A.D.W.D.A.K.!

April 2000 Metal Edge magazine interview with Jonathan Davis

1. Metal Edge: In Issues' opening track, "Dead," you express a longing to be happy, while in "Beg For Me" you profess that you are only happy while on stage, performing...
2. JD: The whole thing started soon after we released the Follow the Leader album and went on the Family Values tour- I started having all my anxiety problems and was going totally insane, nuts... I was going insane, developed schizophrenia... a lot of shit was going on and there were problems within the band because of the pressure and demands of touring. It all got to us. So, this is a story about it and the whole of my life- From my family breaking up, crazy thoughts I had in my head, the truth about and against my management who would be screaming at me if I wanted to cancel a show because we would be losing so much money... They didn't care if I could do it or not! They were more concerned with money than my health and the band... This album is a long journey of what I went through emotionally. All songs are related to that period which was a culmination of several years of my life. At that particular time I could only function while onstage, performing. The moment it was finished, I was back in my depressed world... For me those two hours were the only thing that kept me going and the rest was spent hiding on a tour bus, being sick, crying for no reason and trying to drown all my troubles in substances. I pulled through that period and Issues is an honest look at it. We all worked on the music, and, for example, I played drums on "Trash" and "Dirty", then keyboards. All the lyrics were written separately then married with the music. From the first day, I knew what this album would be about and we never discussed it within the band. We never discuss it much, and that has never affected the music because we write what we were going to do anyway and I only had to paint the picture on top of it. If I were happy it would have had a totally different vibe.
3. ME: In a number of songs you mention contemplating suicide. Being an influential band, and with American youth apparently so volatile, aren't you concerned with the possible impact of pushing them over the edge?
4. JD: If what I sing about a kid takes literally, then he has a problem- either mental, emotional,or both- and it has nothing to do with me and my art. Such a person is not influenced, inspired or motivated by the lyrics, but with a much deeper psychological problem, with a social situation, rather than my songs. [President] Clinton was saying that the school-killings in Colorado were connected with rock music, but that is stupid. The government needed to blame it on something, and rock seemed to be the easiest target.
5. ME: [Rage Against the Machine frontman] Zack de la Rocha remarked that the very same music is listened to in other countries and nobody is killing in the name of it...
6. JD: Exactly, well commented. Turning on the news is enough to make you feel like going out and shooting people! I sing about flirting with killing myself- I wanted to kill myself, but at one time or another I also say that I didn't want to. Everybody goes through such periods, and I really wanted to kill myself because I didn't want to wake up every morning all shaking and carrying fear for no reason... I wanted to die because I couldn't understand why I was afraid, crying and puking all over myself. My brain was fucking up, my chemicals were all out of balance, and what got me through was my love for my boy, as well as for my band and for music. I then got prescribed medication- I'm on Prozac now and I'm fine. But I was so depressed, and really just wanted to die. I didn't want to be waking up and facing the same emotional turmoil every day, and that's what I've expressed on this album. I've always written what I've felt, always been honest, and never cared what the consequences might be. I just sing what I want and have always been straight and honest with out fans. I am not afraid to sing what I really feel. People sense it, but understand it in their own way.
7. ME: There is definite sonic progression within the band. Is it natural, or do you need to work on that aspect of the music?
8. JD: No, it all comes from our maturing as musicians and working as a band. We've evolved over the years and have been always taking different steps. When we recorded the debut album it was a new sound which we expanded on with [Life is] Peachy, although we felt we were a bit rushed when we did that album. We produced Follow the Leader ourselves because we wanted to try something on our own, and that's when this band really started to grow. Since then, we've really grown and it is even more evident on this album. We've always tried to change and never do the same thing twice. I know that the growth and development of this band is remarkable because when I joined it I had not listened to heavy music. My influences were Duran Duran, Skinny Puppy, then I went goth and was into Christian Death... When I was 16 I started deejaying and was into old-school, what they call hip-hop nowadays, and I only got into Pantera and Slayer when I got into this band.
9. ME: Greater success brings larger problems with staying in touch with your fans. How do you maintain a personal relationship?
10. JD: There were times when we used to hang out outside the venues after the shows and signed thousands of autographs and talked with people. That was in the days when we played clubs and mid-size venues, but now it is impractical because we play arenas. So, we get a lot of fan mail, e-mail, we do Internet things, we did the cover contest, we have vidcams in the studio to let our fans watch us at work, we put a TV show in the studio with guests, and we have MP3 on our website and almost got sued by our record company because of it when we put up the first single- "Falling Away From Me"- on our website a couple of weeks before its release. They wanted to sue us because they thought we were trying to undermine the record and the campaign they'd planned for us, but we sorted it out and we'll do anything for our fans to keep them informed and keep them involved and close to us, as much as we possibly can. We then did a Korn-campaign when we went all over America and signed 5,000, 10,000 autographs a day, which almost killed us.
11. ME: How much does fame interfere with your private life? Can you go out and enjoy the California surf and sunshine...?
12. JD: No, I lost my privacy a long time ago and have to have a guy [a bodyguard] with me at all times. It is not that bad, like if I was a film superstar, but it is not possible for me to go out and enjoy myself. I need to have some security with me because you never know who is going to approach you and with what intentions. It gets a bit too much to be asked for an autograph or a photograph at every given moment, but I've come to realize that that is what I have to do. I'm here because of the fans, and if they want my autograph I have no right to refuse it. I also know that it is very difficult to approach me and if I refused, it would be really rude of me and it would definitely hurt a person. Sometimes I go out disguised, but people still recognize me, so I find that there is no point in even trying. It would be nice to get away from it, from time to time, but the fact is, there is no place on Earth where I can go unrecognized.
13. ME: Does such intense public scrutiny have a tragic influence on your family life?
14. JD: Yes, I split up with my wife who mothered my son. He is four now, a beautiful boy, and there are certain things I can do with him outside- like go to a park and kick a ball, go to a beach and swim, surf... We can do that because I've moved to Hollywood and there everybody is somebody, so I don't get bugged that much. I go to the grocery store and there are so many different stars who behave very normally, greet each other and have a little chat... There are other people in Hollywood who fans want to see.
15. ME: Being under such demand, would you be encouraging to your child if he wanted to follow in your footsteps?
16. JD: I'd encourage my child to do everything he wants. If he wanted to be a rock star I'd encourage him. My dad wanted to be a rock star but didn't make it, and he discouraged me. But it didn't help, at all. He didn't want me to get upset if I failed and it was the wrong thing to do, but I had to try it and knew that I could make it. In the beginning it wasn't happening, and I had a job, but it didn't stop me from working in a band. So, if my son wanted to be in a band, nothing would make me happier, I'd be so proud. I think he's got something creative in him, he is already messing about with music, his mom is an actress and that might be passed onto him. If I had a choice, I'd love him to be a film director.
17. ME: Quite uncharacteristically, there is a jolly kind of cover on the international EP All Mixed Up, your version of "Jingle Bells?"
18. JD: The song finally has a kick! We'd always done a Christmas song, but not on the last album. "The Christmas Song" was on the first album, and "Release Christmas" at the end of our video, and now, our version which we renamed "Jingle Balls." It's a bit of fun and we like to play with the songs. When we do a cover it is radically different, there's no reason to do a cover that is an exact copy.
19. ME: You're a serious band, but you were animated in the South Park Halloween episode. Doesn't that send a confusing signal to your fans?
20. JD: No, not at all, because it is something we and our fans really relate to, it is the coolest cartoon! We love it, and it was an honor to be associated with it. I don't see anything confusing because the series is like the band, I think. It is about kids not fitting in, searching for their own identities while questioning their parents' standards.
21. ME: Korn have been rather active on the Internet while the industry is still resisting and having problems coming to terms with it...
22. JD: Yeah, we like it and our manager is always encouraging us to do things for it and on it. It is a cool thing to do which is accessible to fans and we are glad to be able to use it because it is a great advertising tool. The record industry is really frightened by it, but it is just another outlet for music and visuals. I suspect that in the near future the industry will remain unchanged and music downloading will become just another format. I don't think it will replace the formats we know, but I think it will become the main music carrier... Our album was on the Net two weeks before the in-store, and you could download it, but I still believe the people want to go out and buy the real thing and hold it in their hands. Downloading something off the computer will not replace the actual product. I listen to MP3s but I still want to go out and buy the CD, because it has artwork, information... MP3 is a great advertising tool and I think it should be looked upon as the cassette-samplers record companies have been producing for years. It is the same thing- The cost is less, and after listening to it they wanna go out and buy the actual album. I don't think it is going to hurt us or the industry; kids often tape their own albums to listen to them on their Walkmans, so what is different now?
23. ME: You've already started building for the future by founding your own label- Elementree- and establishing the Family Values tour which, it was just reported, earned you a tidy profit of $10 million this year and you weren't even on it!?!
24. JD: That was cool, but it wasn't the money we started the touring festival for, we just wanted our own version of the Lollapalooza. We wanted to offer kids something that would make us exciting, and this year we had Filter, Limp Bizkit and Primus playing on it... Our label is run by our manager and his employees, but we get the bands and have a say in the artists' direction. The rule is, there is no rule. The artists can do whatever they want and we encourage that.
25. ME: Judging by the quality of your four albums, longevity is a distinct possibility for Korn. Would you like to emulate the Rolling Stones' career and still be rocking at the age of 60?
26. JD: Yes, by all means. That's one of my few goals in life- I'd just love to do it and to be able to do it at that age! I just wanna keep playing as long as possible, because kids are forever. This band works well together and we love what we do and it'd be cool if we were still doing these songs at 60! If people were still into us it would be the realization of a lifelong dream.