Craig Jones (musician)

This page is about the Slipknot musician. For the motorcycle racer, see Craig Jones (motorcycle racer). For the Australian cricketer, see Craig Jones (cricketer). For the English footballer, see Craig Jones (footballer). For the fictional character in "Friday" film, see Craig Jones (Friday).

Craig Jones

Craig Michael Jones (February 11, 1973), also known as 133 or by his number #5 , is an American musician, best known as the sampler of Slipknot.

Personal life and career

Jones was born in Des Moines, Iowa. He previously played guitar in various local extreme metal bands, including Modifidious, before joining Slipknot in February 1996. He was the replacement for the band's original guitarist, Donnie Steele, who left during the recording of their first songs, put together into a demo called Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. which the band themselves have stated is not an album, but a demo. Reportedly due to his Christian beliefs, Jones did not lend his guitar talents to the album, but he did receive credit for its sleeve concept and graphics in the liner notes. Before the year was over, Jones had been replaced by guitarist Mick Thomson, and he began to assume his role as the band's sampler and keyboardist.

Jones is the only member of the band who is not interviewed completely unmasked on Voliminal: Inside the Nine. While he does not wear a mask during the interview, his face remains obstructed by a constant blur. Also, he does not speak during the segment featured on the film, nor during the extended version of the footage featured on user-submitted content websites such as YouTube (originally from the Outside The Nine released DVD: Fan Club Propaganda Reel 1).

Jones was once in a marriage, but is currently divorced.

Personality

His background is unquestionably the most elusive of any other member of Slipknot, so much that he has been known to keep silence throughout even a series of questions. This is not to say he has never spoken outside the confines of the band, however. In fact, Jones has engaged an interview with Cakewalk regarding their equipment, which he prefers when performing samples. He begins most interviews with the zipper covering his mouth opened, and closes the zipper before making any reply to the questions asked. Jones prompted a burst of complaint letters when, another time he broke his silence during an interview, he was quoted as having made the sole statement that, "If I wasn't in this band, I'd probably be out killing people!" He has answered this question also, "If I wasn't in the band today, I'd be driving forklifts in a warehouse all day long."

Former Slipknot vocalist Anders Colsefini has implied that Jones is a misanthrope. While expressing distaste for Jones' behavior, Colsefini revealed that Jones was in fact the inspiration for the song "Killers Are Quiet". However a close friend of the band at the time, Frank Plumley, is credited for the song's fitting title. Colsefini provided further insight into Jones' personality when he claimed that, "Computers are Craig's best friend." According to producer Ross Robinson, Jones was disturbingly quiet during their studio sessions

However, contrary to popular belief, Jones has been known to be very open and, somewhat talkative with fans after Slipknot's performances. This may suggest that his dangerously taciturn behavior is an affectation or exaggeration for the sake of publicity and intrigue. Some have commented that the "serial killer" comments he has made may be his attempt at dark humor, in addition to his preference to speak during interviews exclusively with the zipper covering his mouth closed. However he has done two online text interviews after the release of the Self-Titled Album, and readers of the interview have noticed that online he is a lot less hostile than he lets on.

On Nine: The Making of All Hope Is Gone, the DVD that comes with the special edition of All Hope Is Gone, Craig is the only member of the band to have his face censored while everyone else appears with their face clear and uncensored.

Mask

Jones originally wore pantyhose over his head, accompanied with a Spam t-shirt. Other times, he would wear a mask of wolf skin. When Jones became sampler after being replaced by Thomson as guitarist, he then began using a white helmet adorned by a Sinclair Oil sticker, probably obtained from Jordison who was formerly an employee at a local Sinclair gas station. This helmet was later painted black and decorated with nails, a gas mask was also placed over it; a camera's flash was also added to the top of the helmet, but this was removed shortly after. It was said to represent pain. His most recent variation of the mask has a collection of eight to nine inch nails rising from its head. It has two small slits for eyeholes, two even smaller circular nose holes and a big silver zipper in between its lips, similar to a gimp mask. This contrasts heavily to the mask he used during Slipknot's self-titled era, which he constructed from a black racing helmet with rusty nails hammered through the top.

Discography

Main article: Slipknot discography

With Slipknot

• 1999: Slipknot
• 2001: Iowa
• 2004: Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)
• 2008: All Hope Is Gone

Filmography

• 1999: Welcome to Our Neighborhood
• 2002: Disasterpieces
• 2002: Rollerball
• 2006: Voliminal: Inside the Nine
• 2008: Nine: The Making of "All Hope Is Gone"

Equipment

Slipknot era

• AKAI MPC2000XL sampler
• Clavia Nord Lead Synth or a Yamaha Cs6x for 74126000027
• Roland JP8000
• Yamaha controller
• Yamaha PSR 720

Iowa era

• Roland SP-808 "groove sampler"
• Roland SP-808EX "e-mix station"

Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) era

• Hardware and software samplers
• Korg MicroKontrol Midi keyboard/pad controller

All Hope Is Gone era

• Korg Kontrol 49 Midi keyboard/pad controller

External links

• Slipknot website
• Craig Jones at IMDb