Nafn: Jonathan Houseman Davis
Fæðingardagur: 18 Janúar 1971
Fæðingarstaður Bakersfield, CA
Heimili: Hollywood Hills, CA
Framhaldsskóli: Highland High
Hljóðfæri: Söngvari - Sekkjapípa, gítar og hljómborð
Hjúskaparstaða: Einhleypur
Börn: Sonur~Nathan Houseman Davis
Fyrri störf: vann hjá útfarastofu, aðstoðarmaður líkskoðara
og framkvæmdastjóri hjá Pizza Hut
Fyrri hljómsveitir: Sex Art


Nafn: Brian Welch
A.K.A: Head
Fæðingardagur: 19 Júní 1970
Fæðingarstaður Torrance, CA
Heimili: Huntington Beach, CA
Framhaldsskóli: East Bakersfield High
Hljóðfæri: Sjö strengja gítar
Hjúskaparstaða: Giftur~Rebekah Welch
Börn: Dóttir~Jennea Marie
Fyrri störf: Flutningamaður og Pizza sendill
Fyrri hljómsveitir: Ragtime og Creep




Nafn: James Christian Shaffer
A.K.A: Munky
Fæðingardagur: 6 júní 1970
Fæðingarstaður Roseland, CA
Heimili: Huntington Beach, CA
Framhaldsskóli: East Bakersfield High
Hljóðfæri: Sjö strengja gítar
Hjúskaparstaða: Giftur~Stephanie Shaffer
Börn: Engin
Fyrri hljómsveitir: L.A.P.D og Creep




Nafn: Reginald Arvizu jr.
A.K.A: Fieldy
Fæðingardagur: 3 nóvember 1969
Fæðingarstaður Bakersfield, CA
Heimili: Long Beach, CA
Framhaldsskóli: Highland High
Hljóðfæri: Bassi
Hjúskaparstaða: Giftur~Shela Arvizu
Börn: Dætur~Sarina, Rae og Olivia
Fyrri störf: Teppahreinsari
Fyrri hljómsveitir: L.A.P.D og Creep






Nafn: David Randall Silveria
Fæðingardagur: 21 september 1972
Fæðingarstaður: San Leandro, CA
Heimili: Huntington Beach, CA
Framhaldsskóli: East Bakersfield High
Hljóðfæri: Trommur
Hjúskaparstaða: Giftur~Shannon Silveria
Börn: Sonur~David Randall jr. og Dóttir~Sofia Aurora
Fyrri störf: Selja gras!
Fyrri hljómsveitir: L.A.P.D og Creep




KoRn, The Story:

Korn was formed in 1992 with the dissolution of two bands: Sexart and LAPD. Sexart was the band that Jonathan Davis had led during his years as an assistant coroner, and consisted of Jonathan Davis on vocals, DeRoo (David DeRoo) on bass, Chaka (Ray Solis) and Ryan Schuck on guitar, and Denis Shinn on drums. Ty Elam, now with Cradle Of Thorns, supposedly only sat in to jam with the band, but is listed as sharing vocal duties with Jonathan on SexArt's only officially released song on “Cultivation ‘92”, a complilation album. There are various SexArt tapes floating around Bakersfield to this day, although there was no real demo tape produced.
LAPD was the band which included Richard Morales (vocalist), James “Munky” Shaffer, Reginald “Fieldy Snuts” Arvizu, David Silveria, and on tour only (not on the album) Brian “Head” Welch. When asked about LAPD’s material, Munky said: “Me, Fieldy, and David recorded it when we were about 18 or 19. You might even hear some Korn parts. That's when I played rippin' solos.” They released only two recordings: the three-track EP “Love And Peace, Dude” in 1989, and “Who's Laughing Now” in 1991, both on Triple X Records.
The future bandmates first crossed paths when Munky and Brian were in Bakersfield one night, and they went to this bar where SexArt happened to be playing. According to Munky: “We were getting ready to leave, and just as we're walking out the door… Jon was the singer in that band, and we heard him sing and me and Brian both turned to each other and our jaws just… (drops jaw) oh my God. And so we turned around and went back in and watched the whole set.”
Soon after SexArt's appearance on “Cultivation ‘92”, Jonathan left SexArt to go to LA, and Smily (Brian Armer) joined SexArt as the new vocalist. At the time, Smily was singing in a band called Brother From Another Mother. All of SexArt loved his style, and he was their first pick to replace Jonathan. Although they had now found a permanent singer, SexArt continued on for only several more months before going their separate ways. Smily formed the band Glass Cut Eternity, and DeRoo and Chaka ended up in Huntington Beach with Denis and Ryan in a band called Supermodel, which featured Richard (who had left LAPD) as their frontman. Currently, the ex-members of SexArt are doing various things. Ryan is now in Orgy, Denis is a music producer in Southern California, and Chaka, DeRoo, and Smily are now in Juice.
At this point, LAPD had disbanded (thus the loss of Richard to Supermodel). Not willing to give it up, though, they reformed as Creep, with Brian joining on indefinitely. However, Creep still needed someone to fill Richard’s shoes. It was during this time, when Brian and Munky were living in L.A., that they saw Jonathan at that fateful show in Bakersfield. They approached him about trying out for the fledgling band, but initially Jonathan didn't want to do it. However, a psychic had told him that he would be stupid if he didn't, so he went against his better judgment and tried out anyway. It was during this audition that they realized that Jonathan was the perfect singer for their new band. As Munky put it: “We just clicked.”
After deciding upon the new frontman, the band needed a new name. Jonathan described the short decision making process: “We were trying to think of a name and this… ”Korn“ popped in my head, and I'm like ‘What about ”Korn“?’ … and we're all like, ‘Fuck yeah!’” When he was asked about the name, David said: “To me it kind of means that it doesn't matter what your band's called. Name or not, the music makes a name, you know… ‘cos ”Korn“, that’s a dumb name, but once a band gets established, then it makes a name cool.”
Korn later recorded their first demo tape, “Niedermeyer's Mind”, which featured 4 songs: “Blind”, “Predictable”, “Daddy”, and “Alive”. Although “Predictable” remained basically the same in the transition to the self-titled first album, both “Blind” and “Daddy” were strikingly different, though the basic progression is the same. The demo version of “Blind” was much less rap-influenced, and featured more metal riffs. Although “Alive” was scrapped before the debut album, a few parts were ressurrected and transformed into “Need To”.
After garnering a small following, Korn raised a few eyebrows at various record labels. Although many appealed to them, there was always a lingering fear of having to conform to the label's needs or desires, rather than being able to do what they wanted. Then Immortal Records came along: “They seemed to really get into what we were trying to do. They shared our vision of what Korn was trying to do. They didn't want us to conform to anyone's needs.” Soon after, Korn was signed and the rest, as they say, is history….