Food For Thought – A Conversation with Korn

Korn is one of those bands that you either love or hate. My first introduction to the music of Korn was through a Butch Walker parody called “Rock Vocal Power” in which he made fun of a section of the song “Freak on a Leash,” spewing indiscernible growls and making the case that Jonathan Davis might in fact be channeling Cookie Monster. Prior to that, the only other time I had ever heard anything by Korn was when they appeared in the South Park episode entitled “Korn’s Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery” in which they were portrayed in a very Scooby Doo like fashion.  The episode revolved around the fictional rock band that spent their days solving mysteries and their nights playing concerts.  In many ways, that’s actually the genius of Korn. Korn has gone through so many incarnations that you have trouble appreciating or even understanding who they really are or what they really stand for.

Yet, as schizophrenic as it all seems and no matter how they seem to be perceived as evidenced by how they are portrayed at the opposite ends of the pop spectrum, you cannot argue their longevity – seventeen years later the boys from Bakersfield are still churning out the records and relentlessly fine tuning the music that makes them tick.  If you’re a Korn fan it’s been a long journey not without its share of negative TMZ exposure, rumors of fighting and controversies with current and former band members alike. For Circle Six our journey began with the pursuit of an interview with Korn, which proved to be as enigmatic as Munky himself.  We were originally slated to speak with them at Mayhem, but the scheduling conflicts prevented us to speak face to face.  After several misses, I was finally able to catch up with Munky in the middle of his day (most likely at meal time) as not only was there bad cell reception, but the reception was also augmented by long pauses and…loud chewing? I don’t know…

In any case, special thanks to James “Munky” Shaffer for taking time out of his busy schedule to talk to us personally.

C6M: Thank you for the call. We just saw you in Devore to kick it off.  How are you enjoying Mayhem so far?

Munky: It’s a lot of fun.  It’s kind of a diverse bill as far as metal goes.

C6M: It seems like Mayhem has a really great second stage.  There are a lot of premiere bands.

Munky: Yeah, I mean, Hatebreed, they’re out there.  Chimaira.  Those guys have been around for a while. It’s nice to see them out with us. I think they’re happy to be out here too.

C6M: Now in regards to Korn III – Remember Who You Are and the approach that you took for this album.  I read that you’re taking a new angle and going back and eliminating a few layers (and let’s say getting back to the basics).  Do you feel that it’s a necessary step for the band (and is this is a risk or just more of something you’re doing to fulfill an artistic need?)

Munky: Yeah it was more to fulfill an artistic direction.  We started out as the angry pissed off dudes from Bakersfield.  We didn’t get away from that intentionally.  Just kind of through the years things changed through..song structures…melodies.  And we just kind of reached in and refocused the energy into what launched this band, you know?

C6M: So even though its still fairly new in the release, have you had a chance to take it all in a be proud of your efforts on this?

Munky: Yeah, if we weren’t we would still be in the studio working on it.

C6M: Have you received any feedback at this point?

Munky: So far most of the feedback is pretty good.

C6M: Let’s talk about the current legacy of Korn.  It’s a long run of albums and a lot has changed in the industry.  Most notably, everything from how bands market themselves, how the internet has changed the game both with digital downloads, but also how video (and YouTube) has been utilized to promote your material.

Munky: I think technology makes people fucking lazy…all the way down to the dishwasher.

C6M: Yeah, but in a lot of ways Korn has sort of been at the forefront of digital media and communication with Korn TV…it worked as an outreach to your fans.

Munky: I mean it’s still a great way to reach your audience….on the day to day.  For a band like us it can be very helpful.  But also for a band just starting out.  It can make a band really lazy.  Going on Facebook and adding a hundred friends a day…

C6M: So do you even handle that on your own?  Do you feel like you don’t even need to bother with that side of things like having a Facebook fan page…a few of the people I chatted with at the festival try to make it a point of at least appearing accessible to their fans.

Munky: I am online chatting with my fans on Korn.com.  It’s important. We’re putting up material on a daily basis in terms of news and photos…from every one of the shows.

C6M: We asked all the bands at Mayhem and wanted to ask you guys this too.  Since it seemed like everyone was looking to you and following your example….we heard you guys were taking a stand on the BP oil spill issue and calling for a boycott of BP.  Talking to the guys from Atreyu, the issue hits a lot of people (one of their members grew up near the Gulf and mentioned that it was a travesty)… 3 Inches of Blood had a strong take on the issue as well. How do you guys feel as leaders of the industry about this and what do you have to add?

Munky: It’s just…it’s tough when it comes to people who lose their livelihood and environment and animals.  It’s the least we could do.

At this point, as I waited for Munky to finish his thought…millions of thoughts went through my head, like why is he taking so long to answer? Was the pain of the BP oil spill question just that difficult to articulate? If it was, I could totally understand. After all it was tragic. People lost their lives. People lost their livelihoods. People lost their animals. But as the pause began to extend, I thought, maybe he just needs to swallow whatever it was that he was eating.

C6M: James? (Pause) Munky? (Pause) Hello?

I certainly hope he’s not choking.

Dial tone.

As it turned out…it was just the cell reception on his phone that had dropped out.  Unfortunately we failed to reconnect. Admittedly, my frustration with not being able to ask a few more questions, the time constraints and not being able to tell what he was eating by the way he chewed did not resonate well with me. Or maybe I was just bitter because I was also hungry. I don’t know. Regardless, the call was very much appreciated.  Special thanks to James “Munky” Shaffer and the boys from Korn for connecting with us. Hopefully we can reconnect with them again in the future under better than iPhone 4 conditions. In any case, Circle Six wishes this Grammy Award winning band the best of luck and continued success.

By Paul Stamat

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All Photos (except bio promo) by Erick Bieger 7/10/10 at San Manuel Amphitheater (Devore, CA)