Slipknot’s Clown on missing live shows: “I need to perform in order to survive”

In the latest episode of his Electric Theater podcast, Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan opens up to Beartooth’s Caleb Shomo about missing live shows during the coronavirus pandemic, and how important playing live is to him.

Reflecting on Slipknot finishing up their UK/European tour in early 2020 and looking ahead to upcoming plans at the time, Clown says he was chatting with frontman Corey Taylor, who informed him that shows likely wouldn’t be going ahead as coronavirus began to sweep over the world.

“I get angry when people take it away – not my livelihood, but my medication,” Clown admits. “I need to perform with the good people of our culture in order to survive; it’s what I need most. So when he’s like, ‘That’s not happening,’ I’m like, ‘What are you talking about? What in the hell…’ So we got into it a little bit, and he started informing me of all this stuff – he knew it, he had it all down. He’d been watching it. Me? I don’t watch TV. I’m out, man; I’m completely oblivious to anything around me, and that’s how I do what I do, that’s how I maintain who I am with my art.

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“I call the manager right away and he gets upset because he’s like, ‘I wasn’t gonna tell you anything because there’s no guarantees yet; nothing has been decided by the world, and I’m trying to get all the facts from the main players – meaning Live Nation who does our tours, and the people we work with,’ Clown continues. “And sure enough, man, that was it. I was in Vegas for about four days, my wife started watching the news – she’s like, ‘We might wanna either rent a car or get on a plane because things are getting really weird.’”

In particular, Clown says he was “extra hurt” about not being able to head to Japan with the band once Slipknot cancelled and postponed their tour dates, as both he and Caleb have a real love for the culture there. “Who knows if we’re gonna get there ever?” he adds. “I just try to stay positive.”

Listen to the full conversation between Clown and Caleb below:

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