KORN NEWS
THERES ALOT TO SAY ABOUT WHATS GOING ON IN THE WORLD OF KORN.
HERE ARE A FEW TID-BITS OF INFO THAT HAVE TO DO WITH KORN RELEASES,
INTERNET EVENTS, ETC. THESE ARE ALSO FROM THE OFFICIAL KORN HOMEPAGE,
AND THE KORN NEWSLETTER(wich you can sign for on the official korn homepage)
•AFTER THEIR FIRST TWO ALBUMS, THE SELF-TITLED "KORN", AND THEIR
SECOND ALBUM "LIFE IS PEACHY" THEY ARE HARD AT WORK ON THEIR THIRD
ALBUM, titled "Follow The Leader".
•EVERY THURSDAY AT 4:30PM PST, KORN DOES A LIVE, ONLINE BROADCAST.
THEY'RE CALLED THE KORN "AFTER SCHOOL SPECIALS." THESE ARE AUDIO
AND VIDEO BROADCASTS THAT INCLUDE INTERVIEWS, AND LIVE PERFORMANCES.
YOU CAN GET MORE INFORMATION ON HOW TO VIEW THESE SHOWS AT...
http://www.korn.com (see my links)
•IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD ABOUT THE KORN T-SHIRT LAWSUIT, LISTEN UP!
HERES A QUICK RUN-THROUGH. THERE IS A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT IN ZEELAND
MICHIGAN WHO WAS SUSPENDED FROM SCHOOL FOR WEARING A KORN T-SHIRT.
THERE WAS NO VULGARITY OR ANYTHING ON THE SHIRT, JUST THE KORN LOGO.
NOW THE SCHOOL SYSTEM IS BEING SUED. YOU CAN SEE THE OFFICIAL PRESS
RELEASE ON THIS PAGE.
•KORN HAS A SONG OUT ON THE "I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER" SOUNDTRACK.
THE SONG IS CALLED "PROUD" ITS A GREAT SONG, AND THE MOVIE IS DEFINATLY
WORTH SEEING TOO, IF YOU HAVEN'T ALL-READY.
•THE BAND ALSO HAS A SONG RELEASED ON THE SOUNDTRACK FOR THE ORIGINAL
MOTION PICTURE "SPAWN" THE SONG IS CALLED "KICK THE P.A." ONE OF THE
BEST SONGS I'VE EVER HEARD. THE MOVIE IS ALSO ONE OF MY FAVORITES.
•THE HOME VIDEO, "WHO THEN NOW?" IS IN-STORES NOW! IT TAKES AN INSIDE
LOOK AT THE BOYS AND THE RECORDING OF THEIR SECOND ALBUM "LIFE IS PEACHY"
THIS IS AN EXCELLENT VIDEO. DEFINATLY WORTH BUYING.
•KORNS' SECOND ALBUM, "LIFE IS PEACHY" IS AN ENHANCED CD. WICH MEANS IT
WILL PLAY ON YOUR CD-ROM. I KNOW IT PLAYS A VIDEO OF "GOOD GOD" AT A CONCERT,
AND I BELIEVE IT HAS AN ORDER FORM FOR VARIOUS KORN PRODUCTS.
===========================================================================================
THE REAL KORN BIOGRAPHY
THERE IS ALOT OF INFO ABOUT KORN OUT THERE ON THE WEB, AND ALOT OF IT IS UNTRUE.
BUT I GARANTEE, THAT THIS BIOGRAPHY IS THE REAL THING. I KNOW THIS BECAUSE I GOT IT
STRAIGHT FROM THE OFFICIAL KORN HOMEPAGE. SO, IF YOU DISAGREE WITH ANY OF IT, DON’T
COME COMPLAINING TO ME.
THE MEMBERS OF KORN ARE:
Jonathan Davis - vocals/bagpipes
Brian "Head" Welch - guitar
James "Munky" Shaffer - guitar
Fieldy - bass
David - drums
This much is clear from their latest Immortal/Epic album, Life is Peachy:
Success has neither softened nor satisfied the ferocious Southern California
fivesome known as Korn. If anything, Korn vents even more furious aggression
and emotional conviction in such uncompromising new songs as "No Place To Hide,"
"Lost," "Good God," and the nearly nine-minute "Kill You" than they unleashed on
the self-titled debut Korn. That gold-certified album was released in October,
1994: Two years, 300-plus live gigs, and more than 700,000 US sales later, it's
still hanging on the Billboard/SoundScan Top 200 chart.
Korn have earned their success the old-fashioned way through tireless touring,
street-level self-promotion, and constant, direct contact with their growing legion
of fans.
There's no video posturing or fake hype here. And Korn are cyberspace pioneers:
In July '96 they became the first band on the Internet and to conduct an interactive
radio broadcast during which fans got a sneak preview of Life Is Peachy; saw and heard
the band play several of their new songs live, and phoned in questions via an 800 number.
Korn is now planning a monthly series of such broadcasts as they continue construction
of their unique and comprehensive website.
"The coolest thing about this band is we've stayed underground and our fans are still
so true," notes singer Jonathan Davis. "They're so militant and crazy about us."
As the often-disturbing lyrics and growly, primal playing on Life is Peachy's 14
songs prove, the demons were not fully exorcised on Korn nor even on the band's 18 months
of hard-core touring. "The last album was going into high school," Jonathan explains.
"This one is high school and after, I guess." The album title was taken from a kids'
popular notebook doodling on the omnipresent yellow' Pee-Chee folders: "Life is
Peachy but sex is an all-season sport." Also drawn from school days is the song
"A.D.I.D.A.S."--an acronym for "All Day I Dream About Sex." To capture Korn's
primal power, the band again worked with producer Ross Robinson, and lived and
recorded at the rural, inspiring Indigo Ranch Studios in Malibu. "Ross is like the
big cheerleader of the band," says Jonathan. "It's all inside of us, but Ross pumps
shit up. We both came up together in the music biz, so it's been a cool growing experience.
Now he's The Shit as a producer...and we're doing good."
The seeds of Korn were planted in the agricultural community of Bakersfield,
California. Fieldy and David, Korn's impressive rhythm section, were high school friends
who'd jammed together since their teens. Guitarists Brian Welch and James Shaffer share six
(and seven) string duties, note-bending and playing off each other to define the classic
Korn guitar sound.
Prior to to the founding of Korn, Shaffer, Fieldy and David (with another singer)
released an album together, then disbanded and reformed as Creep, with Welch joining in on
some Creep shows. Welch and Shaffer were living in L.A. when, on a visit to Bakersfield,
they caught Jonathan singing for a local band called Sexart. Fate took over, and within days
Jonathan had joined the new band.
An artistic outcast in Bakersfield, where his parents owned a music store, Jonathan grew
up playing classical music, listening to the '80s rock of Duran Duran and Missing Persons,
and playing the bagpipes--a decidedly non-rock instrument he deploys to devastating effect
in Korn. Jonathan also had a successful pre-Korn career as an autopsy assistant at the
Kern County coroner's office. His stint there helped shape the singer's unique views on life,
reincarnation and the dark side of human nature--subjects later addressed in Korn's lyrics
after the band solidified in its adopted hometown of Huntington Beach, California in 1993.
As the title Life is Peachy indicates, Korn are able to see the humor and irony
inherent in everyday existence. In fact, drummer David laments, "just because of our
music and lyrics, people used to think everyone in the band was depressed or down as
people. But no one really is--it's our art. People get the idea that we're on the verge
of suicide at 25. So when they meet us, it's
like, 'wow, you seem happy.'"
Which brings us to the Peachy life Korn leads today. After nearly two years of touring
with everyone from 311 to Marilyn Manson to KMFDM to Ozzy Osbourne, Korn were so amped
to begin work on their sophomore album that they were in rehearsals within a week after
getting off the road. The goal? "We let the music flow," says David. "We only had small
bits and pieces written from the road, so when we went in the studio we didn't have a plan.
We set up our gear, looked at each other and went: 'Okay.'" And it was.
Though the band is "down with the classic Korn sound," Davis notes that Life is Peachy
is a maturation on nearly every front. "I'm singing more on this album and the songs are put
together better, less basic than the last one. I'm singing my ass off on this album--singing
more, instead of screaming so much." The first new song written was "No Place To Hide,"
followed by "A.D.I.D.A.S.," and from those not very humble beginnings, the songs gushed out.
As Korn 's singer and lyricist, Jonathan draws on a deep well of angst. On Korn, the
closing track "Daddy" was so personal--and so painful--that Korn performed it live only once.
The equally wrenching "Kill You," directed at the singer's former step-mom, now closes Life
is Peachy. While today Jonathan is a dad himself and understands far more about what parents
go through with their kids, his own childhood was deeply troubled nonetheless.
Another track, the raging "K@#(%!", should prove no less controversial. Yet Jonathan
insists the song is in no way anti-female: If anything, this invective-filled tune is a dis
to commercial radio. "That's just my cuss-word song, me talking some shit," says the singer.
"I wanted to release that as our first single, just to fuck with radio stations, because
they've re-edited our songs for airplay before. It's a killer song--I love it."
There's some slightly lighter fare on Life is Peachy. If you ever wanted to hear the
opening of War's "Low Rider" played on bagpipes, Life is Peachy is the place to find it, with
Welch on vocals. The album's first single, "No Place To Hide," addresses Jonathan's momentary
anxiety about Korn's success. Low-key and surprisingly soft-spoken off stage, the singer felt
hounded by responsibility (hence the tune's title) until he realized Korn was the culmination
of his dreams--and the band's success a raised middle finger to the youthful detractors who
inspired such songs as the first album's "Faget."
Now tighter than ever as friends and musicians, Korn once again is ready to conquer the
world: gig by gig, city by city. "It's been so fucking fun hanging out, and all of us writing
this album," Davis says. "Now it's back on the road. I love that, but this chapter, this record,
was a blast."
So far, Life is extremely Peachy for the members of KORN.
========================================================================================================
KORN SERVE CEASE-AND-DESIST DEMAND TO THE ZEELAND, MICHIGAN SCHOOL DISTRICT, ZEELAND HIGH SCHOOL
AND ITS ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL WHO SUSPENDED A HIGH-SCHOOL STUDENT FOR WEARING A T-SHIRT CARRYING
ONLY THE BAND'S NAME; KORN LOOK TO FILE MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR LAWSUIT.
"Lack of radio, major press and MTV airplay couldnt stop KORN, so what makes some
small-town assistant principal think that she can?" says FIELDY, KORN's bass player.
What's offensive anyway? The Supreme Court can't even figure it out. KORN's got
things to say and over three million kids want to hear it. "If you don't like it,
don't buy it", says guitarist BRIAN HEAD WELCH. "Where does an assistant principal
get the right to preach her own morals and actually suspend a student?" says drummer
DAVID.
Meanwhile, attorney's for KORN have served the Zeeland, Michigan public school
district, the Zeeland High School and its assistant principal with a cease- and-desist
demand for making defamatory comments about the band and infringing on their civil
liberties. At the same time, the attorneys are investigating facts surrounding
this week's incident--whereby a student was suspended for wearing a T-shirt that
simply carried the band's name on it after being warned two weeks earlier not to
wear it again--and are considering to file, on KORN's behalf, a multi-million
dollar lawsuit against the school district, the school and its assistant principal.
The band and their management especially take offense at assistant principal
Gretchen Plewes comments to the Holland Sentinel newspaper where she said that
KORN's body of work intends to be insulting. She also described their music as
indecent, vulgar, obscene.
Should KORN triumph in an eventual lawsuit, they'll give the proceeds
(after legal expenses are covered) to the ACLU and various charities for
the prevention of child abuse.
Through their music, which has been praised by the press as socially
conscious, cathartic and honest, KORN--JONATHAN DAVIS (vocals), FIELDY (bass),
JAMES MUNKY SHAFFER (guitars), BRIAN HEAD WELCH (guitars) and DAVID (drums)--have
specifically addressed the issue of child abuse and railed against its horrors.
As a result, they've received thousands of letters from fans who have saluted the
band for personalizing the issue of child abuse and giving them some sense of
hope by letting them know that they're not alone. Several members of KORN have
experienced the catastrophic effects of child abuse either through personal experiences
or through the experiences of close family members and/or friends.
As noted in the Los Angeles Times, Daddy (from KORN's 1994 self-titled platinum
debut) is an unsparing primal scream of a song in which (Jonathan) Davis makes
uncomfortably palpable the rage and grief of a young incest victim confronting
his parents. In 1996 alone, according to a 50-state survey conducted by the
National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse (NCPCA), over 3,126,000 children
were reported to Child Protective Services (CPS) agencies as alleged victims
of child maltreatment. Child abuse reports have maintained an epidemic,
catastrophic growth for the past 10 years, with the total number of reports
nationwide increasing 45% since 1987.
Rather than allowing their rage to result in socially unacceptable
or unlawful behavior, KORN have turned their negative experiences into a
positive release, exorcising their rage through their songs and live performances.
Their fan club has over 100,000 members, thousands of which have expressed to
the band how their lives have changed for the better because of the band's music.
While many may choose to sweep such an ugly subject as child abuse under the carpet,
KORN are actually helping to save people's lives by giving them hope.
Says lead singer JONATHAN DAVIS, "Our band sends out positive messages to
our fans--we stand for something. We' ve inherited a world with horrible things
like child abuse, and we want to let people know that they're not alone in dealing
with stuff that's been passed on to them. After hearing about something as ridiculous
as this, we wanted to stand up for the student's rights and let the school
district know that were pissed off at their treatment of the student and their
attempt to discredit KORN as artists and human beings."
Adds Jeff Kwatinetz, manager of KORN, "We find it especially disturbing
that an educator who's supposed to be setting an example of what this country
stands for--things like free speech--is attacking a student and a band that
represents hope for millions of kids. Unlike some other bands who seek controversy
for its own sake, KORN reach out to millions of kids who look up to them and
connect with the band on a personal level."
KORN's so-called vulgar, insulting activities don't just end with their
feelings about child abuse. They've performed at nearly 50 charitable concerts,
requiring hundreds of hours of their time, for causes that encompass rape-prevention,
the plight of the homeless, and the T.J. Martell Foundation for Leukemia, Cancer and AIDs.
In addition, KORN have been closely involved with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Most
recently, the foundation flew a terminally ill 16-year-old boy named Justin to California
to meet the band. He ended up spending two days with the band, which moved KORN to title
a song on their upcoming album Justin. They have continued to keep in contact with
Justin ever since. How insulting!
KORN have one of the most intimate relationships with their fans of any band in the
music world. They're known for communicating positively one-on-one with fans in various
KORN-related chat rooms on the Internet and America Online into the wee hours of the night.
They're also very highly regarded by the fans who stay around late into the evening to meet
the band after their concerts--that's when the band take time to sign autographs or have
their photos taken with fans until every last request is obliged.
As part of their outreach to fans, KORN last week launched their first of their weekly
KORN's After-School Specials, airing live on Thursdays at 4:30-5:30 PM Pacific Time
at on the Internet. Part variety show, part new music showcase, part talk-show
satire, KORN's After-School Special (a take-off on the 70's ABC After-School Special programs)
is emanating from a Los Angeles recording studio as they work on the follow-up to 1996's platinum
and critically acclaimed LIFE IS PEACHY album.
Meanwhile, friends of the suspended student, Eric VanHoven, have circulated a petition
protesting the suspension which has already been signed by over 400 people, including some
parents. VanHoven has also been offered free legal advice from a local Michigan attorney, and
is currently seeking out a lawsuit against the school on his own. KORN has been informed that
a student walk-out is scheduled to take place Friday, March 13 at the school.
ploftus@fishheads.com
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