Korn was formed in 1993 with the combination of two bands: Sexart and LAPD. Sexart was the band that Jonathan Davis had led during his years as an assistant coroner in the Kern County (California) Coroners Department (also moonlighting as an undertaker at a nearby funeral home), having recently earned a degree at San Francisco's School of Mortuary Science. Jonathan was only in Sexart for about four months and did only one song with the lead singer which is on a Bakersfield compilation. LAPD was the band which included James "Munky" Shaffer (guitar), David Silveria (drums), Reginald "Fieldy Snuts" Arvizu (bass, later) and on tour only (not on the album) Brian "Head" Welch (guitar). LAPD was apparently bigger then Sexart and is not impossible to find, like Sexart is. 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."
The bands 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." Later they asked him to join the band. Initially Jonathan didn't want to do it, but a psychic had told him that he would be stupid if he didn't do it, so he went and tried out. The rest, as they say, is history...
When Brian was asked about their experience with Megadeth, he responded: "Mustane was a dick. They were always blaming us for shit. We weren't allowed to carry beer around stage because he was a recovering alcoholic. So we filled water bottles with it and taped around them so you couldn't see what was in them. Once he came on our tour bus, after he fell off the wagon, piss drunk, and said: 'You know what you need to do to get big?... (at this point we were dodging his swaying finger that was pointed at us) ... only tour with big bands.'"
"We were supposed to be touring (on the Monster Magnet and Grotus tour) with the Deftones and Sugar Ray, but it got fucked up... Sugar Ray is in Europe or some shit and the Deftones are with Anthrax. Chino (lead singer of the Deftones) is God. Marilyn Manson was supposed to be on tour with us with Ozzy but they didn't want to open for a band that opened for them." He then told us he particularly doesn't enjoy touring with Monster Magnet, because their performance is so "old rock". "We're touring with Ozzy, but we don't like playing big places. It's so impersonal. We like to be close to the people. It's a better performance, although I keep getting hit in the head by my mic when people fall on stage." (Jon also said he loves it when people come on stage) When asked about the Deftones, Korn says, "Deftones are like our brother band. When we were in California, they were from the North, we from the South, we used to switch up and down the coast and when we play together we usually do a song together."
The origin of Korn's name, as told by Jonathan: "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!'"
David has said that: "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."
It is rumored to come from a party that Jonathan was at where he overheard two homosexuals talking about felching each other (eating each others asses). One had diarrhea and shat on the others face and when he opened his mouth a corn kernel was on his tongue. From then on, whenever he said corn to anyone, they would get close to puking. Hence the altered Korn (the way a child would spell it). It was also rumored to come from Kiddy pORN.
David said that the baby inside the album behind where the CD goes (and on the cover of the Blind promo) is the Charmin' baby. They put a wig on it and fucked with its eye.
On the cover of the album, the man in the shadow is holding something. When Jonathan was asked what it was, he said, "I'd like to leave it up to your imagination, but I like to say it's a horseshoe."
