Slipknot bassist found dead

[Nocturnal]

Just found this online:

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1639900/20100524/slipknot.jhtml

[bassvirtuoso]

I'm from Iowa and I have buddies who were friends with the band. Unofficially it sounds like drugs, he had quite the problem a while back. He was a pretty good guy, its such a shame.

[Highlander]

Better to burn out than fade away...? RIP

[GonzoBass]

My son is in mourning.
One of his favorite bands.

Too young to go
but if it were drugs,
it'll be a tragic lesson for my young bassist here.
 

RIP

[uwe]

Ouch. He was young. A lefty too, right? I liked his signature Ibanez ATK.

With someone from Slipknot you probably have to say URIP (unrest in peace), but I hope they have a lot of lefty basses at the place he just moved to. He can always start a band with Dimebag.

[Aussie Mark]

Are they sure it's him?  Did he die with the mask on?

[uwe]

(In Dame Edna voice) Mark, you naughty possum!

[bassvirtuoso]

Are they sure it's him?  Did he die with the mask on?

Well Mark, at least he's easily replaceable.

[Highlander]

That puts a whole new spin on the, "He died wi' his boot's on" thing...

[lowend1]

Ouch. He was young. A lefty too, right? I liked his signature Ibanez ATK.

With someone from Slipknot you probably have to say URIP (unrest in peace), but I hope they have a lot of lefty basses at the place he just moved to. He can always start a band with Dimebag.

Why is it that when a rocker goes to that "great gig in the sky", we automatically assume that the first course of business is to hit the open mic nights with other musicians who have passed on? "Yeah, he's probably up there jammin' with Jimi and Janis." Can you imagine what a clusterf***k one of those would be? I always picture Jaco trying to lock in with Keith Moon, while GG Allin flings his own feces at Karen Carpenter.

[uwe]

If I ever get up there, I'd be honored to have Karen sing a song with me. I think I would ask her to sing Leaving on a Jet Plane with me and then invite her for dinner, that girl needs to eat.

I thought Paul Gray and Dimebag somehow fitted better than, say, Gray and Hendrix. Couldn't think of any other late nu metallists!!!

I'd invite Tommy Bolin for a jam. With Tony Thompson on drums and - let's not be too modest - Miles Davis on trumpet. That said, this guy probably has abrupt mood swings in heaven too. 

[GonzoBass]

Well Mark, at least he's easily replaceable.

Well, in all fairness, not really.
He was a founding member
and one of the main writers for the band.

What many people don't know about Gray is that he was one of the co-founders of Slipknot,
along with percussionist Shawn 'Clown' Crahan, and was also one of the main writers of the group, one of the most influential and innovative metal bands of the past decade.
In a press conference in Des Moines, Iowa on Tuesday evening, Crahan said,
"It's very important that everybody outside of us understands that Paul Gray was the essence of Slipknot.
Paul Gray was there from the very, very beginning.
And none of us would be on the path that we're on right now in life or have the sorts of lives that we have without him."

Crahan added that in addition to Gray's musical and creative contributions, he was a warm, kind-hearted man who called for unity in times of discord.
"Paul loved the fans," Crahan said.
"He was the kind of person in the band that really wanted everybody in the band to get along and just concentrate on the band.
So he was a really great friend and a great person.
He's going to be sadly missed and the world is going to be a different place without him."

More HERE if you're interested.

[bassvirtuoso]

Sorry Gonzo, that was a joke. I know of Paul's background, I've followed them from the beginning. We don't have too many rock acts come out of Iowa...

[GonzoBass]

My bad.

Didn't mean to come off as overly sensitive
but this was one of my son's favorite bands,
so we've listened to them together
(he keeps me current...)
and it was quite a shocking lesson here to find that one of his "heroes"
could end his life so meaninglessly.

There was a strange mixture of anger, disbelief and disgust on his part.

At least we were able to talk about it,
learn from it,
attempt to understand,
and really tried to make some sense out of it.

Still tragic...