Vended say they didn’t get help from their dads in Slipknot: “We learned this shit by ourselves”

Vended have spoken of how they’ve carved out their own path in the music industry, without the help of their dads from Slipknot.

Corey Taylor and Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan are the fathers of the rising metal band’s members Griffin and Simon, respectively. The group is completed by Connor Grodzicki, Jeremiah Pugh and Cole Espeland.

  • READ MORE: The NME Big Read – Slipknot: “I’m just going to tell you the facts: ‘We Are Not Your Kind is a masterpiece”

During a new interview with Kerrang!, Vended opened up about how some people assume that they’re at a significant advantage compared to other new acts, owing to the success and talent their famous parents.

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“Yeah, we got more help than other bands do and I’m honest about that,” Simon told the outlet. “I’m not going to say we didn’t because that’s not fair to who our fathers are.

“They’ve helped us, but they have never, ever, ever, written our music, never showed us how to play, never showed us how to perform onstage, they’ve never done any of that. When people say, ‘Oh, Griffin’s dad’s probably showing him how to scream how he does,’ Griff is learning on his fucking own.”

Griff went on to recall how he began learning to scream in middle school, but said he “understand[s]” why people might think that Vended “got all of their musical talent from their fathers”.

He continued: “I understand where people come from with that, because of genes or just the way a voice is built or someone’s reflexes are built, but we didn’t get our parents’ musical talent. We found that on our own.”

Simon agreed, explaining that his dad “never showed me how to play the drums” growing up. “Maybe he showed me little things, but I learned that shit by myself – we all learned this shit by ourselves,” he said.

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“To think that some people actually think our dads help us like that, I can see what they’re talking about, but we’re a bunch of fucking talented 18, 19, 20-year-olds that are trying to show the world that anyone can fucking do it. People can just fuck right off, half the time.”

Vended released their “unforgiving and uncompromising” latest single, ‘Ded To Me’, last month. A press release noted at the time that more new music from the five-piece would be coming “very soon”. Their five-track debut EP, ‘What Is It/Kill It’, came out in November 2021.

Next week, the band will play two UK headline shows: at The Black Heart in London on Monday (August 15) and at The Anvil in Bournemouth on Wednesday (August 17). Vended are also set to make an appearance at Bloodstock Festival in Derbyshire this Sunday (August 14).