Slipknot’s Corey Taylor Talks Knotfest Expansion, Offers ‘VMan’ Health Update
There has been a lot of doom and gloom this summer discussing the future of traveling hard rock and metal festivals, but could Slipknot's Knotfest be a possible future savior? Musik Universe recently had a chance to chat with Corey Taylor at the Heavy Montreal festival and broached the topic of Knotfest becoming a traveling festival.
In response, Taylor stated, "There's been talk about it. My problem is that it's a little more than I wanna grow Knotfest right now. I wanted it to kind of grow in increments and slowly expand. I think if we turned Knotfest into a big tour, then we would lose a lot of the elements that make it so cool. It wouldn't be two-to-three days anymore, it would be a one-day thing, and we wouldn't be able to bring out a lot of the elements that we like, like the carnivals and the museum and stuff. So it's definitely a conversation that's going on right now, that we're trying to figure out. But, you know, I mean, never say never. Let's see what happens."
The vocalist went on to add, "We're gonna continue to do the Knotfest shows. Right now we're trying to figure out how big to make them and how to expand it. My idea was to do maybe ten weekends in different places -- maybe five in the U.S., a couple up in Canada, and maybe one down in Mexico City. Just try to expand it like that, so people get the actual experience of it, and you're not running yourself into the ground trying to chase something that it isn't. So that's what we're looking at right now."
Meanwhile, Taylor also addressed the health of bassist Alessandro "VMan" Venturella, who recently made headlines when he was rushed to the hospital during a show in Hartford while suffering from dehydration. "Vman is great," said Taylor. "Last night in Toronto was his first show back on stage; he had been playing back behind the set cards, just resting as much as possible, getting his legs back together. He went and saw the doctor again for a checkup. He gave him the 'A-OK,' and he's doing good. We're just right kind of watching him and seeing how he's doing. And he's doing great."
Slipknot are in the midst of their "Summer's Last Stand" headlining tour. Lamb of God, Bullet for My Valentine and Motionless in White are providing support. After a little breather between tour legs, the band will head off to South America in late September, then return stateside for more North American touring leading into their Knotfest weekend in San Bernardino, Calif. at the end of October. To see all their dates, click here.
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