“I got stabbed by a mail cart”: 13 Questions with The Callous Daoboys’ Carson Pace

You already know that The Callous Daoboys are one of the most hectic, chaotic, exciting and thrilling bands on the planet. As they hit the UK on tour with TesseracT this week, we got to know frontman Carson Pace a little better, via the time-honoured method of our 13 Questions interview.

Although, if you're thinking about it, don't bring him a bag of Skips to any of the shows...

“When I was very young, I wanted to be a pilot. My dad's a pilot, my grandfather's a pilot. I knew everything there was to know about airplanes and space and NASA and all that stuff. My dad did it for a hobby, but my grandfather was in the military, and then flew for FedEx for, like, 40 years. So I wanted to, too. And then sometime around fourth or fifth grade, I heard Korn and Fall Out Boy, and I was like, ‘I think this is the only thing that’s as cool as airplanes.’”

“Oh, man, probably Budapest. When we were on tour in Europe over the summer, we had a day off in Budapest and I just thought it was the most amazing place in the world. I loved it. It's so different from what we have in America – the public transportation is efficient and it runs on time! And the food’s cheaper and people are nicer. I just love that. I thought it was really beautiful, especially all the old architecture. It’s a very European city, and I’ve learned I'm very European. I've discovered that if I was to live anywhere, it would probably be anywhere other than America, and it would probably be in Europe.”

“Probably being on a raft in the middle of the ocean, and not being able to see land anywhere. I'm pretty afraid of that. But I also think I kind of want to do that; just immerse myself in it and get over the fear. I don't know if I really have any major fear. Once you've done some crazy shit while you're touring, your fears kind of boil away a little bit.”

“A couple years ago, I had this answer at the ready. Now I'm not too sure. I would want it to be one of the clean, classier Slipknot masks, like that recent one that Corey’s [Taylor] been wearing. I would like it to be classy, but also kind of weird looking, sort of like a modified Batman Court Of Owls mask meets a plague doctor.”

“No, I have not. I mean, I got in a fight that I almost got arrested for. But I did not initiate the fight, so I did not get arrested.”

“I sorted mail at an envelope factory for a year. That sucked pretty bad. And also, controversial opinion, I worked at Guitar Center for a little while, which might be the worst job I've ever had. That just absolutely sucked. Any guitar that is under $400 is not a great instrument, but you still have to sell it, because you're on commission and you have to meet quotas. So you're essentially lying all day about an instrument being good, if someone's budget is pretty low.

"Also, hearing people play the same six riffs all day was pretty annoying. You’d get Smoke On The Water and Stairway To Heaven and stuff, but the worst one was guys who absolutely cannot play John Mayer. Specifically, Neon by John Mayer, because that song is hard. I can’t play that song, and most people can’t, and maybe they shouldn't try when they're amplified throughout a store.”

“You know those prawn chips that you have in the UK? I'm not a fan of those. There was a very nice lady at RADAR Festival over the summer and she said, ‘We have these backstage for you.’ I was like, ‘Sure, whatever. I'll live dangerously.’ I tried one and it was not good. I do not like the taste at all. Why are we making shrimp chips, people? What's going on?”

“I've had weird things happen to me, but I have not seen a ghost. A specifically very weird thing happened to me one time that was more akin to a weird feeling, but I don't know if it was anything supernatural. So, I haven't seen a ghost is the short answer. But I do believe in them now.”

“Energy drinks, man. I love energy drinks. Especially the really chemically ones that we have in the U.S., like C4. I don't know if you have C4 in the UK, but it’s this awful cocktail of artificial flavours and colours and chemicals out the wazoo. But it's so good. I've been working out a lot recently, and it's great to drink before that. But I think I’ve developed a little bit of a dependence on them! We’ve been overseas for a few days, and I think I've had one Red Bull. I'm like, ‘Why am I so tired?’ And it's because my body isn't loaded with caffeine. I almost crave how violently coloured they are and how gross this stuff tastes. It’ll say it’s pink starburst fruit flavour – great, sounds horrible. It’s never been close to fruit. It's some scientist’s legal approximation of fruit. I can’t wait to drink it!”

“When I was in third or fourth grade I broke my ankle. I took a spill in some Heelys and my ankle went in a particularly disgusting direction. I broke it real hard. And then recently, at that mail sorting job I was talking about, I had a piece of metal that was on a mail cart go within a few centimetres of my Achilles. I was in a boot for several weeks. I’ve done other jobs where you’d think there’s more potential to get hurt, but I ended up getting stabbed by mail cart.”

“At least one guitar. Before our guitar player Dan [Hodson] was in our band, he painted one of my guitars for me. It's the school Van Halen-style paint job that I really, really love. So, it's a one-of-a-kind guitar, and I would be so upset if I lost that one. That would ruin me for weeks if I lost that.”

“One hundred per cent. I would absolutely do that. It would have to be a gradual turn-off, though, where one thing shuts down over a couple of weeks so that society doesn't collapse. I think ultimately we'd be better off without it. But I mean, I suppose it's done some good. But if everybody had to go back to buying music physically, we’d actually make some money. That'd be great!”

“Drive fast, take chances.”

The Callous Daoboys are on tour in the UK with TesseracT now

Read this next:

• 10 reasons why you need The Callous Daoboys in your life
• Slipknot's 9 craziest onstage injuries
• Greg Puciato: “Art comes from a place of abstraction, a feeling that you can’t put into words”