His real name is Nathan Jonas Jordison. He says he's 5'4 but in actual fact he is 5'3. He is an UNBELIEVABLE drummer and he can also play guitar. He's talkative, diminutive, and just really down to Earth. He's the shortest one of the lot and is also one of the original members of Slipknot. Before joining he was part of the band Anal Blast. Joey created the now commonly used term of maggot and apparently he also has an obsession with Fiona Apple. Joey has written many songs, one of them being Scissors which appeared on the self-titled album, which was consequently mixed by him as well. Joey attained the nickname "Superball" after one show that Slipknot played crap in, so he got mad and started "bouncing around the room" Joey worked at a record store called "Music Land" and a gas station called "Sinclair's". He worked at the garage four nights a week for 10 hours after being tempted by a friend, to get a job their. Although receiving poor grades in school due to a devotion to music, he eventually graduated with honours.
Joey likes to wear a black hood that says "Little People Kill People". The tribal "S" that has originated as their logo was originally drawn by Joey, it was later used as a tattoo for Anders and then got promoted to a Slipknot emblem. Joey also drew the main Slipknot logo, and the large "K" and "T" may come from the fact that at that time he was a huge KoRn fan. Joey is also really into a lot of Death Metal bands and was a huge fan of "Kiss" seeing them as larger than life super heroes, the other band he loved was "Black Sabbath". Joey used to cut the arms and legs off of his coveralls, making it a tad easier to beat on things.
Joey also helps to produce the Slipknot records and has also helped with a remix of the Marilyn Manson track, "Fight Song", which he worked on with producer Sean McMahon.
At Slipknot's first show, prior to the performance; to get attention Joey stood on the stage and shouted, "I need a little Christmas in my drink", over and over.
Quote - "Ross (Robinson) is insane! Once, when we were recording here, he threw a potted plant at me. It exploded on the wall over my head and the dirt went in my mouth. It was awesome."
Hobbies: "It is pretty much covered by music 24/7. Aside from that, maybe video games, sleeping and sex. "
Mask - Joey wears an expressionless Japanese ""kabuki" mask that is now marked up with black + red paint for a darker look. He got the idea when one night (Halloween, mid 80s) his mum was waiting up for him and we he came home trashed , hiding behind the door was his mum in a robe with this Kabuki mask on, he says it scared the fuck out of him. MEANING: "It's open ended and it's got so many different meanings that you can't just pin point, stereotype or pigeon hole. It could be love, beauty, hate, disgust - it's all that stuff in one!"
Current Side Project: His side project was originally The Rejects, but the band underwent a 'reshuffle' and is now called 'The Murderdolls'. They have signed to the Roadrunner Records label and their new album is a called, 'Right to remain Violent'.
Download a sample track here: Murderdolls - Dead In Hollywood
What exact event spurred Joey onto his love for metal? Joey started his passion in 1982 at the age of six, having seen a news report stating that a metal star had bitten the head off of a bat the night before. "I immediately thought that Ozzy ruled". Soon after he bought the "Blizzard of Oz" album and the Sickness had started. "It hasn't left me to this day, It was meant to be. It was almost like Ozzy bit the head off a bat to pass the torch way early on, to another sick band."
Joey's First Drumkit: He got this in 5th grade, having previously played guitar in some old primary school bands. The drum set came to him as a surprise gift from his parents; they had asked him to go into the basement in search of an "Elton John" tape, to Joey's astonishment within the basement he found a fully set up drum kit.
Accesories/Heads:
Easton AHEAD Sticks
Remo Heads
"Thing is with Joey is that he uses so many different drums and cymbals all the time it is near impossible to say what he is using at one time. I've seen him with at least five different kits and he has used Sabian, Zildijan and Paiste cymbals. I know that Shawn made their drum stands though, not the actual drums."
Bands: In his freshman year, in Waukee High; Joey was part of a band named, "Avanga". However due to a lack of motivation from other members, Joey looked elsewhere - Music was his only escape. Joey soon started a new band with neighbour Tim, "Modifidious". It was a "speed-metal-thrash" band and 15 songs were written in quick succession. Soon a bassist, Ryan, was found along with a guitarist named Jay (formerly of Avanga). The band, with new guitarist Bruce, had their headlining slot as a support to Jim's band, "Atomic opera" at the Runway. Bruce soon left Modifidious to join Atomic Opera and as a result a new guitarist was required, he arrived through Ryan. His name was Craig. Then another drop out came to Joey's band; Tim left in the summer of '92. Josh soon left his band to join Modifidious as a vocalist and filling Tim's spot.
This new line up soon put out a quick demo which was recorded within Joey's basement and mixed in Craig's house. It held the name of, "Visceral". Following this demo in 1993, the band played a few shows with a band that Shawn was in called, "Heads on the Wall". This was followed by another demo, "Mud Fuschia" and later a CD, "Sprawl". By this CD, Joey claimed the band was, "Kings of Des Moines", pulling up to 200 people per show and playing lots of performances shows.
However the band began to go down hill with the new grunge wave and loosing popularity of Thrash opposed to Death Metal. The new Des Moines band had become Body Pit, Paul's new band. Due to a lack of interest the band broke up in 1995. For a while, Joey played guitar in the band "The Rejects" with head lining vocalist nicknamed, "Dizzy".
Joey also played in a band called, "Anal Blast" however Joey did not leave his band, Modifidious for this and it was deemed more of a side project.
Joey was tempted to join Slipknot by Paul. At this time the project was called "The Pale Ones" and, Anders, Shawn, Donnie and of course Paul were already within the group - practising in Anders' basement. The first songs Joey heard them play were, "Slipknot", "Gently" and "Fur".
