o-: KoRn history and members biography :-o

Korn is:

j o n a t h a n d a v i s - vocals-bagpipes
f i e l d y - bass
j. m u n k y s h a f f e r - guitar
b r i a n - guitar-vocals
d a v i d - drums


Korn was formed in 1993 with the combination of two bands: Sexart and LAPD. Sexart was the band that Jonathan Davis had led during his years as an assistant coroner in the Kern County (California) Coroners Department (also moonlighting as an undertaker at a nearby funeral home), having recently earned a degree at San Francisco's School of Mortuary Science. Jonathan was only in Sexart for about four months and did only one song with the lead singer which is on a Bakersfield compilation. LAPD was the band which included James "Munky" Shaffer (guitar), David Silveria (drums), Reginald "Fieldy Snuts" Arvizu (bass, later) and on tour only (not on the album) Brian "Head" Welch (guitar). LAPD was apparently bigger then Sexart and is not impossible to find, like Sexart is. Munky said: "Me, Fieldy, and David recorded it when we were about 18 or 19. You might even hear some Korn parts. That's when I played rippin' solos."

The bands first crossed paths when Munky and Brian were in Bakersfield one night, and they went to this bar where Sexart happened to be playing. According to Munky: "We were getting ready to leave, and just as we're walking out the door... Jon was the singer in that band, and we heard him sing and me and Brian both turned to each other and our jaws just... (drops jaw) oh my God. And so we turned around and went back in and watched the whole set." Later they asked him to join the band. Initially Jonathan didn't want to do it, but a psychic had told him that he would be stupid if he didn't do it, so he went and tried out. The rest, as they say, is history...

We asked Brian about their experience with Megadeth: "Mustane was a dick. They were always blaming us for shit. We weren't allowed to carry beer around stage because he was a recovering alcoholic. So we filled water bottles with it and taped around them so you couldn't see what was in them. Once he came on our tour bus, after he fell off the wagon, piss drunk, and said: 'You know what you need to do to get big?... (at this point we were dodging his swaying finger that was pointed at us) ... only tour with big bands.'"

"We were supposed to be touring (on the Monster Magnet and Grotus tour) with the Deftones and Sugar Ray, but it got fucked up... Sugar Ray is in Europe or some shit and the Deftones are with Anthrax. Chino (lead singer of the Deftones) is God. Marilyn Manson was supposed to be on tour with us with Ozzy but they didn't want to open for a band that opened for them." He then told us he particularly doesn't enjoy touring with Monster Magnet, because their performance is so "old rock". "We're touring with Ozzy, but we don't like playing big places. It's so impersonal. We like to be close to the people. It's a better performance, although I keep getting hit in the head by my mic when people fall on stage." (Jon also said he loves it when people come on stage)

Jonathan Davis: His nickname is HIV, as a sort of agreement with the "faget" term he was dubbed in high school. He does not, in fact, have AIDS or the HIV virus. Jonathan was expecting (astrologically) a baby girl, but at delivery Jonathan was only slightly surprised to see, as he put it, "pink balls," and he had come away from the girls name Salaam Dementia and named him Nathan Housemen Davis (Housemen being Jonathan's middle name, as well). He and his son live in Huntington Beach California, in what he calls a relatively gay community, "where instead of people acting cool and carrying guns, they come up to you and say hi." Jonathan was born January 18th, 1971. His ex-girlfriend is a very attractive woman, but is perceived as seeing herself as gods gift to the world. He did the album in his fathers studio as he says, under his breath, "as a sort of revenge."

We asked Jonathan a few questions on Marilyn Manson and he said, "He and I are like best friends. I've been to his house a couple of times. We hit it off right away when I met him the first time. In fact, I think we're going to do a side project. Yeah, we're going to call ourselves 'fags' and write songs about how much we like big dick." Well, the latest news on "Fags" doesn't seem too promising. Jon said, "He and I are really busy and haven't had the time to get together. Maybe after our tours are done."

Then, I asked him about his tattoo. He thought I meant HIV, and said, "It's just a nickname." I then asked him about the crazed bishop and he said, "The bishop is a symbol of the atrocities that religion is making. He's ripping up my skin to reveal Christ. It's more of a symbol of how corrupt religion is. I don't believe in any of it because of shit like televangilism. Do you really think that all that money really goes to charity?"

Jonathan is into Duran Duran, claiming them to be glam, but they don't sell out, but on the tour bus the band is known to listen to LL Cool J and Black Sheep. In fact, in concert, during a version of Predictable, called 'Predick,' they do a part of a Black Sheep song called, "You Mean I'm Not." They also do a version of Balltongue with a rap in it by another rap group.

Reginald "Fieldy Snuts" Arvizu: He is known for his alcohol related antics. For instance, on a photo shoot, a bucket had to be found in case he threw up.

Q: What do you like about touring clubs?

A: The free beer.

When he was asked about his nickname, he said: "When I was younger, I had these fucking chipmunk cheeks, right... so they called me 'Gopher', and then it became 'Gar'. Then they started callin' me 'Garfield' (as in the cartoon cat). Then it became 'Fieldy'." On the album, his name is Fieldy Snuts. (get it, feel deez nuts)

J. Munky Shaffer: Munky started playing guitar because he cut his left index finger off and used the instrument to rejuvenate it. When he was younger, he had a three wheeler. One night, when he was sneaking out to go to a party, the chain slipped off. He wanted to quiet it, so he wouldn't get busted, and he slapped his hand down on the chain, but it got caught between the chain and the sprocket. When he pulled his hand up, he was missing a finger.

When he was asked about the "uniform" that he always wears on stage, he said: "I wanted to wear something on stage that was like... kinda trashy... dirty, you know? Because when I'm up there I feel like... sick. Really what it is, it's like that person I don't like in me, all the things I hate about myself, that's who I am up there."

His nickname "Munky" comes from: "My feet. I'd spread 'em out and everyone said they look like hands, like monkey hands."

Brian "Head" Welch: Brian and Munky went to the same school where Brian showed Munky how to play a few songs. They were friends up through high school, and had a friendly sort of competition with each other. Brian would go to Munky's house and jam. If Munky would learn some new material, Brian would be like, "Damn I got to pratice!" - that sort of thing. Later, Munky joined LAPD. Brian just sat around drinking their beer and stuff. LAPD decided that they needed a second guitar for when they toured, so Brian went on tour with them. Brian and Munky have been playing together for more than 2/3 of their lives.

When asked how he got the nickname "Head", Brian said: "...Because I got a big head... Go get me any hat, and it won't fit."

David Silveria: David has wanted to do this since he was seven. His drumming skills caught the ear of Mike Muir from the Suicidal Tendencies. David can be heard on the new Infectious Grooves (Mike Muir's side band) album, as well as Sepultura's recent release "Roots". David grew up in Bakersfield, California where he learned how to play drums because: "...there was not a whole hell of a lot to do there."

While David was handing out the Shoots promo to some people after the show, I asked him who Sean Olson was and he said: "He was a friend of the band." He is also thanked by the Deftones in their album. David has a penis fetish and usually when he signs shit he makes a dick somewhere on it. He has two tattoos, one of them a cheshire cat and the other has a guy stickin out his tongue that has a bolt through it.

When we asked Jonathan about signatures from David he said: "He doesn't do that shit. He's shy. He like hides."

When asked about the Deftones, Korn says, "Deftones are like our brother band. When we were in California, they were from the North, we from the South, we used to switch up and down the coast and when we play together we usually do a song together."

The origin of Korn's name, as told by Jonathan: "We were trying to think of a name and this... "Korn" popped in my head, and I'm like 'What about "Korn"?' ... and we're all like, 'Fuck yeah!'"

David has said that: "To me it kind of means that it doesn't matter what your band's called. Name or not, the music makes a name, you know... 'cos "Korn", that's a dumb name, but once a band gets established, then it makes a name cool."

It is rumored to come from a party that Jonathan was at where he overheard two homosexuals talking about felching each other (eating each others asses). One had diarrhea and shat on the others face and when he opened his mouth a corn kernel was on his tongue. From then on, whenever he said corn to anyone, they would get close to puking. Hence the altered Korn (the way a child would spell it). It was also rumored to come from Kiddy pORN.

David said that the baby inside the album behind where the CD goes (and on the cover of the Blind promo) is the Charmin' baby. They put a wig on it and fucked with its eye.

On the cover of the album, the man in the shadow is holding something. When I asked Jonathan about it he said, "I'd like to leave it up to your imagination, but I like to say it's a horseshoe."

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