Slipknot stunned a jazz crowd in the early days with their “madness”

Corey Taylor
Slipknot's Corey Taylor (Image credit: Katja Ogrin/Redferns - Getty)

Corey Taylor has spoken about the time Slipknot (opens in new tab) supported a jazz band in Des Moines, Iowa.

The gig in question happened in Slipknot’s early days, with Taylor setting the scene while talking with BBC Radio 1’s Daniel P Carter (opens in new tab).

Taylor says (via NME (opens in new tab)): “It was a gig-trade because Clown owned a bar in Des Moines. They all stared at us like we had shit in our hands and had thrown it at them. They were so stunned with the madness.”

And if the band thought things were tough at the gig, things were about to get even worse.

Taylor explains: “Driving home, both vans broke down in the middle of nowhere in the middle of winter. So some of us stayed and some of us walked to call a tow truck. That’s what you did.

“I can remember constructing cardboard ventilation for the heater just to get some back. We all huddled our gear as close as we could to this weird cardboard ventilation system – it was brutal.”

Last week, Taylor said he had written 26 tracks for his new solo album (opens in new tab), while Slipknot recently announced their very own music cruise in the shape of Knotfest At Sea

It’ll depart from Barcelona on August 10 and return to port four days later. Slipknot will play two sets onboard the ship, with additional artists and high seas experiences set to be revealed in due course.

Slipknot are currently on the road across South America and will return to the UK and Europe in early 2020.

Slipknot: We Are Not Your Kind (opens in new tab)

Slipknot: We Are Not Your Kind (opens in new tab)
Slipknot's new album We Are Not Your Kind was released through Roadrunner Records earlier this year. The follow-up to .5: The Gray Chapter features the lead single Unsainted.

Scott Munro
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Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers and magazines as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. After initially joining our news desk in the summer of 2014, he moved to the e-commerce team full-time in 2020. He maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott grew up listening to rock and prog, cutting his teeth on bands such as Marillion and Magnum before his focus shifted to alternative and post-punk in the late 80s. His favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Ned's Atomic Dustbin and Drab Majesty, but he also still has a deep love of Rush.