Jonathan Davis
Jonathan Houseman Davis (born
January 18,
1971) is the vocalist for the
nu-metal band,
Korn. He was born and raised in
Bakersfield, California, where he lived with his father and step-mother. Growing up, Davis faced many hardships (including alleged
child abuse, violent schoolyard bullying, and an abusive step-mother), and he later used these experiences to inspire his song writing for Korn.
As well as being the lead singer, he is also a drummer and has performed as such on the band's 4th release,
Issues. Jonathan also plays bagpipes in Korn (which he learned in high school).
Jonathan writes songs on guitar and can also play the
piano, the
harp, the
bagpipes, and other various instruments, such as the
glass harmonica.
Jonathan was the last member to join Korn, and also the one to name the band (as explained in the
Who Then Now? video).
James 'Munky' Shaffer and
Brian 'Head' Welch discovered Jonathan in a bar, initially intending to only stay for a few minutes. Upon seeing Jonathan performing with his then-band
Sexart, however, they were compelled to stay for the whole set, and as soon as the set was over approached Davis with an offer to join the band. Upon consulting a psychic, he agreed, and Korn was formed.
With Jonathan the band became a sensation, hitting it big in their early days with songs such as
Blind and
A.D.I.D.A.S., and staying consistently popular since (though their popularity peaked at
Follow the Leader). Since inception in 1993, they've released 7 albums and a Greatest Hits compilation, achieving Platinum certification at least for each. Many credit this to Jonathan's distinct vocals, which hit a chord with teens(his unique vocal styles include wailing,screaming and often times weeping ). Despite this, Jonathan insists everyone is credited with writing the songs in liner notes, as he feels the band as a whole is more important than the individual.
In 2001 Jonathan was approached to write and compose the songs for the movie adaptation of
Queen of the Damned. With help from former
Oingo Boingo member
Richard Gibbs, he wrote the film's song and score, even recording the vocals for
Stuart Townsend to lip-sync to. Due to contractual obligations, however, Jonathan couldn't appear on the official soundtrack, so instead enlisted friends to record the vocals for him. Among those featured were
Marilyn Manson,
Wayne Static of
Static-X,
Jay Gordon of Orgy,
Chester Bennington of
Linkin Park, &
David Draiman of
Disturbed.
He also makes a cameo in the film, as a scalper outside the concert.
Jonathan Davis stars as the title character,
Sin-Jin Smyth, in this upcoming horror movie, written and directed by
Ethan Dettenmaier. The film is based on an old
Halloween legend about
The Devil appearing simultaneously in two places at midnight - the high plains of
India and a quiet cemetery in
Kansas.
Jonathan was chosen for the role based on his attitude and determination to make the film work. Director Ethan Dettenmaier calls him "bulletproof" and the perfect choice to play
The Devil.
Davis almost didn't get the role when his management wanted to send him to Europe to do press for
KoRn's then upcoming album,
See You On The Other Side, which conflicted with the film's shooting schedule. At the last minute however things were worked out and Jonathan was able to shoot the film and has been praised by the director for his willingness to work hard and come in late at night for rehearsals. The film's executive producer praised Jonathan's ability to transform himself into the character, the mark of any true performer.
Jonathan appears in the film in full make-up and it is his first major lead role in a film.
Jonathan Davis suffered from asthma as a child which led to a near fatal attack leaving him hospitalized. As he has grown up his asthma has subsided.Davis' first major musical inspiration as a kid was Andrew Lloyd Weber's
Jesus Christ Superstar. It was also as a kid that he was given his first drumset and began his interest in music, eventually leading to a life-long passion and eventually a professional career as the lead singer of Korn.Jonathan Davis has been married twice, marrying his highschool sweetheart, Renee Perez, in 1998 (their wedding was a medieval themed one which included everyone dressing as knights and princesses). Together they had a son, Nathan Houseman Davis, but divorced in 2001. In 2004 he married again, this time to former adult film actress
Deven Davis (who coincidentally already shared his last name). In 2005 they had their first child, named Pirate Davis. The couple intend to produce and possibly direct adult films together.
Jonathan Davis was unable to perform at the 2006
Download Festival after being admitted to a London hospital with an unconfirmed illness on June 10. It was later established to be
immune thrombocytopenic purpura, with doctors ordering Davis not to perform for several weeks. Although several tour dates in Europe were cancelled as a result, it has been deemed unlikely to affect Korn's upcoming
Family Values tour, beginning July 29. The band is hoping to provide new dates for the shows cancelled as a result of Davis' illness.[
1]
Due to Davis' absence at the 2006
Download Festival, Korn played a shortened set with several guest vocalists from other bands present. These included
Corey Taylor from
Slipknot/
Stone Sour,
Matt Heafy from
Trivium, Jesse Hasek from
10 Years,
Benji Webbe from
Skindred,
M. Shadows from
Avenged Sevenfold and
Dez Fafara from
Devil Driver. The full setlist can be viewed
here |
Jonathan Davis outside of Korn |
* He is the half brother of
Adema's former lead singer (now the lead for
Midnight Panic),
Mark Chavez. He helped promote Adema's second album,
Unstable.
* Once operated a travelling sideshow called
The End, featuring serial killer memorabilia. He later gave this up, citing that he didn't want to glorify the acts of the killers.
* Began development on a videogame,
Pop Scars, but abandoned the project when development took too long.
* His microphone stand was designed by
H.R. Giger, dark artist and the designer from the
Alien series of films.
* After a lifetime of drug and alcohol abuse, Davis quit both vices
cold turkey in 1999.
*Had
HIV tattooed on his left shoulder when he was younger which become his nickname later on. He got it due to most people at his high school calling him a queer and a fag because he dressed as a '
new romantic' and wore makeup so it was a tactic used to 'scare' the bullies. It has served also to remind him of the dangers of promiscuous sex.
*Still owns Ted Bundy's VW bug.
*Has many exotic pets including spiders and reptiles.
*Is into meditation and requires the backstage area of their concerts to contain velvet and candles.
*Wears glasses because he is as "blind as a bat" without them.
*Uses an oxygen tank, Backstage, in between sets as a natural 'high'
*A common misunderstanding is that he voiced "
Vladmir Lem" in
Max Payne 2: The Fall Of Max Payne. The voice credits are actually credited to another Jonathan Davis. This person does not have any connection to the 2 exsisting
Max Payne productions.
*Was considered to replace
Max Cavalera in
Sepultura when he left the band.
*
Official Korn website*
Official Jonathan Davis's Blog*
Jonathan Davis at the IMDB
