Boom na fricka na do, da ticka ba do, da fricka na do! With a deafening bang on the drums, a hardcore scream from the guitars, a deep crash from the bassist, and a hard, metal yell of pain from the vocalist comes five ordinary guys who tried desperately to harmonize their music and become heavy metal rock stars. They were very good friends, and had been ever sense high school. They were all in their mid 20’s.
Jonathan Davis was 25. He had long, black hair, that descended onto his shoulders and it was knatted and tangled into a million webs of string. He had very prominent eyes, which looked like two beautiful sapphires, glowing under a moonlit night. He also had very handsome features.
James Shaffer was also 25. His nickname was Munky. Munky could spread out his toes and everyone said that they looked like little monkey hands. He had long matted hair, full of dreadlocks. His eyes were beautiful porcelain blue.
Brian Welch was 26. His nickname was Head. He had a big head. The only kinds of hats that fit him were the stretchy kind. He had beautiful almond colored eyes. He had sandy brown hair that hung limply all around his head in braids. He also had a small beard that was in another small braid hanging from his chin.
Reginald Avizu, Reggie for short, was 27. His nickname was Fieldy. When Fieldy was younger he had cheeks that look like chipmunk’s cheeks. So, they called him Gopher, then it became Gar, and then they started calling him Garfield. And then it became, Fieldy. He had shoulder length black hair that hung behind him in a ponytail. His eyes were a golden color of amber.
David Silveria was 23. He had short, blonde hair. He had it spiked so that it looked like the crown on the Statue of Liberty. His eyes were a perfect peacock blue.
They all wore black nail polish and dressed trashy and dirty. They all agreed that Jonathan’s garage wasn’t the best surroundings for artists to work and create songs. Just about that time, David saw an ad in the newspaper that there was a house that was abandoned, if anyone wanted to rent it for a week or two, or even buy it. It was called Hill House. They called it Hill House because it was alone up on a big hill at the edge of a small, run down town called Bakersfield. They all decided that they should go since they all needed a drastic change in scenery anyway. So they all packed up their bags and their instruments and called the number on the ad and a guy named Ross Robinson answered the phone and told them more about the origin of the house and who owned it.
According to Ross, a man named Alexander Ukraine lived there for 47 years and then something happened and he died. Since his death, everyone in the town thought that he haunted his house. Jonathan, James, Brian, Reggie, and David decided that the story Ross told them was just a stupid superstition.
When they arrived in Bakersfield, Ross met them at the airport and took them to the very edge of town were Hill House stood tall and dark. It had seven rooms and was two stories high. The sidewalk to the doorway was a faded ashy color covered with muddy leaves. The whole outside of the house was an ebony color and lavender drapes blew limply from the windows.
When they approached the door, they noticed that it had designs that were probably once gold, but now were a rusty brown. The door was a sandy color. Right inside the door was the huge, elegant living room. The living room was dull amber and the walls were mint green. All over the living room were pictures of women and girls. Ross told them that the photos were of Ukraine’s family. Ukraine married seven times and had fourteen children. All girls. They were all hung up on his living room walls so he could always remember his wives and children.
Jonathan noticed a small Indian doll that had coal black hair and a beautiful amber shawl. Jonathan thought the doll was a work of art, and they all knew right away that they’d be better artists and come up with a lot of new songs. There was a huge fireplace that was always used for fires years ago, but not recently. It was an ashed delft color with a statue of a lion on it. On the top of the staircase was a giant picture of Ukraine. He had an angered look on his face and wore a suit and tie with a giant cape on his noble back. He was hunched over, as if he couldn’t stand up straight. At the bottom of the big crimson frame was a plaque that stated his name.
After Ross left and they unpacked, they immediately got to work. The way they had always written music was that David, Reggie, James, and Brian would write the melodies. Then, they would give the recorded melody to Jonathan and he would listen to it and then write lyrics to it. David, Reggie, James, and Brian found a nice room upstairs that was probably once used as a den. Mauve and porcelain old time, gothic designs covered the crimson walls. They sat up their instruments, David on the drums, Fielding on bass, and Head and Munky on the guitars, and started to make progress.
As Jonathan waited on the other four guys to finish, he started to examine the Indian doll, which he was so fond of. He still couldn’t seem to get over how artistic and beautiful it was. He seemed to really like it. As he examined it, he was struck with some ideas for a song. He jotted down what he had in mind. The other four guys were working fast and already had half of a song that they all agreed on recorded. As Jonathan glanced around the room, he saw a box hidden in a shaded corner. He opened the dusty box and finds another Indian doll. It didn’t have eyes though. It looked like the eyes had been purposely taken out. He thought that Indian doll was even better than the other one. He was struck with several more ideas and when the melody was finally finished, Jonathan sung his lyrics to the melody and they recorded it. They came out with their first song, Blind.
The same day they went back home, and they made copies of Blind for their friends and families. Somehow a radio station got a hold of a copy and played it over the air. Everyone who heard it liked it, so they sent a copy to a record studio and they got the deal. They went and recorded in the studio, and a record producer heard them recording. The producer thought that they were so good that he automatically stopped what he was doing and went over to talk to the band. He asked them about their life and what their band was called. They told him… KoRn.
Back