JAY WEINBERG Is 'Not Ready Yet' To Talk About His Exit From SLIPKNOT: 'I Have A Fantastic Therapist Who Helps Me'
July 22, 2024During an appearance on the latest episode of the "One Life One Chance With Toby Morse" podcast, drummer Jay Weinberg addressed his surprise firing from SLIPKNOT last November, saying (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Truth be told, I'm at kind of a point where I'm not quite yet really ready to talk about it, really. And that's not to dismiss the conversation, but I've spent time, and spend time, just processing the entire experience. And the experience not being the last six months, but really the last 10 years [of playing with SLIPKNOT]. And finally, in a way, processing all of that. And doing it in kind of what I would consider the responsible way.
"I have a fantastic therapist who helps me," he continued. "Before I speak on it, it's important for me to do the right work of processing these events that you spend 10 years exclusively committed to one thing. There's a lot to process that on the other side. And I think there is definitely a time where I'll speak to my lived experience over those ten years — just not quite yet."
Asked by host Toby Morse if he has written a book about his experiences, Weinberg said: "Yeah, I write a lot. It's one of the ways that I think is a responsible way of that processing, and that's one of the things that, through therapy, has actually been — well, literally therapeutic. It helps you helps you understand moments, periods of time, long periods of time, and it kind of helps you just kind of contextualize that in the greater scheme of life, that you're not able to when you're kind of directly just consumed by it."
Asked if he has ever had therapy for that before in his life, Jay said: "At points. Here and there. But I think anybody who embarks on trying to prioritize their mental health and pursue happiness through really tackling these things, I think anybody who embarks on that kind of a journey for themselves can understand when you find different therapists or different approaches or whatever, sometimes it doesn't work out. Sometimes it's, like, 'Oh, it's not the way I really approach this or whatever,' but I'm in a place where I've found somebody amazing where I actually feel — I've used this expression before but that pedal meeting the pavement of, like, 'Wow, this helps me contextualize, this helps me process.' And that's huge. 'Cause it can get a little bit demotivating when you're trying to search for answers and search for help with when you turn over to trying to find somebody of, like, 'Help me process this incredibly complex moment.' It doesn't happen overnight. And some people might find that to be a dejecting part of the process of. It's hard to find a good therapist, but when you do, it's a worthwhile pursuit. And it's an invitation to anybody out there who's in search of that, that even if it is difficult, if you hit those obstacles of, like, you don't feel you've found the right person to talk with yet, they're out there. It's a worthwhile thing of searching for, if you need it."
On November 5, 2023, SLIPKNOT released a statement via social media in which it said it had "decided to make a creative decision and to part ways with Jay."
Six days later, Weinberg, who replaced Joey Jordison, SLIPKNOT's original drummer, in 2013, shared on Instagram that he "was heartbroken and blindsided to receive the phone call", "the news of which, most of you learned shortly after."
Jay played his final show with SLIPKNOT on November 3 at the Hell & Heaven festival in Toluca, Mexico.
Jay discovered SLIPKNOT when he was a pre-teen, through his father. He was hooked immediately and was a huge fan of SLIPKNOT by the time he was invited to Los Angeles to try out as replacement for Joey Jordison in 2013.
For the first few months after the release of 2014's ".5: The Gray Chapter", the members of SLIPKNOT had declined to name the musicians who were playing drums and bass on their tour, despite the fact that their identities were revealed as Weinberg and bassist Alessandro "Vman" Venturella by a disgruntled former drumtech for SLIPKNOT who posted a picture of a backstage call sheet on Instagram.
".5: The Gray Chapter" went on to score a trio of Grammy nominations, including two for "Best Metal Performance" and a nomination for "Best Rock Album".
Weinberg also played on 2019's "We Are Not Your Kind" and 2022's "The End, So Far", both of which topped Billboard's rock albums chart.
SLIPKNOT recently recruited former SEPULTURA drummer Eloy Casagrande as the replacement for Jay.
Prior to joining SLIPKNOT, Jay played with AGAINST ME! and MADBALL.
Jay played his first concert with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES in March in Osaka, Japan.
In addition to Weinberg and frontman Mike Muir, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES' current lineup features lead guitarist Dean Pleasants, rhythm guitarist Ben Weinman (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN) and bassist Tye Trujillo (son of METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo).
Weinberg's pairing with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES came less than two months after he was announced as the new drummer of INFECTIOUS GROOVES, the long-running outfit formed more than three decades ago by Robert Trujillo alongside Robert's then-SUICIDAL TENDENCIES bandmate Muir.
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