In an interview with Tone-Talk Slipknot guitarist Jim Root commented on how lucky the band was to have spoken with and secured the drummer position with Brazilian Eloy Casagrande , and how the first two shows the band played with the new member went. The shows took place on April 25th at Pappy + Harriet's in Pioneertown, California, and on April 27th at the Sick New World festival in Las Vegas.
Jim commented (via Blabbermouth ): “We just did two new shows to introduce our new drummer to the world. We did a secret show at Pappy + Harriet’s in Pioneertown, in the desert, near Indio, Palm Springs area. I love the desert, and that whole vibe is really cool. And the people there were so nice, so cool, so receptive. And they had to have a city council meeting for us to do the show there, because they were kind of like, ‘Oooh, Slipknot. This is kind of a hippie, chill community. Do we want this chaos to happen here?’ kind of thing, but it all turned out really well and everyone was very accepting and everyone was very respectful.[…]
[…] And it gave us the chance to do something we hadn't done in years, if not decades: play for 300 people. That was so much fun. I can't even describe it. So we were like, 'Boom, here he is. Yes, you were right. It's Eloy Casagrande. He's our new guy.' And then – what? – two days later, we did a Sick New World in Las Vegas. So, we got that under control and out of the way, and now it's time to move forward and forward, and upward and do a lot more improvising and rehearsing. I need to get into songwriting mode so we can write songs worthy of Eloy's drumming, because that guy is a world-class drummer.”
Later in the conversation, Jim Root also commented on how Eloy approached them, in which he contacted them first, sending some videos of him playing, and how the band's bassist, Alessandro “Vman” Venturella , already knew the drummer previously.
“We didn’t even try with anyone else. Eloy’s name came up. And Vman is really in tune with a lot of great, progressive, heavy musicians who are passionate about their instruments, it seemed like a no-brainer. And he really respects Joey’s [ Jordison , former drummer] legacy, and Joey was a huge influence on him. And he’s so humble. And you can tell he lives and breathes his craft, to the point that I see his passion and it ignites my passion for my instrument. And Brazilians, South Americans in general, are so passionate about what they do. He went out to dinner with four or five promoters from South America, and they were all very enthusiastic. They’re all like, ‘It’s so great that you have a Brazilian drummer in Slipknot now. We feel like we’ve won the World Cup.’ It’s a cool feeling. And God, he fits so well. And we’re lucky to have him – we’re very lucky to have this guy,” he concludes.
READ ALSO: Eloy Casagrande on joining Slipknot: “The reason I accepted was the end of Sepultura”