Jay Weinberg Flew to LA Audition Without Knowing it Was for Slipknot
You’d think that before agreeing to fly across the entire country for an audition you’d really like to have some idea of who you were auditioning far. Ya know, so you could learn the songs and stuff.
But Jay Weinberg, who has been drumming with Slipknot since 2014, agreed to the audition and hopped on a plane without the foggiest clue. In a recent episode of the Best Friends with Sam Pura podcast, Weinberg revealed that he didn’t know who he would be auditioning for until the moment he walked into the rehearsal room and saw Jim Root, Mick Thomson, Corey Taylor and Clown standing there. Good thing he already knew how to play some Slipknot songs! He explains:
“I finished school. Shortly after that I got a call to come out and audition for something. I wasn’t told what it was gonna be, but just like… ‘can you please come out to LA and audition for this thing?’ with no other information other than that and it was like “well, yeah why wouldn’t I go check that out”. Like, what’s the worst thing that could happen? I get a free flight to LA or something?
“So I just kind of followed that and it was just like alright go in that room… there’s a drumset. You’re going to audition for Slipknot right now. And that was it. Like half the band was there. We had become good friends over sixteen years. They watched me grow up as a person.
“It was me, Jim, Mick, Corey, and Clown. It was like, lets toss this kid into the ring and see whatever the fuck happens with this, you know, with no expectations of what would happen. Because they didn’t know that I knew the band’s songs. They knew I loved the band but they didn’t really know to what extent I had studied the music.”
To be fair, Weinberg must have had SOME inkling of what to expect, especially given the fact that he admits he and the band members had already been friends for a long time — on the six hour flight to LA he surely pondered the idea that it was Slipknot and perhaps banged a few songs out on his hands and feet. But still, that’s hella impressive!
Weinberg’s father Max — drummer for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and longtime Conan O’Brien late night band leader — recently revealed his thoughts on his son’s metal profession.
[via Rock Feed]
