Homegrown legacy
With guttural spunk, droves of fans in tow, Korn's roots in modern rock solid

By CHRIS PAGE, Californian staff writer
e-mail: cpage@bakersfield.com

Sunday November 10, 2002, 12:00:00 AM

Francisco Medina / Special to The Californian Korn guitarist Brian Welch performs Thursday night in Tucson, Ariz. The band will perform Tuesday in Bakersfield.

How does a band make it big?

Specifically, how did five young men growing up in the Anytown of Bakersfield, Calif., transform heavy metal dreams and teen-age dysfunction into one of the biggest rock bands of the past decade?

That's exactly what Korn has done.

Along the way to multimillionaire stardom, the group has almost single-handedly brought heavy metal back from the dead while giving an outlet for millions of angst-ridden young fans.

The band continues to spark bemused frustration in locals looking for another source of civic pride (with record sales rivaling Buck Owens, even) but instead finding Korn frontman Jonathan Davis say of his hometown lines like this:

"Get the (expletive) out. Bakersfield is a place where kids grow up and want to get out. And all the lucky ones do."

Of course, the guys of Korn -- Davis, who talked to The Californian via telephone during the band's current tour; bassist Reggie Arvizu Jr.; drummer David Silveria; and guitarists Brian Welch and James Shaffer -- have come back to Bakersfield from time to time.

Though all five have homes in Southern California, some keep houses here in order to be closer to family members. They've used their music industry connections to open doors for several local musicians. And Korn, which was awarded a key to the city in 2000, has returned to play several shows at Centennial Garden to packed, enthusiastic audiences.Instead of merely jumping into the churning mosh pit at Korn's latest tour stop home, Tuesday night at Centennial Garden, let's take a moment to examine just what happened to launch a quintet of hometown musicians into the stratosphere of popular music, selling 13 million copies of its five albums in the United States alone and setting trends that have influenced the music industry in many ways.

We may not know what extra magic ingredient was involved (even the band members themselves aren't entirely sure), but we can study the rest of the formula for clues.

Here, in all its glory, gore and goofiness, is the story of Korn: the early days dreaming of being rock stars, the long road to achieving it and now, what it's like at the top.

It's a story that's more in-depth than the band's glossy official biography, thanks to anecdotes from old friends, family members and fellow musicians. And it features a few shocking secrets that have never been told.

Like what Davis bellows with a guttural growl at the beginning of Korn's debut album, and what he says to kick off concerts -- Are you ready?

Click here to continue to "Heavy metal daydreams"