Slipknot drummer Jay Weinberg has shared an important message for young musicians: “Take care of your ears.”
In a video message for the U.S.-based Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) posted online late last month, the 32-year-old musician said he strongly encourages musicians to “wear earplugs, do it the right way, do it intelligently.
“You can still rock out, you can still play the way you want to, and you’ll be able to play for the rest of your life,” he added.
In the video, Weinberg shared how he wore noise-canceling headphones while learning to play drums as a teenager. “Playing loud drums, loud cymbals, but having this kind of hearing protection while I was teaching myself how to actually do it, that was super helpful,” he said.
But, he learned a “very quick lesson” when he started jamming with other musicians.
Weinberg said hearing protection is “an absolute must” for anyone who wants “longevity and sustainability in playing music.”
He insisted that he has never sat a drum kit without hearing protection. “It’s not an option if you want to have a sustainable life in the creative field,” said Weinberg.
“I don’t go to a single show without wearing earplugs. I don’t go on stage without wearing earplugs or in-ear monitors where I can hear myself and my bandmates. It’s incredibly important, and if I had not worn earplugs and in-ear monitors from a young age, I might have done a tremendous amount of damage to my hearing.”