F O R M A T I O N O F K o R n
Korn was formed in 1993 with the dissolution of two bands: Sexart and LAPD. Sexart was the band that
Jonathan Davis had led during his years as an assistant coroner, and consisted of Jonathan Davis on
vocals, DeRoo (David DeRoo) on bass, Chaka (Ray Solis) and Ryan Schuck on guitar, and Denis Shinn
on drums. Ty Elam, now with Cradle Of Thorns, supposedly only sat in to jam with the band, but is listed
as sharing vocal duties with Jonathan on SexArt's only officially released song on "Cultivation '92", a
complilation album. There are various SexArt tapes floating around Bakersfield to this day, although there
was no real demo tape produced.
LAPD was the band which included Richard Morales (vocalist), James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald
"Fieldy Snuts" Arvizu, David Silveria, and on tour only (not on the album) Brian "Head" Welch. When
asked about LAPD's material, 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." They released only two
recordings: the three-track EP "Love And Peace, Dude" in 1989, and "Who's Laughing Now" in 1991,
both on Triple X Records.
The future bandmates 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."
Soon after SexArt's appearance on "Cultivation '92", Jonathan left SexArt to go to LA, and Smily
(Brian Armer) joined SexArt as the new vocalist. At the time, Smily was singing in a band called Brother
From Another Mother. All of SexArt loved his style, and he was their first pick to replace Jonathan.
Although they had now found a permanent singer, SexArt continued on for only several more months
before going their separate ways. Smily formed the band Glass Cut Eternity, and DeRoo and Chaka
ended up in Huntington Beach with Denis and Ryan in a band called Supermodel, which featured Richard
(who had left LAPD) as their frontman. Currently, the ex-members of SexArt are doing various things.
Ryan is now in Orgy, Denis is a music producer in Southern California, and Chaka, DeRoo, and Smily
are now in Juice.
At this point, LAPD had disbanded (thus the loss of Richard to Supermodel). Not willing to give it
up, though, they reformed as Creep, with Brian joining on indefinitely. However, Creep still needed
someone to fill Richard's shoes. It was during this time, when Brian and Munky were living in L.A., that
they saw Jonathan at that fateful show in Bakersfield. They approached him about trying out for the
fledgling band, but initially Jonathan didn't want to do it. However, a psychic had told him that he would
be stupid if he didn't, so he went against his better judgment and tried out anyway. It was during this
audition that they realized that Jonathan was the perfect singer for their new band. As Munky put it: "We
just clicked."
h o w t h e y g o t t h e n a m e
After deciding upon the new frontman, the band needed a new name. Jonathan described the short
decision making process: t;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!'"
When he was asked about the name, David said: "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."
l a t e r h i s t o r y
Korn later recorded their first demo tape, "Niedermeyer's Mind", which featured 4 songs: "Blind",
"Predictable", "Daddy", and "Alive". Although "Predictable" remained basically the same in the transition
to the self-titled first album, both "Blind" and "Daddy" were strikingly different, though the basic
progression is the same. The demo version of "Blind" was much less rap-influenced, and featured more
metal riffs. Although "Alive" was scrapped before the debut album, a few parts were ressurrected and
transformed into "Need To".
After garnering a small following, Korn raised a few eyebrows at various record labels. Although
many appealed to them, there was always a lingering fear of having to conform to the label's needs or
desires, rather than being able to do what they wanted. Then Immortal Records came along: "They
seemed to really get into what we were trying to do. They shared our vision of what Korn was trying to
do. They didn't want us to conform to anyone's needs." Soon after, Korn was signed and the rest, as they
say, is history....
j o n a t h a n d a v i s
Jonathan Davis was born in Bakersfield, California on January 18th, 1971. At the age of 16, he got a job
as an assistant coroner in the Kern County, CA, 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.
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, although he does have the letters "H I V" tattooed on
his upper left arm. He says "That tattoo has probably saved my life. You know in situations when passion
and lust take over your brain.... I take a look at that tattoo and I remember that the virus is out there and
you never know who's got it." On his upper right arm is a tattoo of a crazed bishop ripping up his skin:
"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 marrying his girlfriend, Rene, this November, 1998. They have one son, Nathaniel
Houseman (Houseman being Jonathan's middle name, as well), born on October 18, 1995. He had been
expecting (astrologically) a baby girl, but at delivery Jonathan was only slightly surprised to see, as he put
it, "pink balls," and he had to come away from the girls name Salaam Dementia.
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 Ball Tongue with a rap in it by another rap group.
r e g i n a l d a r v i z u
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.
At the end of May, 1998, Fieldy married his girlfriend, Shela. They have one daughter, Sarina Rae,
born on September 30th, 1997, and are planning to work on the next baby when Sarina turns 1 year old.
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
(feel deez nuts).
j a m e s s h a f f e r
James Shaffer was born in Rosedale, California, on June 6th, 1970. Munky began playing the guitar after
a accident as a child in which he cut part of his left index finger off. 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 the tip of his finger. His doctor said
he needed to do something to help rehabilitate the finger, and then Munky remembered an old guitar that
he had in his closet....
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."
b r i a n w e l c h
Brian Welch was born in Torrance(?), California, on June 19th, 1970. 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 practice!" - that sort
of thing. Later, Munky joined LAPD, while Brian would just sit around drinking their beer. 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.
Brian's wife is Rebekkah, who recently gave birth to their daughter Jennea Marie, on July 6, 1998.
As a result of the birth, Korn had to drop out of the 1998 OzzFest in Europe. Brian would not travel
overseas and be away from his wife at such a crucial time, and the rest of Korn were set in the fact that
they would not use any replacement musicians in any situation if one of them couldn't be on hand due to
an extenuating circumstance.
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."
d a v i d s i l v e r i a
David Silveria was born in Bakersfield, California, on September 21st (year unknown). 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 release "Roots". David grew up in Bakersfield, where he learned how to play drums at the
age of 9. "I think one of the reasons music became such an obsession for everyone in the band is that
there just wasn't a whole lot to do where we lived."
David married Shannon Bellino in April, 1997, and tattooed her first name on his back. They have
a son, David Jr., born on August 22, 1997. David supposedly has a penis fetish and usually when he
signs things he makes a penis somewhere on it. Along with the aforementioned tattoo of his wife's name,
David has three more tattoos: a cheshire cat, a guy sticking out his tongue that has a bolt through it, and
the Korn logo. He is described as the shy member of the band.
David has recently taken up a lucrative side job as a model. He has already completed a modelling
assignment for skatepunk clothing company 26 Red. He proved such a hit that 26 Red's biggest rivals,
Grind, have now also contracted Silveria to do a series of ads for them.
i n t e r e s t i n g t i d b i t s
SexArt was the band that originally wrote the song "Blind". Denis and Ryan are credited for it on
the video, but DeRoo and Chaka were not because Korn rewrote the bass and some guitar parts,
eliminating what DeRoo and Chaka had contributed to the SexArt version. The lyrics and other parts are
very much the same, though.
The riff for the chorus of "Need To" was originally used in the LAPD song "Excuse Me", before it
was later changed to "Alive".
The name "Korn" is rumored to come from a party that Jonathan was at where he overheard two
homosexuals talking about felching each other. 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.
Sean Olson, from the Crow 2: City Of Angels soundtrack, is actually the name of a close friend
of the band, supposedly the first jock that Jonathan considered a friend. He is also thanked by the
Deftones in their album, "Adrenaline".
El Caco is the guy heard during the intro of "Helmet in the Bush". His real name is Michael, and he
likes Taco Bell. He has been friends with the band for years.
David has said that the baby inside the self-titled 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 changed its eye around a little
bit.
On the cover of the self-titled album, the man in the shadow is holding something in his hand. When
asked about what it was, Jonathan said, "I'd like to leave it up to your imagination, but I like to say it's a
horseshoe."
When asked about the Deftones, Korn says, "Deftones are like our brother band. When we were
in California, they were from the North, we were from the South, we used to switch up and down the
coast and when we play together we usually do a song together."
That clip of the argument that plays at the end of "Daddy", about 8:00 into the song, is not related
to the band in any way. It was on a tape that a studio engineer had while Korn was recording the album,
and they thought it was amusing, so they decided to put it on.
Jonathan has said that the lyrics of the first album are mainly about his childhood, and the lyrics
from "Life Is Peachy" are about his experiences on the road over the last couple of years.
"Life Is Peachy" was originally supposed to be titled "Life is Pee-Chee", after the Pee-Chee folders
that were popular school supplies on the west coast, with the cover art being a replica of one of those
folders. That name is copyrighted, however, so they had to change it to "Life is Peachy".
Jonathan has said that he needs a completed song before he can even start writing lyrics.
s p o n s o r s
Puma
Recently Puma offered Korn $500,000 to switch from Adidas clothing to Puma gear.
Adidas (former sponsor)
"A guy at our record company called Paul Pontius knew a guy over at Adidas and told them we were
wearing their shit all the time. So they came out and saw that we were getting more exposure and they
decided to sign us up for an endorsement. It wasn't a contract that we signed or anything, just a verbal
contract." -- Munky
Email: pizowell@hotmail.com
