Slipknot’s Tortilla Man Sliced Open His Face Mid-Show
The new Slipknot percussionist affectionately dubbed Tortilla Man by fans, since revealed to be Michael Pfaff (also of Dirty Little Rabbits), is quite the performer. Anyone who’s seen Slipknot since he replaced Chris Fehn in the band will tell you that the guy is all over the place, climbing up on stage props, jumping off them and generally being a madman up there. In other words, he fits right in.
In a new interview with Rock Antenne, Corey Taylor spoke about the stage antics of Tortilla Man (he shall forever be dubbed Tortilla Man) and revealed that the percussionist recently sliced open his face on Jay Weinberg’s drum kit mid-show. Mr. Man temporarily had to remove his tortilla facial covering while stagehands tended to his wound, but he came back out and finished the performance like a champ. And now he’s got a scar to show for it:
“You have to be careful of the new guy – new guy gets crazy. like, the new guy almost got docked some money because he almost broke Jay [Weinberg]’s drums the other night. Like, he’s the fly in the ointment, he’s the pube in the coke. I was, like, every time I turn around, he’s doing something weird, so I started chasing him just to make sure I’m keeping track of his habits and shit.
“And yeah, honestly, that energy is dope; it’s really, really good. He’s so into it and that it reminds me to be into it. After this many years, you can get out there and just be, like, you know, the audience is obviously gonna invigorate you, but then you can find yourself kind of going through, I don’t want to say ‘going through the motions,’ but it’s almost, like, automatic – like muscle memory. And then this guy comes out of nowhere, he’s hanging on people… I was, like, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s fucking Slipknot, dude!’ And it gets really weird.
“He’s fucking his face up, which I think is funny. He’s got a giant scar right in the middle of his forehead now because he smashed his head into the drums and cut it open. He was bleeding during the show, so he had to pull the mask off during the show and they’re bandaging him up. He looked like he’s just been to war, and now he’s got a scar in the middle of his forehead – looks like a coin slot. [Laughs]”
No pain, no gain, right? Without risk there is no reward? Whatever saying you choose, this much is clear: Tortilla Man has definitely earned his paycheck of late.
Slipknot have a few dates remaining on their current European tour. They’ll visit Asia in March, perform at the Sonic Temple festival in the U.S. in May, then embark on a big North American headliner throughout the early summer before returning to Europe for a few more festivals. All upcoming dates:
Feb 17 – Berlin, Germany – Mercedes-Benz Arena [tickets]
Feb 18 – Dortmund, Germany – Westfalenhalle [tickets]
Feb 20 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Royal Arena [tickets]
Feb 21 – Stockholm, Sweden – Ericsson Globe [tickets]
Feb 22 – Oslo, Norway – Telenor Arena [tickets]
Feb 24 – Helsinki, Finland – Hartwall Arena [tickets]
Mar 20 – Tokyo, Japan – Knotfest Japan (festival) [tickets]
Mar 21 – Tokyo, Japan – Knotfest Japan (festival) [tickets]
Mar 24 – Singapore – Singapore Rockfest (festival) [tickets]
Mar 27 – Jakarta, Indonesia Hammersonic Festival (festival) [tickets]
Mar 29 – Manila, Philippines – Amoranto Stadium [tickets]
May 16 – Columbus, OH — Sonic Temple Festival (festival) [tickets]
With A Day to Remember, Underoath, and Code Orange:
May 30 Syracuse, NY – St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview [tickets]
May 31 Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center [tickets]
June 02 New York, NY – Madison Square Garden [tickets]
June 04 Quebec City, QC – Centre Videotron [tickets]
June 05 Montreal, QC – Centre Bell [tickets]
June 06 Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage [tickets]
June 08 Clarkston, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre [tickets]
June 10 Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena [tickets]
June 12 Memphis, TN – FedExForum [tickets]
June 14 Orlando, FL – Amway Center [tickets]
June 15 West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre [tickets]
June 17 Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion [tickets]
June 18 Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre [tickets]
June 20 Birmingham, AL – Oak Mountain Amphitheatre [tickets]
June 22 Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion [tickets]
June 23 Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater [tickets]
June 25 The Woodlands, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion [tickets]
Aug 01 – Wacken, Germany – Wacken Open Air (festival) [tickets]
Aug 10 – Barcelona, Spain – Knotfest at Sea (festival) [tickets]
Aug 22 – Milton Keynes, United Kingdom – Knotfest UK (festival) [tickets]
[via Ultimate Guitar]
