DATE: FEBRUARY 25, 1998
FROM: MITCH SCHNEIDER/ AMANDA CAGAN
KORN ANNOUNCE THE LAUNCH
OF "KORN TV";
BAND'S WEEKLY "AFTER-SCHOOL SPECIAL"
PROGRAM SET TO DEBUT MARCH 5
KORN announce the launch of "KORN TV" and its first program, billed as "KORN's After-School Special," set to premiere March 5 with an eight-show on-air commitment.
"KORN's After-School Special"–hosted by the band and a different guest host every week–will air live every Thursday between 4:30 and 5:30 PM Pacific Time exclusively via the band's newly-revamped official Internet website at www.KORNtv.com, with streaming audio and video through the Real Broadcast Network. If fans don't already have a Real Media player installed in their computer, they can download it at www.real.com. Links will still be available to the "special" from KORN's current www.KORN.com website.
Part variety show, part new music showcase, part talk-show satire, "KORN's After-School Special" (a take-off on the `70s "ABC After-School Special" programs) will emanate live from a Los Angeles recording studio as they work on the follow-up to 1996's platinum and critically acclaimed LIFE IS PEACHY album with acclaimed producer Steve Thompson (Butthole Surfers, Blues Traveler, Guns `n Roses and others) and Toby Wright (Alice In Chains' producer) engineering.
The program will surely bring the band closer to complete domination of the Internet, where they already have a strong presence with over 55 fan-created websites in addition to their official website. KORN are looking for the "After-School Special" to be a stepping-stone to starting their own network on the Internet.
As always, fans should expect the unexpected. For KORN, the show will be based on being completely insane, spontaneous and irreverent, and will include almost everything a KORN fan could ask for: personal reports from the band of their latest recording experiences; discussions about the world of entertainment, focusing on the current news of the day; special celebrity guests who'll drop by the studio; personal video segments from each band member; live chats with fans who call a special phone number (to be announced during the program) that will be displayed on the computer screen; and many more surprises.
KORN–JONATHAN DAVIS (vocals), FIELDY (bass), JAMES "MUNKY" SHAFFER (guitars), BRIAN "HEAD" WELCH (guitars) and DAVID (drums)– began to make their presence felt on the Internet back in 1994 in connection with the release of their self-titled platinum debut album and the official launch of www.KORN.com. The website greatly intensified with the release of their 1996 platinum LIFE IS PEACHY album, and brought over 60,000 people to the band's website e-mail list. This impressive number–along with the 35,000 visitors the site still receives per week–was achieved because of the constant involvement of the band. They've personally answered e-mail and phone messages as well as given access to fans backstage and at video shoots via downloadable video clips, live online concert broadcasts and live chat sessions in the "KORN Palace" chat room.
Another factor in the growth of the band's Internet fan-base was partly due to the unique pre-release promotions for LIFE IS PEACHY from the Epic Records marketing and new media departments that included the first-ever "live-from-the-studio/fan-interactive/album-wrap-party" Internet broadcast. Dubbed "KORN Mangles The Web," it was a major factor in helping KORN debut at #3 on Billboard's "Top 200 Albums" chart having SoundScanned over 106,000 copies of LIFE IS PEACHY in its first week of release. All this was accomplished without a video and the support from radio airplay for the album's first single, "No Place To Hide."
Meanwhile, stay tuned for news of the special's "grand finale" as KORN get closer to the completion of the new Immortal/Epic album, which is set for a tentative June release.
# # #
http://