Craig Jones (musician)

Craig "133" Jones
133 performing in Slipknot at 2009's Optimus Alive Festival.
Background information
Birth name	Craig Michael Jones
Also known as	#5, 133, The Silent One, Spike-Head, Pin-head
Born	February 11, 1972 (age 39) Des Moines, Iowa
Genres	Heavy metal, alternative metal, nu metal, groove metal
Occupations	Musician
Instruments	Sampler, MIDI controller, keyboard, guitar, synthesizer, vocals
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Roadrunner, Nuclear Blast
Associated acts	Slipknot, Modifidious
Website	http://www.slipknot1.com
Notable instruments
Cakewalk Sonar, Korg MicroKONTROL

Craig Michael Jones also known as 133 (or 133 mHz), The Silent One, or by his number #5, is an American musician, best known as the sampler and keyboardist of the band Slipknot.

Personal life and career

Jones was born in Des Moines, Iowa. He previously played in various local extreme metal bands, including Modifidious, before joining Slipknot in February 1996. He was the replacement for the band's original guitarist, Donnie Steele,^[1] who left during the recording of their first songs, put together into a demo called Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. which the band themselves have stated is not an album, but a demo. Because the band was almost completed with the demo, he did not contribute to it, but he did receive credit for its sleeve concept and graphics in the liner notes. Before the year was over, Jones had been replaced by guitarist Mick Thomson, and he began to assume his role as the band's sampler and keyboardist.^[2]

Jones is the only member of the band who is not interviewed completely unmasked on Voliminal: Inside the Nine. While he does not wear a mask during the interview, his face remains pixelated.

He speaks for two seconds at the start of their video Welcome to Our Neighborhood, where he says "133, number 5, sampling". He also speaks during the member introduction on the Ozzfest 1999 documentary called We Sold Our Souls for Rock and Roll, where he says "Craig, number 5, sampling".

Jones once suffered from whiplash after an extended case of powerful headbanging. He gave himself the nickname (133) because at the time 133mHz was the fastest computer around and now the nickname stuck

Personality

His background is unquestionably the most elusive of any other member of Slipknot, so much that he has been known to keep silence throughout even a series of questions. That is why he earned his second nickname, The Silent One. This is not to say he has never spoken outside the confines of the band, however. In fact, Jones has engaged an interview with Cakewalk regarding their equipment, which he prefers when performing samples.^[3] He begins most interviews with the zipper covering his mouth opened, and closes the zipper before making any reply to the questions asked. Jones prompted a burst of complaint letters when, another time he broke his silence during an interview, he was quoted as having made the sole statement that, "If I wasn't in this band, I'd probably be out killing people!" He has answered this question also, "If I wasn't in the band today, I'd be driving forklifts in a warehouse all day long."

Former Slipknot vocalist Anders Colsefni has implied that Jones is a misanthrope. While expressing distaste for Jones' behavior, Colsefini revealed that Jones was in fact the inspiration for the song "Killers Are Quiet". However a close friend of the band at the time, Frank Plumley, is credited for the song's relevant title. Colsefni provided further insight into Jones' personality when he claimed that, "Computers are Craig's best friend." According to producer Ross Robinson, Jones was disturbingly quiet during their studio sessions.^[4]

However, contrary to popular belief, Jones has been known to be very open and somewhat talkative with fans after Slipknot's performances. This may suggest that his dangerously taciturn behavior is an affectation or exaggeration for the sake of publicity and/or intrigue; it is also be possible that it is intended to achieve the opposite effect and minimise scrutiny of his private life. Some have commented that the "serial killer" comments he has made may be his attempt at dark humor, in addition to his preference to speak during interviews exclusively with the zipper covering his mouth closed. In some interviews, Corey Taylor has jokingly answered for him when reporters asked to speak to him "Well, do you want to talk to him? I mean, look at him..." However Craig has done two online text interviews after the release of the self-titled album, and readers of the interview have noticed that online he is a lot less hostile than he lets on. In the video of the making of "Sulfur", Craig Jones is actually shown talking to the camera.^[5]

On Nine: The Making of All Hope Is Gone, the DVD that comes with the special edition of All Hope Is Gone, Craig is the only member of the band to have his face censored while everyone else appears with their face clear and uncensored. During the Making of Sulfur video however, Craig is shown casually talking and laughing with the cameraman, at one point turning to him and saying "Wow, I can actually do this thing myself" while fiddling with his mask. This is more evidence towards the fact that he is a lot more friendly in reality.

He made his first public appearance unmasked on May 25, 2010 during Slipknot's live press conference regarding the death of bassist Paul Gray. However, he did not make a statement and mostly tried to stay hidden by putting his hand over the lower half of his face.

Mask

Jones originally wore pantyhose over his head, accompanied with a Spam t-shirt. Other times, he would wear a mask of wolf skin.^[1] When Jones became full time sampler after being replaced by Mick Thomson as guitarist, he then began using a white space helmet adorned with a Sinclair Oil sticker, probably obtained from drummer Jordison who was formerly an employee at a local Sinclair gas station^{[citation needed]}. This helmet was later painted black and had nails hammered through the top to vaguely resemble spiky hair. He did not enjoy wearing the mask and worn in conjunction with an MBU-11 Air Force gas mask.; a strobe light was also added to the top of the helmet, but this was removed shortly after. It was said to represent pain. His most recent variation of the mask has a collection of nails rising from its head. It has two small slits for eyeholes, two even smaller circular nose holes and a big silver zipper in between its lips, similar to a gimp mask. This contrasts heavily to the mask he used during Slipknot's self-titled era. This mask has been caused for concern during video shoots; during the video for Duality those involved were told to keep a safe distance from him and Corey Taylor was "impaled" by one of the nails during the Sulfur shoot.

Discography

Main article: Slipknot discography

With Slipknot

• 1996: Mate.Feed.Kill.Repeat (credited but did not actually perform on the album)
• 1997: Crowz
• 1998: Slipknot Demo
• 1999: Slipknot
• 2001: Iowa
• 2004: Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)
• 2005: 9.0 Live
• 2008: All Hope Is Gone

Filmography

• 1999: Welcome to Our Neighborhood
• 2002: Disasterpieces
• 2002: Rollerball
• 2006: Voliminal: Inside the Nine
• 2008: Nine: The Making of "All Hope Is Gone"
• 2009: Of the (sic): Your Nightmares, Our Dreams
• 2010: (sic)nesses
• 2011: Goat

Equipment

Slipknot era

• AKAI MPC2000XL sampler
• Clavia Nord Lead Synth
• Yamaha Cs6x
• Roland JP8000
• Yamaha controller
• Yamaha PSR 720

Iowa era

• Roland SP-808 "groove sampler"
• Roland SP-808EX "e-mix station"

Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) era

• Cakewalk Sonar
• Korg MicroKontrol Midi keyboard/pad controller

All Hope Is Gone era

• Korg Kontrol 49
• Akai Z4 Rackmount Sampler
• Roland Fantom XR Rackmount Sampler/Synth

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Slipknot Craig Jones Profile
2. ^ http://www.black-goat.com/thestory.php
3. ^ Artist Profile: Craig (#5), Slipknot
4. ^ BlackGoat - Slipknot
5. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO3nqWAd1p4

External links

• Slipknot website
• Craig Jones at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Jones, Craig
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	February 11, 1972
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death