Slipknot’s Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan Thanks Loyal Following: ‘My Fans Are My People’
With Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee recently writing an open letter to his fans explaining his disdain for photo requests, other artists like Slipknot’s Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan are espousing the opposite philosophy when it comes to fan interaction.
In a recent interview on Denver Westworld, Crahan was asked about his new photography book ‘The Apocalytic Nightmare Journey’ and if he’d be open to signing the book for fans that brought it out to Mayhem Fest. In the refreshing exchange, Crahan answered, “Yes, I’ll sign the book to you. If you wanna bring some CDs, I’ll sign them and take pictures with everybody.”
He continued, explaining, “My fans are my people, and I’m not here to sign a book and push anyone aside; it’s not about that. It’s about connecting with people, connecting with art. I would not be able to do what I’m doing without the fans.”
He also included his fallen brother Paul Gray in the conversation, saying, “Paul Gray, he believed in my art, and I believed in his music. Together we decided to change the world, and that’s what we did.” In the touching moment, he reflected, “He’s gone, but I’m still here doing my art, and I would be honored to sign CDs that he was a part of, that I’m a part of, that the rest of my brothers are a part of. I’m certainly interested in taking a photo with anyone who took time out of their busy schedule in life to say hello.”
Clown ended the interview with a very personal shout out to Slipknot fans:
Actually, there is something I want to say, and I say it all the time. Thank you to all of our loyal fans, our maggots, our culture, and our people. Thank you for all the work, the letters, the Facebook posts, the energy to the air, the ground, the vibrato, whatever the hell you wanna call it. We are honored to be a band that you love.
We are blessed that we have you, and it has helped in our time of need, mentally, more than anyone will ever know. I never speak on behalf of anyone but myself, but I can say this for the whole entire band, we love each and every one of our fans. We can’t thank everybody enough. You mean the world to us. It’s on, so get ready for the future, because it’s a heavy one.
For more on Slipknot, Knotfest and Mayhem Festival, check out Full Metal Jackie’s in-depth interview with Clown here.