SLIPKNOT Percussionist CLOWN Talks About PAUL GRAY Effigy

September 22, 2011

Revolver magazine conducted an interview with SLIPKNOT percussionist Shawn "Clown" Crahan about the passing of the band's bassist, Paul Gray, and the group's future. In an outtake from the chat, Crahan speaks about the effigy of Paul Gray that the band had onstage with them during their comeback shows this summer. The effigy featured Gray's original "Pig" mask, coveralls, and bass guitar.

"I had to have something of Paul there besides a memory," he said. "Besides a thought. I wanted something obtainable for the kids. Instead of all of us thinking in our minds the same thing, and pretty much trying to admit to yourself, 'Yeah, I bet they're thinking this and we're thinking this.' Let's put a factor. Let's put some symbolism on the thought. Let's go the extra step.

"I know Paul's younger brother, Tony. He's a very close friend of mine. He has worked for SLIPKNOT. He's been around since the beginning, when I owned my bar. I got the bar [where SLIPKNOT would play because other local venues were afraid to book them] to help get the band signed, and we got signed out of that bar. He helped me run it. He was my partner. His brother, Paul, had given him his original Pig mask, and he also gave Tony his original bass. And both of those things are very significant things in Paul's life, especially if you knew him.

"His first mask. Who he was from the beginning. So that relic was obtainable. And the same with his bass. Anyone who jammed with Paul or knew him from the old days, he had this one particular bass, and it was in all the bands that he had jammed with until we got to the area where we could get more basses. [Before then] he had one particular bass, and it really represented him."

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