JONATHAN DAVIS TALKS SOLO LP, FUTURE OF KORN: "I’M WAVING THE FLAG FOR MUSICIANSHIP"
Chris Steffen
Rolling Stone
8/13/08, 2:26 pm EST
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 members to return down the line ("I never say never"),
but with former guitarist Brian "Head" Welch releasing a solo album
in September and sometimes drummer David Silvera managing restaurants
and raising a family, that will happen later rather than sooner, if
at all. "When I’m done with this, I’ll go to my other gig, but right
now, I’m having fun," he said. "I’m not planning that far ahead. This
is where I’m at, and I’m really enjoying it."