Slipknot's Sid Wilson Loved Being Raised in Iowa and England

Posted on Jan 31st 2012 5:30PM by Carlos Ramirez Comments

"I usually just refer to myself as a punk rocker, but I've always been into all kinds of different music," Slipknot turntable assassin Sid Wilson aka #0 tells Noisecreep during a recent chat about his teenage years. "Whether it's metal, hip hop, punk, dance, English bands, or whatever else you can think of, I've been into it. I was a kid during the '80s, and you would have MTV on and see The Clash one minute, and DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince the next minute. I was just exposed to so many kinds of musical styles. I can you can say that I'm a MTV baby," laughs Wilson.

The biggest surprise during our chat with the Slipknot star was that he had a bicontinental upbringing. "I was born in Iowa, and then moved to Colorado when I was seven. I guess when I was around 11-years-old, I moved back to Iowa, but my family is from England, so I spent a lot of time there too. I would say I spent about half of the year in the States, and then the rest of the time in the UK, when I was growing up. I loved it, man!"

Wilson then tells Noisecreep about his family's American and English roots: "My grandmother on my father's side moved to Iowa from England and married a guy out here, and that started everything for us. My father is from Nettlebed, which is where Ian Flemming [creator of the 'James Bond' books] lived. My mom was from a place in England called Portsmouth, and then she moved to Oxford. So I have family that settled in both countries. I actually think there are a lot of similarities between Iowa and England. Both places have these beautiful rolling hills and lush greenery, during certain times of the year."

It's hard to imagine one of the dudes from Slipknot rocking an English brogue, but it happened. "It's funny, but when I was really young, I would come back from England with an English accent. Just when I would lose the accent again, I would travel back to the UK and get it again. My friends in Iowa would love it when I was a little kid. Actually, my best friend Pat says I get the accent back when I lose my temper these days [laughs]."

Watch Slipknot's Performance of 'The Blister Exists' at Sessions

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