DISCLAIMER: This article discusses matters of sexual abuse, addiction and mental health struggles. The intention is to provide information to readers. Discretion is advised.
In 1993, one of the most successful and influential bands in the music industry formed in Bakersfield, California. Mostly noted for being the inventors and pioneers of nu metal, KoЯn had humble beginnings like many other bands. Many of the band members are outspoken about their addictions and mental health struggles. I feel that it’s important to share their stories when we are in a mental health crisis.
Lead singer Jonathan Davis (JD) didn’t have the best upbringing. In his youth, he suffered from acute asthma and his parents divorced when he was three. JD was physically abused by his stepmother until she and his father divorced. He was also sexually abused by his babysitter, a story that later inspired the song “Daddy”. Jonathan was bullied in school for his different interests and his looks. He went to school at Highland High School (same as Fieldy, his future bandmate) and in 1987, he began DJing at parties using his alter ego “JDevil”. He graduated in 1989 and went to work as a mortician's assistant at the Kern County Coroner's Department.
Reginald Arvizu (Fieldy) was friends with Brian Welch (Head) in junior high because their fathers knew each other. When they were 13, Head befriended James Shaffer (Munky) in art class at East Bakersfield High. Head showed interest in playing the drums but his father convinced him to play guitar instead. Head got Fieldy into playing the guitar and he later played the bass. Both they and Munky formed a band with some other friends from high school, but it didn’t work out. Munky and Fieldy went on to form another band together while Head pursued different endeavors.
Munky and Fieldy created a band with a few other high school friends called LAPD (Love And Peace Dude) when they were both about 16. They put an ad in their local newspaper to find a drummer and they received a call from David Silveria. LAPD seemed promising, but it ultimately went nowhere. Fieldy, Munky and David wanted to start fresh and invited Head to play with them again, to which he agreed. Munky and Head went to see a band called Sexart, and just as they were leaving, JD came on stage. They were mesmerized by his voice and the way he “freaked out” as he sang. They invited him to join their band, but at first he declined. He then visited a psychic, who ultimately convinced him to join the band. Jonathan decided to name the band KoЯn (for reasons explained in the linked video). The backwards “R” is a nod to Toys ‘Я Us where a few of the members worked.
In 1994, KoЯn released their first album that was self-titled, produced by Ross Robinson. This became widely popular with Americans and Europeans alike, featuring widely known hits like “Shoots and Ladders” and “Blind.” They went on tour called “Sick of it All” in 1995. They later released Life is Peachy which included a cover of “Lowrider” by War that they recorded on Head’s birthday. They put it on the album even though you can hear them laughing in the background. The band worked on Follow the Leader, which featured one of their most popular songs “Freak on a Leash” and included features from artists such as Limp Bizkit and Ice T.
KoЯn went on their “Family Matters” tour and later talked about how they felt their work ethic sucked. Prior to 1998, JD was starting to get really paranoid. One day he came home really drunk, as he recalled in an interview, and found his oldest child, Nathan, who was three at the time, looking at him “like he was a piece of shit.” Davis then decided to get sober in 1998. Issues was later released in 1999 and KoЯn went on the “Sick and Twisted” tour to promote it. They then released Untouchables in 2002. During this time, most of the band was in the grips of addiction. Fieldy abused alcohol and pills; Head used meth.
Head stated that he was absolutely wasted during the recording of Take a Look in the Mirror. KoЯn has said that the 2003 album was their worst ever, regardless of its 284 ranking on Rock Hard magazine’s ‘The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time’. Head eventually left the band in 2005 to get sober and care for his daughter, Jenna. He said that once he made the decision to get sober, he stayed in a hotel room for three days, meditated and ate pancakes. His departure was very hard for the remaining band members, as they didn’t really know what to do in his absence. They did record See You on the Other Side in late 2005 which was even better received than their previous album.
In 2007, KoЯn was preparing to go on MTV Unplugged. As they were rehearsing, their drummer David Silveria didn’t show up. Their manager called David and told him to take a break and then come to rehearsals. They never got a call back. David said he wanted to be a restaurant owner and model and left due to negative attitudes. He recently reached out to try and join KoЯn again, only to be turned down. Ray Luzier was featured on the Untitled album and officially replaced Silveria on January 13, 2008.
Fieldy decided to get sober in 2009 and wrote a book about his journey with the band called Got the Life. In 2010, KoЯn released KoЯn III: Remember Who You Are, in which they brought back Ross Robinson as the album’s producer. Davis has said that Robinson really pushed him and Luzier to portray raw emotion to try and recreate the sound of the self-titled album. Robinson put them in a dark place mentally. So, when JD went to talk with his therapist, he was told that he lost a lot of his progress on his mental health journey.
The band then made the album The Path of Totality in 2011 and went on tour to promote that album. They made an album of that tour in 2012. The Paradigm Shift came out in 2013 and was very different from most KoЯn albums, as it was dubstep. Fans “either loved it or hated it” (personally, it’s not my favorite, but I’ll listen to it occasionally). Head came back to the band in 2014 after seeing KoЯn again, since his daughter was getting into metal music. The Serenity of Suffering was released in 2016 and fans were reminded of Issues/Untouchables with the similar sound. KoЯn made the album The Nothing in 2019 and is still touring in 2024.
In the midst of the drug and mental health crisis in the United States, I think we can turn to KoЯn. The band as a whole has been through a lot, especially in the public eye, and while they could’ve handled some things better, I think they learned from their mistakes. Davis and Luzier have both made videos with The You Rock Foundation, in which they openly discuss their struggles with anxiety and depression. In doing that, their fans know that even their idols have issues and it’s okay to talk about them.
Nickname Backgrounds:
Munky: He could spread his hands and toes really wide and his friends called him monkey.
Head: He was bullied and people said that his head was too big for his body; it just stuck with him throughout the years.
Fieldy: He had “big cheeks” so his friends called him gopher, which changed to Garfield, then finally settled on Fieldy.
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