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Stone Sour and Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor opens up about Paul Gray's death, the future of Slipknot, and what it's like performing in front of his hometown crowd
Stone Sour played the first Lazerfest in 2002, wedged between Van Halen tribute act Atomic Punks and Rob Zombie, a week before the untested Des Moines rock band released its self-titled and eventual gold-selling debut album, and a year before its first of three Grammy nominations.
Corey Taylor's "other" band returns as a co-headliner at Sunday's Lazerfest. Now out of the shadow of metal gods Slipknot, Stone Sour and Taylor have racked up five top 10 singles (including No. 1 hits "Through Glass" and "Say You'll Haunt Me") and two albums certified gold.
"It was a weird day, a crazy day," Taylor, of Des Moines, said of that first Lazerfest. "I have some good memories, some somber."
Taylor's friend Dave Williams, whose band Drowning Pool had been scheduled to play, died a few days before the festival. Somber describes the last year of Taylor's life as well. Within the last month, Stone Sour bassist Shawn Economaki left the tour for personal reasons. (Taylor declined to comment on the matter.) And last May, his friend and Slipknot bandmate Paul Gray died from an accidental drug overdose.
Slipknot heads to Europe next month for a few shows, followed by a performance at a Brazil music festival in September. A June 17 show in Greece will be the first time the eight surviving members of Slipknot have appeared on stage together since a May 25, 2010 press conference at Wells Fargo Arena.
"We lost our brother, and the world seems a little smaller because of it," Taylor said at the brief press conference. "He was everything that was wonderful about this band and this group of people."
A lot of people ask Taylor if he's excited to perform with Slipknot again. His answer is no, and he's approaching the shows with caution. Just because Slipknot is playing a few gigs doesn't mean a new album or world tour is in the works.
"I hope it goes well, I guess, but at the end of the day, it's about Paul and what he meant to this band and the fans," he said. "People need to stop being so overly eager and let us take this one step at a time. I'm not a guy you want to force into a corner. I'll walk away."
Following the Europe dates with Slipknot, Taylor plans to do some book store appearances in support of his first book, "The Seven Deadly Sins: Settling the Argument Between Born Bad and Damaged Goods."
Taylor wrote the book in two months while recording Stone Sour's "Audio Secrecy" album, and despite the relative anonymity his Slipknot mask provides, he said he had no problem opening up about his life in the book.
He covers topics like his troubled family life growing up, knowing it didn't always present them (or himself) in the best light.
"When you're the main character, you've got to go there," Taylor said. "I didn't have the best life growing up, but I don't blame them. I wouldn't be who I am if I didn't go through that. I know I couldn't hold back and had to really go there. That's how I've always written, lyrically, and from the reaction I've seen, people really enjoy that."
Though Taylor has played for massive festival crowds with both Slipknot and Stone Sour, Sunday's Lazerfest co-headlining gig will likely bring him his largest hometown audience yet. It's a long way from the club shows of the mid-'90s, when Stone Sour and a pre-Taylor Slipknot were the biggest rock draws in town. But Taylor said there's an energy that comes from Des Moines shows he doesn't get elsewhere.
"It's weird man, it's not like playing a town that you've only seen a handful of times," Taylor said. "Invariably I end up picking people out of the crowd that I recognize. Like 'There's Mike!' "
Taylor said he puts a little extra into the home shows. "You're playing for family and friends and your hometown, no matter what they may think," he said. "Some people will be proud we're from there, and in the great Des Moines way some people will want to tear you down. Either way, it makes you put a little more into it."
Corey Taylor: A musical time line
1973: Taylor is born in Des Moines.
1992: Stone Sour is formed.
1997: Slipknot opens a show for Stone Sour, and the two end up facing off in the first round of a battle of the bands. Taylor then leaves Stone Sour to join fellow Des Moines band Slipknot.
1998: Slipknot signs a record deal with Roadrunner Records.
1999: Taylor's former Stone Sour guitarist, Jim Root, joins Slipknot. The band releases its self-titled platinum debut.
2001: Taylor's side project, Superego, performs at House of Bricks. The band features once and future Stone Sour members Jim Root, Josh Rand, Shawn Economaki and Joel Ekman. Slipknot releases its second platinum album, "Iowa" and gets its first Grammy nomination.
2002: Stone Sour officially reforms and plays Lazerfest, between Van Halen tribute act Atomic Punks and Rob Zombie. Slipknot gets its second Grammy nomination for "Left Behind."
2003: Stone Sour's "Get Inside" is nominated for a Grammy for Best Metal Performance. Slipknot's "My Plague" is also nominated, but both lose to Korn.
2004: Stone Sour's "Inhale" is nominated for a Best Metal Performance Grammy. Slipknot releases its third platinum album, "Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses)."
2005: Slipknot nominated for best hard rock performance for "Duality," and metal performance for "Vermillion."
2006: Stone Sour releases its second album, "Come What(ever) May." Slipknot wins its first Grammy for "Before I Forget."
2008: "All Hope is Gone" becomes the first Slipknot album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard charts.
2009: Slipknot is again nominated for a Grammy for "Psychosocial."
2010: Stone Sour releases its third album, "Audio Secrecy." Taylor's friend and Slipknot bandmate, Paul Gray, dies of an accidental drug overdose.
2011: Stone Sour co-headlines Lazerfest, while Slipknot prepares for dates in Europe and South America.
