Korn-See_You_On_The_Other_Side-2005

[Maxin in the Shade]

Korn are featured in the February 2006 (issue #42) edition of Revolver Magazine. Marcel Anders interviews Jonathan about the "See You on the Other Side", Brian "Head" Welch's departure from the band, and much more.

Let's talk about Head's departure. His turning into a Jesus freak seems like the ultimate irony, considering that Korn have always been anti-religion.

"Well, I certainly am anti-religion, but fair is fair. If you wanna believer in God and go to church - if that's doing something food for you and makes you a btter person - so be it. I'm not gonna put you down for that. I think all of usin the band believe in God and believer there is a higher power. It's just that we don't really believe in the church and all that other bullshit because we see what it does to people."

Were the photographs of him in a white robe being baptized in a river in Israel a shock to you?

"Totally. I mean, he used to email me this crazy shit about how I was gonna to hell because of all the bad things I've done to kids with my evil lyrics and shit, and I'd answer him back like, "What the fuck are you talking about?" And he's be like: "man, I'm kidding." But I know now that he was really thinking this shit but was just too scared to say it. You know what? I still love him, but I don't agree with what he is doing at all. I think what he is doing is pretty extreme. I do like the fact that he is helping children in India and that kind of stuff, but I don't agree with the pictures of him in this Christ pose with all the children around him. That freaks me out. It's kinda fucked up."

It's like going from one extreme to the other, isn't it?

"It is. It's another addiction, basically."

Are you going to replace thim permanentyl?

"No. He is like a brother, and you don't replace a brother. We spent too many years - 12 fucking years - playing in a band together, and we can pull it off with just us four and a touring guitar player. The shows have been better than ever. We're righter now. For a lot of years, Head wasn't into it, and there's a new fire in our band because everybody's here because they wanna be."

Didn't you notice that something was wrong with him?

"All of us noticed. He was just getting drunk. The only time we would see him was when he was onstage. The rest of the time, he'd be locked up on the bus or in his hotel room, and he wouldn't come out. He just didn;t wanna be alive, and we tried to help him, but he didn't wanna listen. When people are at their lowest like that, that's when religion comes creeping up. That's the way they recruit people. When people are at the most vulnerable, they're like, "Hey, there is this guy named Jesus, and he'll make everything food."

How did you handle him bad-mouthing you after the departure?

"That was the church talking. Yes, we do fight. Every band fights - we're brothers. I spend more time with my band than I do with my family or anyone else, so you gotta imagine, the motherfuckers get on your nerves at times, and vice versa. Yeah, we had some times in Europe where we wanted to kick people out, and people wanted to leave. I think I've quit the band, like, 10 times. You just get frustrated - you miss home, you miss your family, and there's all kinds of things going on. We're only himan beings. But Head used that and twisted it in a way that it'd look like, "Oh, they hate each other, and I can't be a part of that. And it's all about the money." And it's not about the money, as long as I could go and fucking play and feed my kids, I'd be doing it.

Did Head's departure open any new doors for you?

"Yeah, it did. It was like, OK, this band has been through fucking hell, we've never lost a member, we don't know what's going on, it's time to step the game up, guys. Let's go out and just kill. Let's go and show people, because a lot of people have written our band off, like, "oh, Konr is over. They've had their day."

Is this a turning point for the band, then?

"Yeah, this totally is the rebirth of the band. I think the Korn of the past is done, and we've gone to do bigger and better things now with this album. I mea, we do have our catalog that we play, and the fans love that, but there's not gonna be that kind of albim again. I know a lot of fans are bitching: "Why can't you do the Korn album again or Follow the Leader?" And it's like, we don't wanna play the same song over and over again. We're musicians, and we wanna challenge ourselves.

Plus, you got some momentum going in a new direction with 2002's Untouchables, didn't you?

"Yeah. I think it's one of our best albums. It was a masterpiece, and we worked so hard on it. But I think a lot of old-school fans didn't like it, but we gained a lot of new onws. With the fan base, it's a 50/50 - either they hate it, or they love it."

And then you went to the next extreme by producing the follow-up yourself, didn't you?

"Yeah, we did that, and we did Take a Look in the Miror, which as more a reaction to Follow the Leader. But I think [Take a Look] was a step back - we just stepped back and tried to remember our roots. I really do dig the album, but then when we came up with this new album, we were like, Let's experiment - let's figure our what we can do that's gonna be totally different and freak out people."

What made you try out all of these big producers for [See You], like Glenn Ballard, Linda Perry, Dallas Austin, and the Matrix?

"I had this idea one morning: I saw all these bands working with writers and thought, What the fuck is wrong with doing that? Why not have some people come in that are talented and that can write, and let's just see what we can come up with together? It's not like we got a songwriter and they'd bring a song and go, "Here's your song. Play it." It wasn't that at all. We let them know that to begin with. We were like, "We want you to come in and jam with us. Let;s see what we write."

What about your kids? Are they into your shit?

"Yeah, I've just had my little boy Pirate..."

What made you call him Pirate

"His mom came up with the name. We used to call him Pirate, and it stucker, so that's his name: Pirate Houseman Davis. He's so dope. He's got a little Mohawk. He's 6 months old. And my other song Nathan turned 10 this October."

Is being a dad what keeps you going as well?

"Yeah, definatly. What jeeps me going is my love of my music and my love of my wife and two boys. That's my pure happiness. Like, if I didn't have my boys and shit, I'd probably be that kid from back on the first Korn album."

Well, talking to you in the Nineties was a different experience altogeher...

"Teagm ut was, But after having my kid and getting sover and everthing... I mean, I harbor all these feelings that are bad, but I'm growing. I won't let thme rule my life like they used to. But lyrically, they still come out. That's my art."

There was talk about you directing porn.

"Yeah, I was gonna do that, but once my wide, Devon, got pregnant, I didn't feel it was right."

What kind of porn are you into?

"The only shit I'd shoot is gonzo porn. The sex is more entertaining - it's more comedic to me. I'd just do straight, gonzo, dirty, nasty fucking porn. I mean, there's not much you can really do differently. It's just the way you shoot it and the girls you pick and the guys you pick, and if they havea connection and if they can fuck dirty enough."

Do you still collect stuff by murderers like Ted Bundy?

"No, I'm done with that. I go all that stuff out."

Because of the kids?

"The kids, and because I just got over it. I twas really into it for a while..."

Is it true you own Ted Bundy's car?

"I still have the car, but I;m just bringing negativity and negative shit in my house with it, and I don't want that around my kid. There is definatly a vibe and weird shit attached to those things. And I really don't wanna glorify these people and what they did and display the shit. I wasn't thinking straight when I bought that stuff. I was sucked into it because it was so dark, and I'm like: "This is cool!" But when I started to think about it, I was like, What about those 70 girls' parents? Their babies got killed in that car, and I wanna display it. That is fucked up. I don't want anything to do with that anymore. I've been there and done that. noe, I'm on to my next shit. Whatever that might be."