All language subtitles for Got The Life - The Korn Story

The last thing I ever wanted to do in my

life was start singing I was working at

the mortuary and I had a and I had a

house we had in the east side here

straight in the ghetto I had my friends

come over they had a band and they

started jamming in my living room and

then once day I just opened my mouth and

started humming melody lines and singing

I don't know why I did it but I did it

then once I sang it over my mouth and

did that the whole band stopped and

lifted me and went you're the singer now

on october the 11th 1994 five outcasts

from bakersfield california released one

of the most important albums of the 20th

century their south title debut record

which was released by independent los

angeles label immortal would come to be

seen by many as the birth of new metal

they were seen to be social pariahs some

of whom relentlessly bullied in school

for being different and on the cusp of a

breakdown

substance abuse had already taken hold

of singer jonathan davis who was

struggling to deal with his disturbing

past corn would be considered as the

pioneers of a genre that dominated tv

screens and radio waves for over a

decade a genre that would also give

birth to bands such as lincoln park limp

biscuit papa roach and death tones

from high school dropouts to born again

christians corn have become an iconic

influence in the world of heavy metal

and this is their story

in 1989 james schaefer reginald arvizu

and david silvera were playing in a funk

metal band a genre that arose in the mid

to late 80s

in 1984 red hot chili peppers released

their south title debut record which

many consider to be the first funk rock

record with funk rock being the

precursor to funk metal

the record was a mix mash of musical

influences from the jimi hendrix and

prince style guitars to the hard

slapping bass and the 80s rap style of

vocals it was certainly more of an

experimental record than anything else

with hints of the new wave of 80s pop

music hidden in the immense reverb of

the album

the funk rock genre sounded more like

70s disco compared to what would become

funk metal

it was raw upbeat and really unlike

anything anyone had ever really heard

before but in the mid 80s it was still

heavily influenced by post-punk as

opposed to metal

schaefer arvizu and silvera's band lapd

formed in 1989 in bakersfield california

they released one studio album called

who's laughing now in 1991

and although it didn't receive any

commercial success it laid the

groundwork for what would evolve into

the corn sound

it was james schaefer's love for faith

no more and their album the real thing

that ultimately guided the direction of

lapd's musical style

it was in 1989 when faith no more

released the single from out of nowhere

that schaefer and arvizu became faith no

more fanatics this is also how they

discovered mr bungle another band from

mike patton the singer of faith no more

that would become hugely influential in

korn's early days

faith no more had released two albums

previous to the real thing but with

little commercial success however the

band were thrown into the spotlight with

the release of from out of nowhere in

1989 and the now iconic single epic

released the following year

this was an important era for the

transition of metal music although in

1989

motley crew had a number one album with

dr feelgood the glam metal pretty boy

image was starting to wear off and

people couldn't relate to the

millionaire rockstar lifestyle

rock and metal fans wanted to feel part

of the community again

bands like faith no more and red hot

chili peppers helped people to reconnect

with the energetic young sound of modern

rock after all both bands just looked

like a bunch of kids straight out of

high school

lapd were on a very similar path to

faith no more in terms of musical style

and if they had lasted more than one

record no doubt they would have seen

some commercial success with the band

lapd however would shortly disband due

to the singer's substance addiction the

influence I sort of sort of was like an

obstacle it seemed like oh we're gonna

have to try extra hard to sort of

overcome and get out of this a small

town

moved to la and then

it seemed like we were just lost amongst

all these other bands you know trying to

do the same thing schaefer arvizu and

silvera wanted to continue on with the

band but instead of just recruiting a

new singer they also wanted to add a

second guitarist

this is where lapd would officially end

and corn would officially start with the

addition of jonathan davis and brian

welch who would complete the corn lineup

however it wasn't just the lineup that

would change jonathan davis would bring

with him a dark and explosive energy

that would help to shape the unique

stylings of the five piece from

bakersfield california

I love it it just makes me feel like I'm

doing something positive out of my pain

came something good

and that's a reason why I'm here so here

I am jonathan davis was born january

18th 1971 in bakersfield california

his childhood would be that of any

typically neglected one

his father rick davis a keyboard player

for frank zappa and his mother holly

marie who is an aspiring actress and

dancer both seem to be more interested

in chasing their own dreams on becoming

stars on the big stage as opposed to

providing a stable environment to raise

jonathan who also had a sister and two

other step-siblings

his parents would divorce when he was

just three years old and he would mostly

be raised by his father

it was also around this time that davis

started to develop serious complications

with asthma

between the ages of three to ten he

would be in and out of hospital almost

every month with one incident at five

years old causing his heart to stop to

which he later commented my heart

stopped and I didn't see no damn light

or hear any music davis felt his father

had abandoned him as he was always on

the road touring as a keyboard player

he was constantly sent to live with

different relatives and he felt as if

he'd simply been cast aside this was to

some extent a blessing in disguise as

jonathan's grandmother had bought him a

set of drums and he'd become obsessed

with the music hits that his father had

introduced him to at an early age

just how I dealt with my problems is my

only way to deal with things and was was

through singing and and writing lyrics

about it when I did it I had no idea

people felt the way I felt I didn't

realize until after the first corn

record was done and people started

coming up going you know what you're

saying about really helped me and you

guys saved my life but before that that

was the only one in the world was going

through that nobody really talked about

it and that's why I always got picked on

and stuff like that but it was that's

not about sexuality it's just it's about

being sensitive and I just didn't I

wasn't ashamed to say that I'm sensitive

not ashamed to say that I cry I'm not

ashamed I get my feelings hurt over

stuff because those are real emotions I

think people need to deal with those

things and they wouldn't be so bad

by the time he was five he had even

played drums on stage with his dad but

this short-lived and probably too late

form of parental bonding wouldn't be

enough to stop jonathan finding a darker

and ever so alienated path throughout

his teenage years

by his own words davis said he was

constantly picked on in school mostly

for his small frame and the fact he was

socially awkward he was considered to be

a nerd and an easy target for the

playground bullies

subconsciously davis saw this as another

opportunity to delve deeper into the

world of music

jonathan's dad owned a music store that

often had music instructors so he took

it upon himself to learn as many

instruments as possible

by the time he was 12 he had already

learned to play the piano the violin

upright bass and clarinet it was pretty

clear that davis was using music as an

escape form from the tortures of his

real life something that would continue

to grow within him

whilst the schoolyard bullies could be

drowned out with his love for musical

instruments a new nemesis had appeared

before davis that would drag him through

hal and back

she's the most evil [ __ ] up person

I've met in my whole life she hated my

guts

davis had a new stepmother entering his

teenage years a figure that most likely

gave him the final push he was looking

for to venture into a darker path in

life

in some sick way I had a sexual fantasy

about her and I don't know what that

stems from or why

but I always dreamt about [ __ ] her

and killing her

it's not clear the exact lengths of

torment jonathan's new stepmother would

go to in order to alienate and manifest

such thoughts but one thing was clear

the experiences davis had as a child and

as a teenager would trigger something

deep inside something so dark that by

the age of 16 davis had secured a job at

a local mortuary where he would assist

in the autopsies of adults and even

infants poor people losing their loved

ones and in the funeral business it's

you see it more and when I was just

working as an autopsy assistant the more

doing autopsies is me some stiffs and a

doctor that's it was I could deal with

but when you actually see the families

and stuff like that it started to get to

me and then when I was young doing all

types I was autopsying kids and stuff

like that so it was not it was bad I'm

glad I got out of it by his own later

confession he admitted this led to him

suffering from ptsd post-traumatic

stress syndrome he said I had to have a

lot of therapy to make the nightmares go

away it's easy to see how korn's debut

album would become such a disturbingly

chaotic masterpiece

it was all ego just wanted to be a

famous rock star you know like wanted to

write music there was a little bit of a

you know the art was in there it was

like going to create something that

people could enjoy and everything um it

just got twisted because all I did was

stare at albums and watch videos of all

these rock stars that were like motley

crew kiss and all these bands that were

just known for

being all about partying I was given

that job later on in life you know in my

early 20s it was like here you go every

dream you you had you can have corn

would officially form in 1993

and the full lineup would consist of

jonathan davis james monkey schaefer

brian head welch reginald arvizu and

david silvera head had known schaefer

and arvizu for some time and davis had

been releasing his own demos as well as

being the singer for another band called

sex art

they were somewhat drawn together over

two things

their hatred for bakersfield and their

love for a wide range of musical styles

davis once recalled that the only thing

to do in bakersfield was to get high on

drugs get arrested or have a kid and

watch them repeat the process

it's no surprise that korn turned out to

pioneer a new genre davis had been

obsessed with duran duran depesh mode

and ministry whilst brian head welch

learn to play guitar to queens we will

rock you and other members of the band

were heavily influenced by run dmc and

the early funk rock of red hot chili

peppers

throw in the extreme influence of

sepultura on top of that and you've got

the ingredients for something incredibly

unique

I listen to more like english new

romantic [ __ ] like adam ann duran duran

and all those kind of bands so the cure

that was my corn

I had a brief little period where I got

to listen I was listening like motley

crue shot at the devil and d.o my dad

became a boring gang christian and

burned them all and guarded me scared

the [ __ ] [ __ ] of me saying that was

going to take me over and all this [ __ ]

so then that pushed me in a different

direction and that's when I got twitch

my ministry

down the christian death all that goth

[ __ ] and then it just turned into the

new romantic new wave [ __ ] I really

loved adam and duran duran those are

like my tube and the cure and then after

that I started djing that's when I got

into new york freestyle music and that's

all the club music was going on new york

in the 80s and that was my thing for a

while and then the album vulgar display

of power hit came out and I was like

holy [ __ ] I loved it because I love the

groove part of it it just we wanted to

make you move but there was this

heaviness about it and after that I was

listening to more and more rock music it

wouldn't be long before the group would

officially decide on the name corn and

relocate to los angeles where they would

eventually rent a studio called

underground chicken sound in the

huntington beach area

and although davis had physically

escaped the torture of bakersfield the

disturbing thoughts he harbored as a

teenager and the ptsd he'd unknowingly

developed working at a mortuary would be

unleashed on their debut record

during the summer of 1993 corn started

to play local shows around the

huntington beach area and also started

to work with a producer called ross

robinson

robinson had started to produce records

in 1991 and would later become known as

the godfather of new metal as he went on

to produce records for the likes of lim

biscuit sepultura soulfly and even

slipknot it was like that before we made

the record and I used to like literally

pray that those guys one of them

wouldn't die I was so terrified for

their lives I don't know why

every street sign in huntington had a

corn sticker on it the insanity of that

environment then the music was all dark

so heavy

in in an internal way that you couldn't

deny it it was

it was there

although robinson had some experience of

working in studios in the late 80s as a

musician he was given his first full

production role in 1991 when he worked

on the debut record for the los

angeles-based industrial metal band fear

factory

before the pair managed to rent

underground chicken sound studios

robinson and corn actually started

working on a demo tape called

nedermeyer's mind which would be

released in october of 1993

but they didn't exactly have much of a

budget for the studio so robinson would

sneak them into another studio late at

night to record this demo this studio

belonged to singer blackie lawless of

the 80s hair metal band wasp the demo

tape had all of the key ingredients of

the new metal sound that people would

come to recognize over the coming years

but first the band had to find their

audience and it wouldn't be long before

the disaffected and alienated youth of

america would discover

corn

indigo ranch studios in malibu

california would be the setting for

corn's debut album

this is where ross robinson and the band

would record their first full-length

record together which would be released

on october the 11th 1994.

Musically the album was eerie and creepy

full of anger and torment

lyrically it was probably one of the

darkest albums that had been released at

that time jonathan davis essentially

used the recording process as his

artistic expression and therapy which

for him was an expression of a dark and

troubled childhood that he couldn't

escape this place inside my mind a place

I like to hide you don't know the

chances

what if I should die lyrics taken from

the opening track blind was an instant

outcry from jonathan talking to the kids

that bullied him throughout school

most of the lyrical content throughout

the first record was jonathan davis

talking to the people that made his life

hal throughout all of his teenage years

this was his opportunity to confront the

people that had made his life so

difficult and miserable

this is also why so many kids that had

been cast aside by society would come to

almost worship the band

I would either tweak on music or I would

just get on my computer and go into the

sickest

world of internet porn or whatever and

get sucked into that it was just so

grimy corn would release four singles

from their debut record blind knee to

shoots and ladders and clown

and although the record wasn't an

instant success there was a buzz

surrounding the band and the crowds of

teenage kids were growing at every show

it wouldn't be long before corn's new

fans would be flocking to jonathan davis

to tell him how they were also bullied

in school and that korn's shows gave

them a place to not only feel welcome

but a place to express their own rage

and anger towards a world that had

forgotten all about them

this is where music took a drastic

change in ideological direction metal

music in the 70s and 80s had been more

upbeat even if lyrically the story

addressed a sinister issue the music

would mostly provoke positive feelings

whereas korn's music would directly

attach itself to the very darkness that

was taking a grip on the youth of

america

even the cover artwork for korn's debut

album addressed this issue

the innocent girl happily playing on the

swings yet the dark shadow of a sinister

man behind her suggested that innocence

itself was somehow soaked with evil

there was no escaping the demons of

society which is exactly how jonathan

davis felt about the person he was I was

picked on just so bad I had like

guidance counselors telling me I was gay

and they would send me the gay

counselors I'm just like telling those

fools what the [ __ ] I'm telling you I'm

straight most of california other than

the you know the west coast cities and

stuff were pretty hardcore conservative

still and they still look and they still

judge and they still do that and so

we're in this little neighborhood and

the school was three houses down so we

walked home and just rode bikes in our

neighborhood we didn't go outside the

neighborhood and it was safe so we

thought one of the most interesting

aspects about corn's debut album though

was the actual combination of corn and

ross robinson

on one hand corn were drinking on a

daily basis and some members were even

abusing methamphetamines

whilst ross robinson was straight edge

opting for a daily wheatgrass smoothie

in an interview with metal hammer

magazine jonathan davis said ross is a

very pure and clean spirited person and

you feel that when you're with him

he's the kind of person that can draw

that out of you I feel very safe with

ross it seemed that robinson almost

acted as the band's therapist throughout

the process and without him corn may not

have even finished their first record or

it would have at least been a different

beast 1995 would be a huge year for corn

although the album wasn't an instant

success the band landed some impressive

tour slots the year would see them share

a stage with the likes of biohazard

megadeth sick of it all marilyn manson

and even ozzy osbourne

I was really into horror films sci-fi

films so those really I really got into

that young that's what led me in to

becoming a coroner's assistant back the

day when I did autopsies because I loved

horror films so much was something about

being scared and

just that dark vibe I've always been the

darker side of things inspire me other

than the happier things I mean I have

tons of happy [ __ ] in my life and I

think it's great but the dark things are

what inspire me to write music that's my

go-to to get it out by the end of 1995

they have played around 200 shows and

released four singles from their debut

record and the initial slump of album

sales would be overshadowed by the fact

that whilst touring with ozzy osbourne

korn's debut album had been certified

gold on january the 29th

1996 and was selling close to 20 000

copies a week it was official corn were

about to become global superstars

despite what turned out to be a hugely

successful 18 months of touring

throughout 1995 and 96 and a gold

certified debut album the press was

silent

most mainstream radio stations outright

refused to play corn songs and mtv tried

to avoid corn at all costs although they

did give them a small amount of off-peak

exposure however artists such as machine

head and sepultura were now huge fans of

the band

sepultura had even decided to hire ross

robinson to produce their album roots

released in february of 96.

Although the album was now selling like

crazy corn was still struggling to get

any commercial support their label had

managed to secure a few radio play

rotations on some graveyard radio shows

that hardly anyone listened to

and while some magazines were keeping a

close eye on the band that was pretty

much all they were doing

this was of course all of little

interest to the band as their record

label had pressured them to get back

into the studio straight away in may of

1996

to record their second record

ready for the release in october of the

same year which would mark a two-year

anniversary from the release of their

debut it is it's it's like catching on a

lot quicker here than it did at home do

you have any theories on why that is I

don't I'm not sure

I really don't know

korn's debut record had now sold over

600 000 copies but the label were

worried that fans would quickly forget

about them without commercial and

mainstream support from the press

unknown to the ban however it would

actually be the corn fans that helped

push the ban into the mainstream by

relentlessly calling radio stations and

mtv asking to hear corn and watch their

videos

korn's second album life is peachy would

be released on october the 15th 1996 and

would peak at number three in the us

billboard charts as well as land the ban

a top 40 album chart position in the uk

corn were without doubt here to stay

being fashionable used to mean looking

good well thanks to a fad that started

in the pacific northwest high fashion

now means well you decide

grunge had dominated the early 90s with

bands like soundgarden nirvana and

alison chains after the seattle sound

had hit the mainstream

I'm not

I'm not a death rocker but and I don't

wear black but sometimes I like to

collect weird things like that nevermind

released in 1991

was and still is considered by many as

the commercial breakthrough record for

the grunge movement however no one saw

what was about to happen to the music

industry following the death of kurt

cobain

it's said that grunge died the day kurt

cobain took his own life in 1994 but

looking at the early success of corn

it's difficult to dispute that new metal

wasn't already set to steal the

spotlight porn's second album life is

peachy had already given the band a top

five chart position on the american

billboards and the band were becoming an

integral part of america's alternative

youth culture what did you guys learn

about your fans you were mentioning I

got some pretty uh pretty good

creativity going on there's lots of

great stuff it's insane there's a lot of

sick stuff too throughout the mid 90s

corn had been wearing a great deal of

adidas clothing on stage which led to

swarms of corn fans buying adidas

products so korn naturally thought they

could strike a deal with adidas

especially since run dmc an influence of

corn had signed a huge deal with the

company in the late 80s but that wasn't

to be the case

adidas told korn they don't sponsor

musical groups anymore which opened the

door for another sports brand puma to

offer the band a wallet-busting 500 000

endorsement deal which at the time for a

band like corn was almost unthinkable

puma could obviously see the influential

power of a band like corn on the

american youth market

it's tough

we've been throwing up all day over this

work out and look like this we know it's

it's done by fans so we're not looking

for some top notch and like that could

be the winner you never know

not only would this deal be financially

lucrative for corn but it also saw puma

airing a nationwide tv commercial

featuring the band's music directed by

kevin kersley

kerslake had already directed music

videos for the likes of nirvana faith no

more pantera and even the rolling stones

this commercial would expose millions of

young americans to corn's music

hey [ __ ] tune in corn after school

special thursday at 4 30. Gonna [ __ ] you

up corn would also be one of the first

bands to really utilize a brand new

emerging technology called the internet

that would revolutionize the face of the

music industry in the coming years what

you guys do

is so fresh and sweet you don't have to

be able to solve them sure we all know

what the internet is today but in the

mid to late 90s it was seen as a magical

and mysterious leap forward in

electronics

no one knew how powerful it was going to

become korn however saw the opportunity

and seized it

when they began recording their third

studio album follow the leader in the

spring of 1998 they decided to also take

control of their own promotional

campaigns they would launch their own tv

series called korn's after school

special which would be hosted on their

website under the label of corn tv

this series was dubbed part variety show

part new music showcase and part talk

show satire and would air every thursday

at 4 30 p.m with the first show taking

place on the 5th of march 1998.

That's what's going on

it was an incredibly unique look into

the world of alternative culture and

most importantly the band by utilizing

this new technology called the internet

it helped to put corn into a category

all by themselves not just musically but

creatively most artists were just trying

to get their music videos played on mtv

they weren't trying to create their own

community in the same way that korn were

this online tv series gave fans an

intimate lifeline with the band and it

was the only way to really connect with

them other than seeing them live there

was no such thing as social media to

give you a day by day update of

everything the band was doing whether

this was clever marketing by the band or

their new record label warner music or

if it was just the band's way of getting

closer to the fans what was certain is

that corn were laying down the

foundations to releasing their biggest

record of the early new metal era a

record that would spawn a now iconic

music video

freak on a leash

1998 would be seen by many as the year

new metal had its commercial

breakthrough and korn's album follow the

leader would be the catalyst that

launched the genre into the mainstream

mtv had finally decided the band were

worthy of prime time air coverage not

only had the innovative music channel

featured members of corn on the infamous

mtv cribs but the network was also

showcasing lengthy promotional specials

in support of corn's upcoming new record

follow the leader would be released in

the summer of 1998 on august the 18th

and over the course of the next 12

months porn would release five singles

from the lp

all in the family

got the life

children of the corn

bbk and freak on a leash

got the life would chart on the us

billboards at number 11 and the

accompanying music video would showcase

the band in an entirely new light

corn now had access to expensive cars

like ferraris and mercedes and jonathan

davis was taking full advantage of

korn's new endorsement deal with puma

not only was this video a step up in

terms of production for them but it was

also aired round the clock on mtv and

corn became the new face of cool modern

alternative culture

follow the leader would also land the

band their first number one album on the

official u.s billboard 200 chart selling

268

000 copies in its first week

freak on a leash released on february

the 25th

1999 would become one of the most iconic

and unforgettable music videos of the

new metal era

corn would be seen in an enclosed room

with hundreds of light holes

highlighting the band and aside from the

unique animation of the security guard

playing with the ghosts of children

one aspect of the music video caught

everyone's attention

the slow-motion bullet that ripped

through an entire town and most notably

a water cooler

this video also introduced millions of

young alternative fans to the heavy

signature breakdowns of new metal

in the coming years there would be a

surge of new metal bands and albums

topping the charts on a global scale

deftones limp biscuit slipknot system of

a down and lincoln park would all enjoy

commercial success between the years of

1999 up to around 2004 when new metal

took a steep decline in popularity it

does appear to be the case that corn

helped to lay the foundations of new

metal when they released their first

album in 1994

and maybe without them new metal may not

have been as big as it was despite it

being short-lived

whilst new metal culture may have faded

into the underground bands that followed

in korn's success are now global

mainstream artists drawing in millions

of new fans into the world of metal and

alternative music every year

even corn themselves are still

dominating part of that industry with

their latest record requiem released on

february the 4th 2022

landing the band over 15 top 20 chart

positions worldwide

to date corn have sold over 40 million

records worldwide won numerous awards

including two grammys and have without a

doubt given countless lost souls a place

to call home

corn are now one of the most successful

artists of modern times and certainly

have got the life

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