Apparently everything Slipknot does has to be a secret. When drummer Jay Weinberg and bassist Alessandro Venturella joined the band, we all had to collectively figure out who they were. The same thing happened with the new percussionist Tortilla Man. Though it's not just fans that have been kept in the dark about who's doing what.
According to Weinberg, he even had to keep his identity secret when having a kit built by SJC Drums co-founder Mike Ciprari. The story is told over the course of two Instagram posts.
"In the summer of 2012, I took my first shot at designing my own drumset. I drove up to the SJC Drums warehouse with some acrylic and spray paints. They gave me three shells and a corner of their shop, and I made this… thing?
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"The ‘PokéVomit’ kit, as I came to call it, had a brief touring life, and resides in Europe at the moment. I love this drumset and can’t wait to play on it again someday. It’s very punchy, for its smaller dimensions, and the addition of SJC’s ‘Butcher’ badges to color-match elements of the shell was a good call by Mike Ciprari.
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"Painting this drumset was a thrill. Such a trip to paint on a circular canvas; hoping things would connect, mirror each other, make sense, and line up on the other side. I’m still pretty stoked with the design. But these wouldn’t be the last drums I’d design with SJC. Not by a long shot…
"A year and a half later, when I first started playing with Slipknot, I knew that when we would eventually start playing live, I’d need a drumset that would match the intensity and complexity of the music we’d be playing. The three-piece I had painted wasn’t gonna cut it.
"I vividly remember calling Mike Ciprari after recording The Gray Chapter, and sort of non-explaining: ‘OK…something’s happening, and I can’t tell you about it…but…can you make two giant double-bass kits with five toms and snare drums and marching snares and gong drums by mid-October?…..Yeah, no, I can’t tell you what it’s for…..OK, yeah, it’s going to be awesome…..OK, great.’
"A testament to Mike and SJC’s trust and character: they beasted-out two copies of the touring The Gray Chapter kit: an ‘A-Rig’ all-mirrored finish on Maple shells and a ‘B-rig’ set of stained Bubinga shells. To this day, it blows me away that Mike was willing to journey down the rabbit hole — given ZERO information — and understand that something larger than explanation was happening.
"Mike’s first time finding out what that drumset was built for was right before our first show together Knotfest 2014, as he and Lindsey Ciprari were seated next to [Rancid drummer] Branden Steineckert and my mom. I finally got to thank him profusely for this tank of a kit after the show.
"Sitting at those mirrored drums every night was boot camp, and I’m grateful for SJC Drums’ support throughout the process. A process that doesn’t stop, ever. Thankfully, neither does SJC."
Slipknot is currently working on a new album.
[via MetalSucks]
