KoRn
Jonathan Davis grew up in Bakersfield, CA. Jonathan met most of the KoRn members during their time at Highland High. He recorded demos in his father's studio during his teenage years. Later, he joined a band called Sex Art, which also included Ryan Shuck (now he is the guitarist for Orgy). Sex Art released one song, entitled "Inside." One night when Sex Art was playing in a club, James Shaffer (Munky) & Brian Welch (Head), then of L.A.P.D., saw him singing, and asked him to join their band Creep. After Jonathan auditioned, he immediately got the job and they became KoRn. KoRn has gone on to release eight albums:
1.KoRn
2.Life Is Peachy
3.Follow The Leader
4.Issues
5.Untouchables
6.Take A Look In The Mirror
7.Greatest Hits: Volume 1
8.See You On The Other Side
They are now in the process of recording their ninth.
Jonathan is also known for his bio-mechanical microphone stand that was custom-designed for him by artist H.R. Giger. Only 5 exist in the world, two are in Davis' possession and the other three are kept in the Giger Museum in Switzerland and are used in gallery exhibitions.
Artist Q&A
Q: The last couple of years you've been messing around with portable writing rigs so you can be out on the road and still be producing music. Some of the older rigs have been laptops with GigaStudio, the FireFace, Digi 002, etc. A lot of stuff to drag around. What made you decide to move up to the Miko?
A: I did it because it's easy, everything all in one box. I have the computer, the keyboard, everything - all in box. All I need is this box and two speakers, and I can create. I love the fact that everything - GigaStudio, all the soft synths I have, everything I'm used to working with, is all there available to me and I can just take it with me wherever I want to go. It really makes the writing a lot easier and a lot of fun.
Q: From a creative standpoint, how has the Miko streamlined your creative process?
A: It's just a lot easier. I throw up a session and instantly just get into it and start writing. It allows me to do whatever I want. I can sing, do guitars, anything. There's no limit to what it can do. And the stuff sounds amazing when I'm done with it.
Q: Open Labs instruments can host almost any virtual instrument plug-in, any PC software. And you like to use a lot of plug-ins in the studio when making records, really mess the sounds up, get that Jonathan Davis thing going on. Are you able to do that here [with Miko]?
A: Yeah, I run Nuendo here and it allows me to run whatever plug-ins I want. I don't go too in depth when out on the road but then it gets really crazy when we get into the studio. I'm sure I could do it all, if I had the time, when out on the road.
Q: Has the Miko changed the way you write songs?
A: I write like I always have but it's just made it a lot easier. I don't need to have a tech come out with me to run the rig while I try to write. I can do it all by myself. It all easy, with the touch screen... I have all these buttons mapped out to do things that I want. Very user-friendly.
Q: Will you use Miko to write songs for the next album?
A: Oh, definitely. This thing goes wherever I go from now on.
Equipment Used
Purchased MiKo 64 (Gen2)
Purchased MiKo LX (Gen3)
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