- See also: The Liar Club.
Christopher Michael Fehn (born February 24, 1973) was one of two percussionists in the metal band Slipknot. Chris used a Pinocchio-style mask, which has been seen in many different colors and styles with the nose of the mask always staying at 71⁄2 inches (about 19 cm) long. Chris's mask was most likely based on the masks worn by doctors during the Black Plague, where the nose was filled with herbs to 'protect' the doctor from inhaling the fumes of death, or possibly on the mask Alex wore during the rape scene from the film A Clockwork Orange. Chris liked to simulate masturbation with the nose of his mask during shows. Chris was a college football kicker before the start of Slipknot. He did most of the backup vocals together with Shawn "Clown" Crahan.
Personal Life and Career
Fehn was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa. Prior to joining Slipknot, he played as a kicker on the Wayne State University Football team. Fehn joined the band around late August (early September) 1998, replacing percussionist Greg Welts, who was forced out of Slipknot after the band due to personal conflicts with drummer Joey Jordison which stemmed from Welts dating Jordison's sister. Fehn stands 6'1" in height and is of Norwegian descent.
As well as lending his percussion talents to the band, Fehn has also sung backing vocals on a number of songs Slipknot has both recorded and performed live. Outside Slipknot, Fehn is a very keen golfer, and evidences this on the band's 2006 DVD, Voliminal: Inside the Nine, where he is interviewed while playing golf. Fehn describes himself as a "big fan of the band" and says of Slipknot, "the world needed something like this." Slipknot bassist Paul Gray stated in an interview that Fehn "often brings humor to the band." and that they "definitely need that guy." Prior to joining Slipknot in 1998, Fehn was close friends with Slipknot's percussionist Shawn Crahan. According to Fehn, he had originally asked Crahan if he could be drummer Joey Jordison's drum tech. Shortly after his request was made, Fehn was given an offer to play custom percussion in the band. Fehn was then given a rough demo that contained all of Slipknot's songs. Fehn has said that "Spit It Out" was the song that stood out to him the most. Fehn then tried out on percussion and was subsequently made part of Slipknot. Of the nine members, Chris was the eighth to join the band.
In the early years of Slipknot before their signing with Roadrunner Records, Fehn was an electrician. In a recent interview with Face Culture, Fehn said that the band members gave him a hard time in his early years with the band. He described that his time during the self-titled album era was his "hazing period" with the band.
His mask was featured in the movie Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay.
On March 23, 2012, Chris welcomed his son into the world.
Departure from Slipknot (2019)
On March 14, 2019, Chris filed a lawsuit against the band citing withheld payments. Fehn specifically accused Corey Taylor and Shawn Crahan of setting up several band-related business entities, in different states, that collect money from the band. Fehn called for full forensic accounting to be done on all of the band's companies and assets in order to collect any profits and damages he may be owed.
On March 17, 2019, it was announced that Fehn was no longer a member of the band, stating, "Slipknot's focus is on making album #6, and our upcoming shows around the world, our best ever. Chris knows why he is no longer a part of Slipknot. We are disappointed that he chose to point fingers and manufacture claims, rather than doing what was necessary to continue to be a part of Slipknot. We would have preferred he not take the path that he has, but evolution in all things is a necessary part of this life. Long Live The Knot".
Masks
Chris Fehn's masks all have the same overall design, worn over a bondage hood. His first mask for the bands' self-titled era was white. For the Iowa era, he used the same mask as the self-titled era due to the years of touring it became dark and stretched out almost making a new mask. One of his more popular masks was from the Vol. 3 Subliminal verses which had a red face. His most recent mask for All Hope Is Gone has a color similar to the Iowa era mask. The nose always stays at 7 1/2 inches. All of these masks are face-masks with leather straps worn over bondage hoods. Chris has stated in numerous interviews that his mask was already made for him prior to him joining the band. However, there are still rumors that Fehn's mask design is most likely based on those worn by doctors during the Black Plague, where the nose was filled with herbs to 'protect' the doctor from inhaling the fumes of death. Another widely discussed influence is the possibility of the mask being based on that which was adorned by Alex and his "droogs" during the rape scene in the 1971 film A Clockwork Orange.
A third idea of the origin of the mask also comes from Commedia dell'arte, an Italian comedy which held its popularity through the 15th and 18th centuries. In particular, Chris' mask resembles a version of Pantalone's phallic-nosed mask. A fourth idea of the origin of the mask is the Pinocchio character. Backstage at Slipknot's second Ozzfest show, Fehn expanded on the mask to a local interviewer, saying, "This mask reflects my comic personality. Plus I chose it for the bondage factor. When you put it on, it takes you to another place. It's very hot, it's very tight, and it hurts– that goes along with the aggression we create." In a more recent interview in London, Fehn claimed that "The smell gets worse, it smells like puke, sweat, and piss!" The mask is also shown in the movie Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay when Harold pulls it out of Neil Patrick Harris's bag after he is shot by the prostitutes. When they pull it out Harold calls it a "creepy mask" and it startles Kumar. The mask is shown too in one of the scenes of the Hellraiser IV: Bloodline movie, where appears the Pilar Of Souls behind the Chatterer Beast, there is an exactly identical mask seen on this Pilar when Pinhead says "Work with me, or for Me". The mask can be seen at one side of the Pillar.
Equipment
- Custom Pearl timpani style drums.
- Pearl Competitor FFX-style marching snare (12x14).
- Vic Firth Metal American Classic drum sticks.
- Two empty beer kegs, played primarily with a baseball bat.
Fehn's drums were custom-welded by fellow Slipknot percussionist Shawn Crahan. Fehn and Crahan use the same set-up for their drums; however, Crahan's set, along with Joey Jordison's, is normally mounted on a scissor lift which goes high into the air and rotates, whereas Fehn's drum set is mounted on a swivel, allowing them to rotate 90° and tilt in numerous directions, as seen in the videos for "Left Behind" and "Before I Forget". Fehn prefers not to use the scissor lift due to his fear of heights.
Gallery
Masks
Replica Masks
Tattoos
Trivia
- He played the character "Vulture" in the movie Officer Downe.
- Originally, Chris wanted to be a roadie for Slipknot, before joining the band, this whole ordeal stretched out for a month, and was described as a scene from the movie "Fight Club".
- Before Chris got the #3 on his jumpsuit, he wore the #4, and also worn Errin Keltner's "∀" jumpsuit.
- Chris didn't record any music on the self-titled album, but he was at Indigo Ranch during the recording and mixing, as Joey's personal assistant (and "tape-tech"), he had to wrap up Joey's hands everyday because they were bleeding every time he hit a cymbal. Chris would also go out and get Joey food from restaurants. The only stuff Chris recorded for the album was the audio track right before Eeyore, where the band is talking and watching a scat porn (called "Mudslide"). Chris was the one puking, Shawn filmed the whole thing, but the footage hasn't been released, this was Fehn's initiation. Also Ross Robinson forced Chris to drink two gallons of water 'til he was on the verge of throwing up to get a mic'd mallet sound out of his stomach, it's unknown what song this recorded audio was used on, or if it was even used at all.
External Links
| Slipknot | |
|---|---|
| Current Members: | #0 Sid Wilson • #4 Jim Root • #6 Shawn "Clown" Crahan • #7 Mick Thomson • #8 Corey Taylor • (V) Alex Venturella • Michael Pfaff • Unidentified sampler |
| Former Members: | Anders Colsefni • #4 Josh "Gnar" Brainard • #2 Paul Gray • #1 Joey Jordison • Donnie Steele • Kun Nong • #3 Greg "Cuddles" Welts • #3 Chris Fehn • #5 Craig "133" Jones • (J) Jay Weinberg Live Only: (ᗺ) Brandon Darner |