. That really brings us together and puts us on the same page. As far as when we get on stage, our dedication to what we do has never changed. Even as we’ve gotten older and we’ve broken more and more parts of our bodies [laughs], it’s still second nature to us. We dedicate ourselves to absolutely trying to be the best live band \u2013 and just the best band period \u2013 that we can be.<\/p>\n

Ticketmaster:<\/strong> What’s the craziest thing that’s ever happened during a live show?<\/p>\n

Corey:<\/strong> Oh, God. You’ve gotta remember, this is a band that used to set each other on fire with lighter fluid [laughs]. Like, it wasn’t anything that you would see on the set of a movie, this was just us being dumb and nuts. We’ve always been a little out of it, we’ve always been a lot crazy, we’ve always been very physical. As the years have gone by, it’s kind of changed. It seems like for every iteration of us, something new happens. But the last couple years has been more about making sure we’re all on the same page and going for it.<\/p>\n

Ticketmaster:<\/strong> What does your mask symbolize about you and how has your mask changed over time?<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/015PLJoRjJ\/?hl=en<\/p>\n

Corey:<\/strong> When we first started out, the mask was the visual representation of who I was on the inside. Because when it comes to making Slipknot music and art and everything in between \u2013 that mask was the person that had been begging to get out. Over the years it’s changed a lot visually. It comes from a different stand point, and it’s come to represent different phases of my life.<\/p>\n

This one that I’m wearing now has two layers, so it’s a mask behind a mask. It signifies the person behind the mask, who’s also behind that mask. It deals with layers and it deals with what we choose to show the world while we’re still dealing with something, even if we might possibly be lying to ourselves. It has to do with levels of honesty, which are completely different from levels of fact.<\/p>\n

\"Corey
Corey Taylor of Slipknot<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ticketmaster:<\/strong> Have you ever had any wardrobe malfunctions with the masks?<\/p>\n

Corey:<\/strong> Oh, yeah! And they usually always happen to me. We were on the Iowa cycle and we were playing Ozzfest 2001, and we’re in the middle of one of the biggest thunderstorms that could possibly be going on. We were under a shell at one of the big amphitheaters, but the wind is blowing so hard that it’s blowing the rain right into our faces. Well, my mask at the time was made of foam rubber, so it slowly started to absorb all of that rain until it weighed about as much as a bowling ball. Then, one of my buckles broke. I’m slamming, I’m headbanging, I’m having a great time, and all the sudden the mask comes flying off. It was so slow-motion. I stopped and just slowly picked it back up and put it back on my head. I had to run behind the set and have someone staple my mask back together so I could finish the show. And that’s not even including the crotches ripping out of our coveralls or anything else that’s gone wrong.<\/p>\n

Ticketmaster:<\/strong> You guys played Ozzfest in 1999<\/a> right when things were taking off for you. What was that first big break like?<\/p>\n

Corey:<\/strong> It was an interesting time for me, because I had fried my voice right before we went on tour and I had to go on absolute vocal rest for two months. That’s how bad it was. But I remember having the best time of my life. There’s something to be said about working your ass off trying to get to that point where you can reach for your dreams, and then your dreams become reality. For us, everything we had done up to that point was all about getting our foot in the door. We knew that for people to take us seriously and to get where we wanted to go, we were going to have to work three times as hard as the next guy.<\/p>\n

And Ozzfest gave us a hell of an opportunity. They were so good to us. The whole Osbourne family was so great. I got to be really good friends with Jack on that tour, and I got to know his parents really well. Ozzy hugged me, which to me was like being christened. It was a big deal: I met Sabbath, I met Black Sabbath. And they looked at me like a peer. One of the first songs I ever sang was “Paranoid,” so I might as well have been knighted by the Queen, for God\u2019s sake.<\/p>\n

Ticketmaster:<\/strong> Knotfest is teaming up with Ozzfest this year. How does it feel to be part of what could be the biggest metal concert of all time?<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BIdLMY0gFPQ\/<\/p>\n

Corey:<\/strong> It’s pretty rad. I try not to think about it too much because I don’t want to jinx it. I just look at it as an opportunity to pay that respect back. We take respect very seriously, and we always try to pay our debts back and help out people who helped us. So partnering up with Ozzfest was a no-brainer for us. It made so much sense and it was such a great idea that we were just excited to get it going.<\/p>\n

Ticketmaster:<\/strong> You’re sharing the mainstage with huge bands like Black Sabbath<\/a>, Slayer<\/a>, Megadeth<\/a>, and Anthrax<\/a>. How have they influenced you? What’s it like to play with some of your heroes?<\/p>\n

Corey:<\/strong> It’s pretty easy to say that without those bands there\u2019d be no Slipknot. Our parents listened to Sabbath, Zeppelin, and all that stuff, but then our generation’s movement was obviously The Big Four of Thrash (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax). It’s something that I don’t take lightly, because I grew up listening to those bands. And the fact that some of them are opening for me, I don’t let that go to my head because it would be disrespectful. I feel like we’re paying them back, because if it wasn’t for those bands, I wouldn’t be doing this. Maybe when the time comes and there’s a huge band that I’m opening for that I influenced, hopefully that energy comes back. That’s how I think about it and that’s the only way that I can really feel comfortable with it.<\/p>\n

Ticketmaster:<\/strong> Are there any cities you’ve never played before that you’re excited to check out on the road? Any places you’re excited to get back to?<\/p>\n

Corey:<\/strong> I have to say yes to both. It’s sounding like we’re going to get an opportunity to play Taiwan, which is big for us. We’ve always been anathema in certain areas of Asia. There’s a handful of places there that I would love to play, and I know that we’re talking about possibly doing a show in China. But they\u2019re still so wary of us, and rightly so.
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