On the record saying 7-string guitars are gay, which I disagree with. Instead, one guitarist plays B.C. Rich 6-string guitars along with some Jackson ones, the other plays PRS exclusivly, both of which are tuned down. There are a lot of power chords, but no more than the average metal band.

There are 9 members in the band, including:
guitarist (2)
bassist
vocalist
DJ
Sampling
drummer
percussionist (2)

They're from Des Moines, Iowa, which, if you've ever been there, gives them license enough to be angry. Also, many members are over 30 years old, which, while not old, isn't young either.

Thank you to CzarKhan for correcting my guitar models.

The band and the masks

Current members ("the family unit", as they describe it) of Slipknot include:

"0" Sid Wilson, turntables.
Mask: 8-9 different gas masks. He names them all.
Nickname: "Monkeyboy"

"1" Joey Jordison, drums.
Mask: An expressionless Japanese Kabuki mask, with scars painted across the forehead and mouth.
Nickname: "Superball"

"2" Paul Gray, bass.
Mask: Paul has two masks: The tight, normal one that tends to look like a beaver, and the loose, more pig-oriented one. He says it reflects his indulgent personality.
Nickname: ??

"3" Chris Fehn, custom percussions.
Mask: A pinocchio-type mask with a 7½ inch nose and a zipper for a mouth.
Nickname: "Mr. Picklenose"

"4" James Root, guitars.
Mask: When he joined the group, he was forced to wear a bondage hood, which was originally worn by the member he replaced, Josh. However when Slipknot played sweat would be trapped inside the mask so he made a Jester's mask to reflect on his Jester-like personality. It has a zipper for a mouth and a spike for a chin. He says that "it is smelly and disgusting, and everyone gets pissed at me because the mask stinks up the whole house."
Nickname: "Jim", "The Peach"

"5" Craig Jones, sampling.
Mask: A diver's helmet (found at a gas station), which has about 25 nails sticking out of it. The nails are real, and they are 6 inches long. His old mask had a tube hanging from the bottom, and the new one doesn't.
Nickname: "133 Mhz"

"6" Shawn Crahan, custom percussions.
Mask: A clown mask. He was the first one to wear a mask in the rehearsals.
Nickname: "Kong"

"7" Mick Thomson, guitars.
Mask: He has two masks: A green painted hockey mask and a metallic leather mask.
Nickname: "Log"

"8" Corey Taylor, vocals.
Mask: A crash test dummy head. The dreads are partially his own hair.
Nickname: "The Sickness" (though he prefers "Faith")

Ex-members:

Andreas Colsefini: The original lead vocalist, who was replaced by Corey Taylor during the recording of Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat..
Josh: The original rhythm guitarist. Left for "No apparent reason" after the recording of the self-titled album. Plays on all tracks except for Purity. He was replaced by James Root.
Greg "Cuddles" Welts: The original custom percussionist. He left not long after he joined and was replaced by Chris Fehn.

Interestingly enough, the entire band is drug-free.

CRC: Your band doesn't do any drugs?

Corey: NONE. I quit doin' drugs ten years ago, and I've never fuckin' looked back.

CRC: That's fuckin' awesome.

Corey: It's a choice, you know?

CRC: Oh, no, we would have never guessed, cause some of that stuff you guys put out (laughter from Corey & Chris)

Corey: Well, a kid asked us if we were on something, in St. Louis, "What do you guys take before you go on?" It was like, "Water?"

-from an interview with CRC Radio

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Also of note, one of their guitarists quit the group and now plays with Vanilla Ice. His name was Josh Brainerd, I believe.

The most common type of slipknot is made like this:

1. Take your rope.
2. Make a loop in it by crossing one end over the other.
3. Take the end comming out of the bottom of the loop you just made, and make another loop such that to bottom of the loop is the same part of the rope as the bottom of the other loop.
4. Put the new loop halfway into the old loop, and tighten the old loop.
5. You now have a slipknot.

notice the lack of ASCII art.

Slip"knot` (?), n.

knot which slips along the rope or line around which it is made.

 

© Webster 1913.