KoRn and Staind Tour

It had to happen sooner or later.

Korn, the reigning lords of rock's dark new manor, were bound to hit the road with Staind, up-and-comers whose own moody, brooding stance echoes that of their soon-to-be tourmates.

The two bands rubbed elbows, albeit briefly, during last year's Family Values tour, with Korn joining Staind and the rest of Family Values' class of '99 for a brief run of seven dates. However, with Staind's star continuing to rise courtesy of the hit "Mudshovel" and Korn in search of support for its first full-blown tour behind "Issues," the two seemed destined to meet on the road.

So now it's official... Korn and Staind will hit the road for a somber one-two punch starting next month. Sprinkle in a healthy dose of oddball cartoons courtesy of Spike & Mike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation, and you've got the makings of a must-see for the metal set.

We recently spoke with both acts (MTV News' John Norris talked to Korn singer Jonathan Davis via telephone, while the MTV Radio Network's Heather Stas sat down with Staind) to get a glimpse at what awaits on the "Sick And Twisted" tour.

You can find those conversations as well as plenty of performance footage right here in our MTV News Online feature.

Come get twisted...

Jonathan Davis: Yeah.

MTV: How is that? How did it come about?

JD: Well, we'll call our tour the Sick And Twisted Tour. We basically switched it around, because when we started, we wanted to do something a little bit different this time. So we got the Sick And Twisted Animation Festival to open up for us, basically. So when kids walk into the venue, we'll be playing the unedited Sick And Twisted videos, and then Staind will go on. That's going to be our opening band. And then after Staind, we're gonna put another 45 minutes of the Sick And Twisted on, and then we're gonna play. So it'll be something different. It'll be really fun. You know what I mean?

MTV: For people, for people who don't know, can you give a little synopsis of what that is and like some of the stuff that's come out of it?

JD: Sick And Twisted has been going on for years and years and years. It's basically just animation that's really sick and twisted [laughs]. "Beavis & Butt-Head' and "Celebrity Deathmatch" came from there. But there's really, really, really great sick ones, and we're doing the unedited version, so we'll see how much trouble we get into.

MTV: Are there some brand new ones that are going to be just for the tour?

JD: I'm not sure yet. I've been looking at all the tapes and everything and [festival co-head] Spike's really into it. We've been talking to him, and I'm sure there'll be some new stuff.

MTV: Do you have a favorite one that people should keep their eye out for?

JD: One of my favorites, I'm still trying to find this one called "Shut Up." It's the sickest one I've seen. It's really, really cool. So the band, we're all going through them, and we're gonna pick 'em out, and we're gonna make like our own tape, basically, of all our favorite Sick And Twisted videos

MTV: And then Staind, of course, were on Family Values back in the fall, and I guess Limp [Bizkit] are probably more associated with that band in terms of helping them get started. I guess you're a fan?

JD: Yeah. They've really helped Bizkit out, and I really like Staind. They're a really good band.

MTV: What about your stage show? Is it totally new?

JD: It's gonna be really off the hook. We got a crazy set design. I've seen it. It's gonna be a little different. I don't want to give it all away, but there's gonna be lots of surprises.

MTV: Safe to say the cage has been retired?

JD: The cage has been retired. We got a new kind of cage thing going on. It's not a cage though. It's something along those lines.

MTV: Is this something that will involve fans?

JD: Yeah, it involves fans. Kids are gonna be able to get real close to us.

MTV: And as far as the set list goes, are you going to focus on the new album, or is it gonna cover all of them?

JD: It's gonna cover all of them. Basically what we're doing is if you go on our Web site, we're getting it hooked up now. We're gonna have the fans vote for what they want to hear, and that's gonna be our set list. We're putting up songs from all four albums, and kids get to vote on what they want to hear, and we're gonna take the top five songs from each album and play them. So actually the fans get to pick what they're gonna hear.

MTV: Do you think you can pretty much guess which ones will get it, or are you expecting surprises?

JD: Yeah, I have no idea, man. I know which ones, probably, but there will probably be some weird ones out there that we're probably gonna have to learn.

MTV: Between Family Values and then Rock Is Dead [with Rob Zombie], it doesn't seem like you've had much of a rest. I mean, you guys are certainly doing fine with "Issues" without touring in support of it. You must be doing this because you want to, right?

JD: Yeah, I mean, that's all we've known. When Korn first started, it was to tour. We put our little album out and just hit the road in vans. I mean, we've been doing this for about six years. We've been on tour the whole time, and we really haven't had a break. It's all we know, so what we like is to play in front of people, and now it's really fun. We're playing in front of a lot of people, so this is what we want to do. This is what we are. I don't know what to do without it.

MTV: What's your take on what happened to the band over the last year and a half? I mean, has it changed at all?

JD: I love the band, man. We're really, really, really happy. All we wanted to do is be playing music and letting people hear it. That's all we wanted to get out of it, and that's what we're doing. So I think this is the closest we've ever been. We're really proud we did something. We did "Issues," and it was something we put our hearts into. We were all really proud of it. The other three albums we did, we had our little bitches and gripes about this or that, but this is like the first album we really, really put our hearts into and really were proud of. So I mean, the band morale is really, really up, and we're stoked to just be playing.

MTV: And for you personally, being on the road again is not...

JD: I can't wait. To me that's home. When I come home to L.A. or anything, it's weird. It's foreign to me. I'm not used to it. I can't wait to get home again. I can't wait to be on the bus. I can't wait to be in the hotel rooms. That's home for us, and when we come home, it's weird. I mean, it's nice being around our families and everything, but it's still foreign to us. So we're really, really looking forward to getting back out and being home. My personal feeling. I think it's the band's too. John Norris: I know that back when Kurt Loder talked to you guys at the Apollo, we had done something about the spring tour. But as I understand it, it's changed just a little bit.