Shawn "Clown" Crahan

M. Shawn Crahan
Shawn Crahan at Mayhem Festival in 2008
Background information
Birth name	Michael Shawn Crahan
Also known as	#6 Clown
Born	(1969-09-24) September 24, 1969 (age 47) Des Moines, Iowa, US
Genres	Alternative metal nu metal heavy metal thrash metal industrial metal alternative rock indie rock psychedelic rock experimental rock
Occupation(s)	Musician songwriter record producer director photographer
Instruments	Vocals guitar percussion drums bass guitar piano
Years active	1993–present
Labels	Roadrunner Big Orange Clown Nuclear Blast Pale One -ismist
Associated acts	Slipknot To My Surprise Dirty Little Rabbits The Black Dots of Death Marilyn Manson Bring Me the Horizon Suicide Silence Escape the Fate Mudvayne Hollywood Undead Motionless in White
Website	(External links)

Michael Shawn Crahan (born September 24, 1969), more commonly known by his stage persona "Clown", is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, director and photographer. He is best known as one of the two custom percussionists and co-founder of the Grammy Award-winning heavy metal band Slipknot. When performing with Slipknot, he is also known by his number 6. Crahan is the only remaining founding member in Slipknot.

Crahan is the oldest member of Slipknot, and has been largely responsible for the band's success with his extensive involvement in Slipknot's media production. He is the director behind Slipknot's music videos. Outside Slipknot, Crahan had two side project bands called To My Surprise and Dirty Little Rabbits, both of which have split. He also directed the film, Officer Downe.

Crahan was born in Des Moines, Iowa in 1969. He majored in Creative Writing. Crahan's first band was "Modifidius", which he was a member with former Slipknot member Joey Jordison. He also once performed in bands such as Heads on the Wall and One Cup of Fat before forming The Pale Ones, which would later become known as Slipknot. Crahan married his wife Chantel in June 1992, in Des Moines, Iowa. They now have four children: Alexandria, Gage, Gabrielle, and Simon. Crahan is also a filmographer and photographer, having published a Slipknot photo album "The Apocalyptic Nightmare" in 2012. In 2012, he also made his debut acting appearance in the film The Devil's Carnival. He is a smoker and has been willing to break the law to smoke inside venues along with other members of Slipknot, even when subject to a significant fine. He is also a collector of baseball cards.

In June 2016, Crahan made his directing debut with the film Officer Downe based on the graphic novel Officer Downe written by Joe Casey and Chris Burnham. Casey wrote the script and Skip Williamson and Mark Neveldine produced the film. Shawn "Clown" Crahan also directed the Music Video for the song "A-M-E-R-I-C-A", by Motionless In White and We Are by Hollywood Undead.