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Jonathan Davis Talks Solo LP, Future of Korn: “I’m Waving the Flag for Musicianship”

With Korn on ice for the time being — save for a rendition of “Kidnap the Sandy Claws” on yet another reissue of the Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack — frontman Jonathan Davis has turned his focus towards solo touring and a forthcoming record, which he says won’t just be Korn-style ragers with a different staff. “I always compare it to when Steve Perry went and did ‘Oh Sherrie,’ which is a fucking Journey song,” he says. “It sounded exactly like Journey, and that’s fucked up. I don’t want to do that.” “I feel like I’m waving the flag for musicianship, trying to bring back bands that can play,” Davis said after his main stage set at this weekend’s Ozzfest. “It seems like a lot of music today is so churned out and simple. I like playing these festivals, because it’s one thing all day, and then here I come on, and everyone’s like, ‘Whoa,’ then back to the grind.” With a lineup of virtuosos called the Simply Fuckin’ Amazings, Davis says he’s been picking up instrument after instrument on the road from his new bandmates, including violin, didgeridoo, the glass armonica (an instrument designed by Benjamin Franklin), an Armenian wind instrument called the duduk, and his favorite, the biwa, a Japanese lute. “It sounds like a banjo, but they sing with it, and it’s the most fucking passionate, emotional music I’ve ever heard in my life,” Davis said. “I want to include that in my album, because it’s so passionate. Like when you hear a Korn song and it’s really going crazy, these guys do it with a stringy banjo. I want to bring that to kids here who are like, ‘What the fuck is this?’ and open their minds up to something different.” After Ozzfest, Davis headed home to begin writing his first solo record, which he hopes will be released by the end of November, and will follow it up with another solo tour. As far as the future of Korn (now down to three original members), Davis says it’s more a matter of ‘when’ than ‘if.’ He also is leaving the door open for the two departed

Published: 2008-08-13
Provider: Rolling Stone
Keywords: Rock News

Jonathan Davis, Serj Tankian Remember Dimebag at Ozzfest

When Pantera and Damageplan guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott was killed onstage at an Ohio concert in 2004, friends and admirers were quick to note that he wasn’t just a martyr who was only appreciated after his demise, but one of the most storied figures in heavy music while he was still alive. Every metal band who passed through Dallas at one point or another has a story about being taken to the Clubhouse, the strip club Dimebag owned along with his brother, Pantera and Damageplan drummer Vincent “Vinnie Paul” Abbott, or about the escapades and chaos that ensued at the brothers’ property in Arlington, Texas. In addition to the onstage tribute at this year’s Ozzfest, which featured performances from members of Alice in Chains, Slayer, Anthrax and Sepultura, just about everyone in the backstage area had something to say about the late guitarist. Here are three memories from some of the Ozzfest main stage performers: Jonathan Davis (Korn): “The shit he did, that’s what got me into heavy music — Vulgar Display of Power. I was only into Eighties music before that. The heaviest thing I listened to was Skinny Puppy and Ministry, but that wasn’t metal. When I heard Vulgar Display, I was like, ‘Holy shit, what the fuck is this?’ The first time I ever saw them live, before Korn was even signed, me and Fieldy went, and it was Pantera and Sepultura at Irving Meadows in L.A. They came out, started the first song, the curtain dropped, and me and Fieldy just started crying. We looked at each other and we had tears in our eyes because it was so fucking intense and heavy and sick.” Serj Tankian: “When [System of a Down] played with Pantera at the Forum, my parents had come to the show, and my parents are definitely not into heavy music at all. They were older, in their late sixties. What they were doing was very special, to a point where my parents, who are not into any rock or metal or any type of heavy music, really got them. I was blown away, and I said, ‘Really? You’re not j

Published: 2008-08-12
Provider: Rolling Stone
Keywords: Rock News