Slipknot Drummer Jay Weinberg Details What it Was Like Replacing Joey Jordison

Prior to seeing this Metal Circus interview with Jay Weinberg, I didn’t realize it has already been six years since he replaced Joey Jordison behind the kit in Slipknot. Time is a flat circle and nothing matters, now more than ever in the time of corona. Are we dead yet?

Weinberg spoke at length in the interview about what it was like as the new guy joining the band, who already had a camaraderie dating back nearly two decades, and how it felt replacing Jordison in particular, who the band’s fans adored. When asked whether he felt like he was “walking on eggshells” when he stepped into the fold, he said:

“I wouldn’t say I was walking on eggshells. For me, I understood my role in the context of a band changing its dynamic dramatically, working on new songs without two of its founding members [drummer Joey Jordison and bassist Paul Gray]. That was huge for a band that had, at this point, existed almost 20 years or something. It wasn’t like walking on eggshells ’cause I knew the role that I was coming in to play. I haven’t been in this band as long as they have, so it was a lot of learning. And still, to this day, I approach this band with open eyes and open ears ’cause I think every day, I’m learning more and more. And every day, I think, as an individual, and perhaps as a collective, we get closer and closer to understanding the potential of what the band really has.

“So, no, not walking on eggshells – because I had a lot to bring and a lot to prove; not to an audience, I didn’t concern myself with that because I can’t control that. I can’t control how a listening audience is going to accept new Slipknot songs that are my first songs playing with the band or whatever. I can’t control how anybody’s gonna react to that. But I had a lot to prove to myself, I had a lot to prove to my new bandmates that – for whatever reason – were drawn to my playing and that I was asked to be a part of their band for a reason. I felt my role, I had to lead with confidence. I was like, ‘I’m here to play music with these guys, and they enjoy it, so I’m gonna enjoy it.’ And whatever role that is within the band, it wasn’t walking on eggshells because I had to really – I had to really show up every day.

“And with time, that doesn’t change, but I had to show up every day and blow the doors off the place, or try to. I had to convey to my new bandmates that they made the right decision. And that’s something that I feel really strongly about to this day. I don’t take my role within the band very lightly; I take it very seriously ’cause it means a lot to me, and I understand it means a lot to other people. Because before I joined this band, this band meant a lot to me. So I understand how Slipknot’s audience perceives the band and makes it a part of their lives as well – I understand that dynamic.

“Starting with [2014’s] ‘The Gray Chapter’ and then playing 200 shows and then working on another album that became [2019’s] ‘We Are Not Your Kind,’ and then playing however many shows we were able to play until we got forced to not play any more shows, I had to really bring my all every day.

I’ve heard nothing but positive things about both Weinberg’s work ethic and personality since he joined the band, so needless to say that union ended up working out quite well for all involved. He seems like quite the mensch! And a helluva drummer, too.

You can listen to the whole chat below.

[via Ultimate Guitar]