KoRn's Jonathan Davis Vows Not to Power Trip on His Kid

  "I don't think I'll power trip on my kid," says Jonathan Davis. "My parents power tripped: 'You cannot do this, you cannot do that!' If I say 'you cannot do this,' then [my son is] just gonna go out and do it. So I've learned that the only thing I can do is tell him how much I love him. That's the only thing. Let him know that I love him, and back whatever he wants to do. I mean, if he starts doing drugs or fuckin' off, I'll kick his ass. But I know how I'm gonna raise him."

Bold words no doubt, considering no parent truly knows how his or her child will turn out. At the very least, Davis is certain the path his son takes won't be the same one he was thrust into.

"It's gonna be different; his dad's a rock star," Davis continues. "I'm trying to keep it as maintained as possible, but he wakes up in the morning with his guitar and rocks out all day, and he wants to be dad. He wants to play guitar. He won't let that thing go. I haven't forced nothin' on him, so I'm letting him go and do his thing."

As a father, it's interesting to hear Davis speak of his son's upbringing, considering the rash of controversy the band has been drawing of late with regard to children and more specifically the educational system in the state of Michigan. It seems a student of Zeeland High School was suspended for wearing a t-shirt emblazoned simply with the word "KoRn" and nothing else. Perhaps it's a knee-jerk reaction to the band's logo, which defiantly offends those of "intellect" with its backward "R" and deliberate misspelling. Then again, anyone with intellect knows it's as much a play on a name as something like Led Zeppelin, Def Leppard, or The Beatles...all names deliberately misspelled for one reason or another, be it dramatic effect or, in the case of Led Zeppelin (according to that band's guitarist Jimmy Page) so the "Americans won't pronounce it wrong."

On the other hand, it may be the fact that KoRn knows no limits when it comes to the subject matter in their songs, most of which is derived from real-life (and often unpleasant experiences), most notably child abuse. But the bottom line for Davis & Co. guitarists James "Munky" Shaffer and Brian "Head" Welch, bassist Fieldy, and drummer David is in the interest of children and their rights, not the oppression of them. In response to such adversities, Davis advises to buck up.

"Get through it," he says. "You're not gonna die."

"I always thought I was gonna get killed or die or something like that," he adds. "It sucks. Don't do anything stupid that'll end you up in jail. 'Cause that's another thing, you go out and start beatin' shit up. Just get through this --16-- two years, man, and then 18. Move out. Get away. It's easy. It's just getting through all that. I had to deal with it. I don't know a way to make it go away. Be strong and just know that you can get out of it."

"If they're really abusive, you can call Child Protective Services on them. That really pisses them off. All kinds of stuff. Call counselors. But the best one is Child Protective Services, because parents usually freak out. They'll go to jail. Every place has got one. You can call, then they come out, and the parents are like 'Oh, my kid's fucking up' and la la la... you know, just being a parent and all that teenager bullshit. They'll investigate, if you keep on them. You'll probably get your ass beat after they leave, but... then when they ask 'How'd you get your ass beat?' you can say 'Look...'"

Davis is quick to point out, however, that this may not be the be-all-end-all of solutions. Because every action has its inevitable reaction.

"You have to accept the consequences of not having a family after that, too," he advises. "It's hard. It's between a rock and a hard place. You either go to foster care or whatever... they put you in those homes. But everything's better than being molested or beaten."

"And that's what pisses me off," Davis continues, with a combination of anger and sadness. "People are out there taking [kids'] innocence away from them. They suck it right out of them. I can tell you that if a little kid's been molested that their innocence is totally gone. When they're totally violated, it fucks them up for the rest of their life.

Nevertheless, he's realistic about his own position in the scheme.

"I don't think I had it as bad as a lot of kids out there, to be honest. There's a lot of kids going through way worse than I did. I'd never go and be the 'I was the most fucked up child ever' 'cause I wasn't. But at least I found out that there was other kids out there that had the same problems I did. Even worse. And it gave me power to give them power back."

So, we arrive at Zeeland High School, a place which seems to turn an ignorant cheek to the teachings of the First Amendment, a concept that kids are learing all too fast depends on who has the money and the power, or thinks they do. Earlier this year, the aforementioned student suspension occurred, and KoRn took action after the school's assistat principal Gretchen Plewes commented to the Holland Sentinel that KoRn's body of work "intends to be insulting" and described their music as "indecent, vulgar, obscene." The band served the school with a cease-and-desist demand for making defamatory remarks against them.

As for KoRn, it's unlikely the outcome will affect the band at all, considering both their albums have sold into the millions. And in rock 'n' roll, this kind of thing happens all the time. But to suspend a student because of it, is another matter, and if there's one thing KoRn does, it's stick up for its fans, especially kids. If the case comes to trial and KoRn wins, the proceeds, after legal expenses are covered, will go to the ACLU and various charities for the prevention of child abuse.

Serious matters all, but Davis isn't without a sense of humor. Despite the fact that Plewes is bent on banning anything and everything KoRn, Davis laughingly suggests "she secretly wants to be a KoRn roadie."

"She's a closet fan," he jokes, "or she wouldn't know anything about it. Obviously she's listened to [us]. She thinks kids are getting out of control, so she's gotta attack a little bit. I mean, they can do that different ways. But attacking us? That's ridiculous. I don't know what she gets off on doing that."

But Davis isn't mad. In fact, he's grateful. "I have to thank her for all the publicity."

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