A couple of weeks ago, 14-year-old drummer Maren Alford went viral with her cover of Slipknot’s “Unsainted.” Now we know that Slipknot drummer Jay Weinberg is a fan of hers as well.
Weinberg, himself a fan of Slipknot before he became a member, invited Alford to the band’s Knotfest tour stop in her hometown of Dallas, TX this past Saturday (7). There, the two got to chat, pose for photos and have a jam session behind his drum kit.
Alford wrote on Facebook following the show:
“Best day EVER hanging out with Jay Weinberg before KNOTFEST in Dallas! Not only is he a beast behind the kit, but he’s also the most encouraging, kind and generous guy! Really a dream come true to meet and spend time with him and the Slipknot show was INCREDIBLE! THANK YOU for everything Jay – you’re the BEST! So much love for my SJC Custom Drums family!”
Alford is herself an up-and-coming musician, playing drums for pop-punk band Not Ur Girlfrenz. The band has played with the likes of The Polyphonic Spree, Bowling For Soup and The Dollyrots and performed at such festivals as the Vans Warped Tour and Download Festival. Earlier this year, the band released their debut EP, ‘New Kids In America.’ Like Weinberg, Alford is sponsored by SJC Custom Drums.
The fan encounter comes a week after Weinberg himself decided to get nostalgic for his Slipknot fandom days. On August 31, the drummer posted two photos to Instagram recreating photos of the time he got to meet the band as a little kid. Accompanied by father Max Weinberg (who has been playing drums with Bruce Springsteen for decades and released several albums on his own), the new photos show the Weinberg backstage talking to guitarist Jim Root, except this time Jay is in his own Slipknot gear instead of a Corey Taylor mask.
Slipknot released their latest album, We Are Not Your Kind, on August 9, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with more than 100,000 units sold in its first week. The band completed their Knotfest Roadshow tour on Sunday, which saw the band cross North America with support from Volbeat, Gojira and Behemoth. Next, the band will make appearances at the Louder Than Life and Aftershock festivals, followed by tours in Australia, New Zealand, South America and Europe.
