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Jonathan Davis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jonathan Davis | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jonathan Houseman Davis |
| Born | January 18, 1971 |
| Origin | Bakersfield, California |
| Genre(s) | Nu Metal Alternative Metal Industrial Metal |
| Instrument(s) | Bagpipes Vocals Drums Glass harmonica Harp Guitar |
| Years active | 1993 - present |
| Associated acts |
Korn Sexart |
| Website | www.korn.com |
Jonathan Houseman Davis (born January 18, 1971) is the American vocalist for the multiplatinum nu metal[1] band Korn. He was born and raised in Bakersfield, California, where he lived with his father and stepmother.
As well as being Korn's lead singer, he has also played drums and bagpipes. Davis writes songs on guitar and other various instruments, such as drums and bagpipes.
Davis was the last member to join the band. James 'Munky' Shaffer and Brian 'Head' Welch discovered him in a bar, initially intending to only stay for a few minutes. Upon seeing Davis performing with his then-band Sexart, however, they were compelled to stay for the whole set, and as soon as the set was over Brian and James approached Davis with an offer to join their then band L.A.P.D.. At first he didn't accept the offer, but upon consulting a psychic, he agreed, and Korn was born.[citation needed] In early years, he was known for wearing a variety of normal and customized Adidas tracksuits onstage, which became a kind of "trademark" for all Korn fans.
Korn released their self-titled debut in 1994. It peaked at #72 on the billboard 200 two years later.[2]. To date they have released eight studio albums, achieving Platinum certification for each, with the exception for their newly released Untitled Korn album.
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Davis is the older half brother of former Adema and Midnight Panic vocalist, Mark Chavez. He helped promote Adema's second album, Unstable.
As a child, Davis was sexually molested by a close friend of his family. The song "Daddy" is about this abuse and the fact that his parents did not believe it was happening. Jonathan's father (Rick Davis) has stated that the abuse was perpetrated, surprisingly, by a woman. Neither Jonathan nor his father Rick would reveal who this woman is. Jonathan was also constantly picked on by bullies as a child, which he expresses in many Korn songs, such as "Faget", "Freak on a Leash", "Thoughtless", and "No Place to Hide".
Davis suffered from asthma as a child, having a near fatal attack at the age of 5 which hospitalized him. He noted in a 2004 interview that he was in and out of the hospital frequently as a child. His asthma has improved greatly and he's "...pretty much outgrown it." [3]
Davis' earliest musical inspiration as a child was the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Jesus Christ Superstar". It was also during his childhood that he received his first drum kit and began his interest in music, eventually leading to a life-long passion and eventually a professional career as the lead singer of Korn. His favorite bands as a child were Duran Duran and other New Romantic bands.[4]
Davis has married twice, marrying his high school sweetheart, Renee Perez, in 1998 in a Medieval themed ceremony. Together they had a son, Nathan Houseman Davis, but were divorced in 2001. On October 5, 2004, a decade after the release of Korn's first album he married again in Hawaii, this time to former adult film actress Deven Davis. They were featured in the Playboy Cyber Club's "celebrity photographer" section, with Jonathan behind the camera and Deven modeling. In 2005 his second child, Pirate Houseman Davis, was born.[5] Davis's third son, Zeppelin Houseman Davis, was born on April 28, 2007.
Davis has been sober from alcohol and other drugs since August 22, 1998.[citation needed] He has stated that he gave them up. On the band's Deuce DVD, former bandmate Brian Welch says that he is proud of him for becoming sober.
Jonathan has stated that Untouchables is his favorite Korn album and that "Do What They Say" and "Hollow Life" are his favorite Korn songs.
In late 2006, Davis was recognized and honored at Buck Owens' Crystal Palace, Bakersfield, CA, by Buddy Alan Owens, son of the late Buck Owens. Both Buck Owens and Davis are considered by many among their hometown fans as heroes to the sound of Bakersfield, each having their own pioneer sound, contributing to mainstream music worldwide over years past.
Davis is usually seen with a microphone stand that was designed by the Swiss artist H. R. Giger on live performances and music videos . For his Solo tour "alone i play" Davis is seating on a throne and does not have his microphone stand.
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This section does not cite any references or sources. Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (July 2007) |
Davis has had a fairly small acting career. He has a cameo in Queen of the Damned as a ticket scalper. Davis plays as Ricky in the film Seeing Other People but his appearance is small, he plays a crackhead, and as a store clerk in the indie film The Still Life. Davis's most known acting role is in the upcoming horror film Sin-Jin Smyth where he will be playing the lead role. There is also a popular rumor that Davis will be in an upcoming horror/slasher film called Job but this has not been confirmed. According to Bloody-Disgusting, Jonathan Davis is currently working on a script with writer/director Clive Barker titled, "Oblivion" Davis describes it as a "dark opera about the end of the world" and that it's way different than Korn's style.
He has also been featured in many other bands' music videos, sometimes with Korn and sometimes without. He has appeared with Korn in Limp Bizkit's "Faith", Ice Cube's "Fuck Dying", and cameo appearances in Sugar Ray's "Answer The Phone". He has also appeared in Limp Bizkit's "Break Stuff", Videodrone's "TY Jonathan Down" (he is also featured in the song), Cold's "Give", and in Busta Rhymes's "Fire".
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Davis started designing, but canceled, a fighting game with popular musicians — including members of Limp Bizkit, Staind, Marilyn Manson, and Korn itself — as characters. The working title was Pop Scars. Each celebrity's personality was to be replicated in the game, and comic artist Marty Emond (Sunglasses After Dark) was to draw character concept art. Stages were to boast environmental traps that impeded opponents as they fought. However, Pop Scars never made it past the early design stages as Davis cancelled it in late 2004.[6]
In October 2007, Jonathan Davis announced he would be embarking on an acoustic solo tour called 'alone i play', his first ever, in November 2007. He has said he will be playing songs from the Queen Of The Damned soundtrack (which he co-composed), cover songs, rare unplayed Korn songs, and Korn classics. The tour is being completely produced by Richard Gibbs. His touring band consists of the following artists:
- Michael Jochum - percussion
- Shane Gibson - guitar
- Miles Mosely - upright bass
- Zac Baird - keyboards
- Shenkar - violin
A DVD/CD of the tour is slated for a 2008 commercial release: Alone I Play CD/DVD.
Jonathan Davis has expressed interest in taking the solo tour to Europe. Once that concludes, he will release a solo studio album of the exact same band.[7] They will be playing new original songs and covers for this upcoming release.
- ^ All Music Guide - Korn. Retrieved on January 24, 2007.
- ^ Billboard Artist Chart History-Korn. Billboard charts. Retrieved on 2006-08-06.
- ^ Karen Bondowski (2004). KoЯn's Jonathan Davis alive and well (sort of). concertlivewire.com. Retrieved on 2006-12-28.
- ^ http://youtube.com/watch?v=-HXN2An2yJ8
- ^ For The Record: Quick News On 3 Doors Down, KoЯn, Pearl Jam, Tyler Perry, Monica, Mike Patton, The Cure & More. MTV (2005). Retrieved on 2006-12-28.
- ^ Game Spy:Pop Scars. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-08-06.
- ^ www.kornunleashed.net
- Official Korn website
- Official Jonathan Davis's Blog
- Jonathan Davis at the Internet Movie Database
- Interview with Jonathan Davis
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| Jonathan Davis • Michael Jochum • Shane Gibson • Miles Mosely • Zac Baird • Shenkar | |
| Studio albums/Videos | Queen of the Damned Soundtrack Album • Alone I Play • Upcoming solo studio album[8] |
| Related bands | Korn |
Categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since October 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | Articles needing additional references from July 2007 | Articles with sections needing expansion | Korn members | Nu metal singers | American rock singers | American male singers | People from Bakersfield | California musicians | 1970 births | Living people | Scottish-Americans