NASHVILLE |DATE: JANUARY 13, 2000
FROM: AMANDA CAGAN/ KRISTINE ASHTON/ MITCH SCHNEIDER/ MAGGIE WANG
Korn "Sick and Twisted Tour":
FULL-SCALE HEADLINING ARENA TOUR
featuring Spike & Mike Sick & Twisted Animation Festival plus Staind
SET TO LAUNCH FEBRUARY 18 IN LAKELAND, FL
BAND LOOK FOR FANS' INPUT
IN PLANNING SET LIST
The explosive KORN–whose already triple platinum ISSUES album debuted at #1 on Billboard's "Top 200 Albums" chart and who received two Grammy nominations last week–will literally give their fans what they want when the band launches a major North American arena trek February 18 in Lakeland, FL. For the nine-week tour, KORN—JONATHAN, MUNKY, HEAD, FIELDY, DAVID–will play a set list comprised of songs suggested by fans via their official website (www.korn.com).
As bassist FIELDY explained at a recent New York City press conference: "We're gonna have something on the Internet where the fans pick their five favorite songs from every one of our albums, and we'll combine that into one set." And singer JONATHAN noted: "Yeah, we always want to see what [the fans] want. We'll take a poll and see how many votes we get for each song and we'll end up playing what they pick."
From when the doors open until KORN leave the stage, this will be a mind-blowing night from beginning to end. In the grand KORN tradition of keeping things unconventional and eyebrow-raising, fans will get to experience highlights from Spike & Mike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation on huge screens before and after special guests Staind hit the stage. The notoriety of this festival (the birthplace of "Beavis and Butthead" as well as home to "Spirit Of Christmas"–the original, un-censored "South Park" short by Matt Stone and Trey Parker–and to works by Eric Fogel, creator of MTV's "Celebrity Deathmatch") has caused Spike and Mike to be dubbed as the kings of tasteless toons by the animation industry. Be warned–according to the Spike & Mike website, "this show is not recommended for those of delicate constitution."
On the video front, KORN have just completed filming the video for ISSUES' second radio track "Make Me Bad." Shot in Los Angeles over a three-day period with director Martin Weisz (Dru Hill, Live, Puff Daddy, Collective Soul), the video features actors Udo Kier (End Of Days, Blade, My Own Private Idaho) and Brigitte Nielsen (Beverly Hills Cop II, Cobra, Rocky IV).
After the North American trek is over, the band will head overseas for a tour of Europe. They'll be headlining shows in countries including Italy, France, Germany, Portugal and the U.K. (London's Wembley Arena). They will perform at some of Europe's most prestigious festivals.
Fans all over the world got an early glimpse of what to expect on the live front when the band played a special gig at Harlem's Apollo Theatre on the eve of ISSUES' November 16 release. The set list of course included the current single, "Falling Away From Me," which is presently bulleted at #8 in its ninth week on the Billboard "Modern Rock Tracks" chart and holds the #9 spot on the Billboard "Mainstream Rock Tracks" chart. The video for "Falling Away From Me"–directed by Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit–is a consistent Top Five MTV request.
At the sold-out Apollo show–which marked the first-ever rock concert at this historic venue–KORN world premiered ISSUES in its entirety and in sequence with a live global broadcast via radio, satellite and the Internet. The band were joined onstage by the Pipes & Drums of the NYPD Emerald Society and a choir, conducted by acclaimed musical director Richard Gibbs (who has composed music for films such as "Dr. Doolittle" and "Say Anything" and has worked with Robert Palmer, Chaka Khan and Aretha Franklin).
KORN drew lots of critical acclaim for the performance. To wit:
"…for one blistering, bizarre hour at the Apollo, rock and roll ruled the roost."
–Devin Gordon, Newsweek
"There were eerie, haunted-house guitar sounds and quiet wails on the verses and crashing metal riffs and screams on the choruses…The night's clear star, though, was (Jonathan) Davis, who at times seemed to find a spiritual connection with impassioned Who frontman, Roger Daltrey. As Daltrey often does, Davis moved and contorted his face as he sang. He jumped around and at points lost himself in the music. He even tipped his head back to scream into the microphone, a Daltrey trademark."
–Brian Hiatt, Addicted To Noise
"…the material was vintage Korn: grinding, tuned-down riffs churning away against an ominous backbeat while Davis either whisper-sang or chillingly screamed out his vocals…The band was as intense as ever, with the kilt-clad (Jonathan) Davis twisting and hurling his body around the stage and literally throwing his entire body into his lyrics as he gripped and shook the mic stand. New songs like 'Trash,' 'Beg For Me,' and 'Wake Up' are among the catchiest the band's ever written."
–Don Kaye, Allstar
Meanwhile, in recent reviews of ISSUES, Jim Farber of the New York Daily News noted how KORN "go for real psychological resonance. (Jonathan) Davis presents his songs as aural nightmares, where his inner demons take ugly shape and haunt him. In a cut like 'It's Gonna Go Away,' Davis takes on the roles as both pursuer and pursued in a hellish dream…Here, Davis uses clearer lyrics and more emphatic singing to make his scary scenarios believable…The band's secret weapon remains the monumental drumming of David Silveria. He's got the heft of a John Bonham, and a bash that could beat you to a pulp…Davis offers something real–a noisy and compelling peek into the life of a disordered mind." Steve Hochman of the Los Angeles Times further called the album "…the richest array of sounds the band (including Davis' shape-shifting voice) has made…," while Steve Morse of Boston Globe noted "…there's no letup in Korn's brutal rallying cries to a lost generation that doesn't want to take it anymore." In the current Guitar World cover story, John Pecorelli writes that KORN "…have transformed themselves once again with their new album, ISSUES."
ISSUES (Immortal/Epic) marks the second time KORN have entered the Billboard "Top 200 Albums" chart at #1–the first was with their triple platinum FOLLOW THE LEADER in August of 1998–within a 15-month period. ISSUES is currently in the Top 10 on the Billboard "Top 200 Albums" chart and the band's first two albums have been certified double platinum by the R.I.A.A. within the past few months. Meantime, KORN just received two Grammy nominations: Best Hard Rock Performance for the live version of "Freak On A Leash" (appearing on the FAMILY VALUES live album) and Best Short Form Music Video for the FOLLOW THE LEADER version of the song. This video has already won two MTV Awards including Best Rock Video and Best Editing in a Video. (Note: ISSUES was not eligible for Grammy nominations due to its November 16 release date.)
Fans can check out KORN at the following stops (all dates are subject to change):
DATE CITY VENUE
Fri 2/18 Lakeland, FL Lakeland Civic Center
Sat 2/19 Miami, FL American Airlines Arena
Mon 2/21 New Orleans, LA New Orleans Arena
Wed 2/23 Dallas, TX Reunion Arena
Thurs 2/24 Oklahoma City, OK The Myriad
Sat 2/26 Salt Lake City, UT E Center
Mon 2/28 Phoenix, AZ America West Arena
Tues 2/29 Anaheim, CA Arrowhead Pond
Fri 3/03 Oakland, CA Coliseum
Mon 3/06 Seattle, WA Key Arena
Tues 3/07 Portland, OR Rose Garden Arena
Fri 3/10 Fargo, ND Fargo Dome
Sat 3/11 Madison, WI Dane County Arena
Mon 3/13 Moline, IL Mark of the Quads
Tues 3/14 Minneapolis, MN Target Center
Thurs 3/16 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena
Fri 3/17 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena
Sun 3/19 Indianapolis, IN Conseco Fieldhouse
Mon 3/20 Fort Wayne, IN Fort Wayne Coliseum
Wed 3/22 Dayton, OH Nutter Center
Fri 3/24 Buffalo, NY Marine Midland Arena
Sat 3/25 Toronto, ONT TBA
Sun 3/26 Montreal, PQ Molson Center
Thurs 3/30 Worcester, MA Centrum
Sat 4/1 Baltimore, MD Baltimore Arena
Mon 4/3 Detroit, MI Palace of Auburn Hills
Wed 4/5 Columbus, OH Shottenstein Center
Fri 4/7 Philadelphia, PA First Union Center
Sat 4/8 Nassau, NY Coliseum
Tues 4/11 Greensboro, NC Coliseum
Thurs 4/13 Atlanta, GA Phillips Arena
Fri 4/14 Charlotte, NC Coliseum
Sat 4/15 Nashville, TN Gaylord Entertainment Center
Mon 4/17 Little Rock, AR Barton Coliseum
Tues 4/18 St. Louis, MO Kiel Center
Wed 4/19 Kansas City, MO Kemper Arena
EUROPEAN DATES DATE CITY VENUE
Fri 5/12 Milan, Italy Filaforum
Sat 5/13 Lyon, France Palais de Sport
Mon 5/15 Stuttgart, Germany Boblingen Sporthalle
Tues 5/16 Paris, France Bercy
Wed 5/17 Rennes, France La Liberte
Fri 5/19 London, England Wembley Arena
Sat 5/20 Manchester, England Apollo
Mon 5/22 Rotterdam, Holland Ahoy Halle
Wed 5/24 Brussels, Belgium Forest National
Fri 5/26 Toulouse, France Zenith
Sat 5/27 Marseille, France Dome
Mon 5/29 Madrid, Spain La Cubierta
Tues 5/30 Lisbon, Portugal Atlantico Pavilion
Fri 6/02 Dusseldorf, Germany Philipshalle
Sat 6/03 Eindhoven, Holland Dynamo Festival
Mon 6/05 Hamburg, Germany Stadtpark
Tues 6/06 Berlin, Germany Arena
Thurs 6/08 Katowice, Poland Spodek
Sat 6/10 Germany Rock Am Park Festival
Sun 6/11 Germany Rock Am Ring Festival
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