We were shocked and confused with yesterday's news that Slipknot plan to make their entire Knotfest reek of camel shit and oils. But turns out that's not completely accurate… there will be no oil, just cow shit. It doesn't really make sense to me, but naturally, the band's de-facto art director, Clown, told RollingStone what inspired him to make this request:
"I write down things in life that are special, that only living in this thought process can you ever obtain," he says. "Freshly mowed grass. How it smells when a nice spring rain hits. Because of Iowa, I like being in a different state that doesn't even have grass and think that I smell fresh-cut grass. It brings me home. Makes me feel safe… So, I figure, since we're not a band anymore — we're a culture, everybody needs to get used to that real quick — that the culture has to have a smell. You have to be able to be somewhere in the world, maybe be in a little pain, and then all of a sudden smell that and feel good again."
So while freshly mowed grass brings Clown back to positive memories, he wants the smell of camel dung to trigger some not-so-pleasant memories of fans' time at the festival?
Clown added that the feces will be burned slowly over charcoal, as if they were making ribs. He notes that he's not quite sure where the feces will come from, but assumes the local zoo. This is what it's like to be Clown. You come up with an idea as out-of-this-world as making your festival grounds smell like camel leavings, and then have lackeys go out and find said leavings.
This is actually not the first time camel dung has been showcased by Slipknot at their fest:
"We did the camel dung on the first Knotfest. It was awesome; it was beautiful," Slipknot percussionist Shawn "Clown" Crahan tells Rolling Stone. "[Fans] came into the museum and they had to be hit with camel shit. A very distinct smell. You can't huff it, but it's got this smell. And it's not necessarily the most comfortable thing, but its not necessarily the worst thing, it's just remembering thoughts — it's gonna be a reoccurring thing."
What a beautiful day to be a maggot! Slipknot's Knotfest takes place October 24th – 26th in San Bernidino.
