SLIPKNOT's SHAWN 'CLOWN' CRAHAN On TRUMP's Proposed U.S.-Mexico Wall: 'There Will Never Be A Wall In Rock And Roll'

August 30, 2017

During a Mexico City press conference to promote the new SLIPKNOT documentary, "Day Of The Gusano", M. Shawn Crahan, a.k.a. Clown, was asked about President Donald Trump's plan to construct a wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

A cornerstone of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, the wall's effectiveness has been questioned by many, with some describing it as "limited at best " and "impractical at worst." Immigration advocacy groups argue it would not stem illegal border crossings.

Trump has vowed that Mexico will eventually fund the border wall, which could end up costing well over $21 billion, despite the country repeatedly stating it would not pay.

At the August 17 press event, Crahan, who directed "Day Of The Gusano", sidestepped a question about Trump's policy on the Mexican border wall, saying instead (see video below): "In my opinion, there is no wall in rock and roll, and there will never be a wall in rock and roll. When you come to a SLIPKNOT show, every race of people is there. Why wouldn't there be? I wouldn't do this if we had rules of who could come. We're all human.

"Right now, the world is a really strange place, and yes, things are very tense," he continued. "But I'm not political or religious, because I just don't devote my life to that stuff and I don't wanna seem ignorant in it, so I just perform and play God music, and that's all we're ever gonna do. We feel because… I wanna come here and express my love, and I want everyone to not judge all of us Americans, and we don't wanna judge you, and that's really the point. And that's what music does for all of us. It's really God to me.

"Music is the only God I really know, because it's the only thing that's been there and helped me through everything — whether it was money or a relationship or spiritual or physical… It doesn't matter — music is the only thing."

Crahan concluded: "So I can ever say is I couldn't comprehend [having] walls in music. We in the music business try to break down walls. So hopefully you feel that that's what we're doing."

"Day Of The Gusano" documents the Iowa band's first-ever visit to Mexico in December 2015 and features exclusive interviews with SLIPKNOT's members talking about the importance of their fanbase and the band's long-awaited first-ever show in Mexico City. The ninety-minute documentary also chronicles the rabid devotion of the Mexican fans and sees the band hearing personal, emotive stories from some of their diehard followers, all interspersed with footage from SLIPKNOT's incendiary live show at the inaugural Knotfest México.

"Day Of The Gusano" will be premiered in more than a thousand screens across the world as a one-night-only cinematic spectacle on September 6.

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