MUSHROOMHEAD Explains Decision To Work With Director of Controversial SLIPKNOT 'Documentary'

MUSHROOMHEAD has enlisted award-winning filmmaker and music video director Chad Calek (BLEEDING THROUGH, INDEX CASE) to direct the music video to "Simple Survival", the debut single from MUSHROOMHEAD's forthcoming "Savior Sorrow" release on Megaforce Records, slated to hit the shelves nationwide on September 19, 2006.

MUSHROOMHEAD and Calek joined forces shortly after Calek's controversial "tell-all" SLIPKNOT/Des Moines, Iowa local music scene documentary, titled "A Clown Short of Destiny" (although many MySpacers have dubbed it the "Slipknot Film"),made national headlines after winning back-to-back Audience and Director's Choice awards for "Best Documentary" and "Best Music Documentary" at the New York Independent International Film Festival, as well as the Park City Film and Music Festival. This success prompted stories on "A Clown Short of Destiny" to appear on MTV.com, and in the June issue of Revolver magazine, which featured the headline, "The Movie Slipknot Don't Want You To See!" on the cover. Currently, "A Clown Short of Destiny" is scheduling its final film festival-screening run for this fall.

"With this record, we wanted to work with someone with a new perspective on MUSHROOMHEAD," stated MUSHROOMHEAD's Steve "Skinny" Felton. "Someone that could not only combine his own artistic edge with some of our ideas, but also someone that could really capture the true intensity of this band's live performance.

"Chad's a younger director than most, and he's got a lot of energy — which is exactly what we wanted. And after watching his reel and talking with him in detail, it was obvious that he was the right guy for the job. Once he was on board with the video, Chad offered to show us 'A Clown Short of Destiny'.

"Honestly, I didn't know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's a great film, but that's not what I was surprised about. Of course the press is going to focus on the SLIPKNOT stuff that's in the film, but what I really got out of the film was how much Chad cares about his scene. I didn't think it was a negative or bitter movie at all. It's more of a somber, but still promising film that shows the viewer the truth behind what it means to be in a band and dedicate your entire life to making music, while sharing that cause with countless other bands who have done the same. And specifically, it's a film about keeping it real, and having each other's back, before and after success arrives. How can someone not support that? Not to mention that he spent over a third of his life, ten years, making the film. That's the type of loyalty and dedication that is very easy for us to support."

Commented Chad Calek: "This whole thing happened the right way, which was very important to me, especially since I've been a MUSHROOMHEAD fan for many years. But since my film addresses the controversial history between SLIPKNOT and MUSHROOMHEAD, I really felt as though I couldn't contact MUSHROOMHEAD as a fan, or an interested music video director, without causing worry of dual interests. So when 'Skinny' called me and asked me to direct their new video, without having seen 'A Clown Short of Destiny' yet, needless to say, I was incredibly honored. It just showed me that first and foremost, they were interested in making a great video. Then I got the chance to hear the un-mastered, rough mixes from 'Savior Sorrow', which sealed the deal for me. So we kept all of our managers and agents out of it, and just made it happen. I then offered to fly to Cleveland to arrange for a private screening of the 'A Clown Short of Destiny Rough Cut' for all the MUSHROOMHEAD guys. When it was over, everyone was offering compliments, while Skinny paused for a quick second to collect his thoughts and said, 'Bro, let's fucking do this'. Needless to say, it was very reaffirming to get that type of response. So to MUSHROOMHEAD fans, I can promise that the forthcoming video to 'Simple Survival' will be nothing short of their most intense and artistic video to date."