August 01, 2007

Korn Go Green: Band Concocts Own Biofuel, Korntastic; Converts To Biodiesel For Tour

By Chris Harris (MTV.com)

NEW YORK - With a sparse field of real corn behind them, juxtaposed by the hustle, bustle and blaring fire engine sirens of the city's Times Square, the three active members of Korn - frontman Jonathan Davis, bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer - announced that they've gone green.

Surrounded by a crush of photographers, fans and curious onlookers, Korn revealed that on the band's Family Values Tour this summer, they'll be traveling in vehicles that operate on domestically produced biodiesel fuels.

The conversion of the group's eight buses and eight cargo trucks will help reduce by almost 50 tons the amount of carbon-dioxide emissions the tour produces, Davis said, and added that they'll be asking the rest of the bands on the festival's bill to follow suit. The band hopes the move will inspire others to make the switch, too.

"We all have children, and I just worry about my kids' kids," Davis, the proud owner of a Toyota Prius, said during the press conference. "[I worry about whether] they will have a place to live [and I hope] that they won't have to live underground. I think it's time we really did start trying to do something about getting rid of oil in general. We have the means to fuel cars in different ways. We have the technology to do it. We're doing our part to set the wheels in motion."

In addition, Korn - whose untitled eighth studio album lands in stores Tuesday (July 31) - discussed the launch of Korntastic, their own brand of biofuel, which they're cultivating in conjunction with Music Matters' Sustainable Minded Artists Recording and Touring program. The formula, according to the band's publicist, is still in development and will be revealed soon via Korn's new Web site, korntastic.com. At some point, Davis said the band would like to release the fuel for commercial consumption.

"We want to do something for our environment," Davis said. "I know it won't happen overnight, but little things like this, everyone being conscious about it ... we can't change the world, but we can all make a difference."

The bandmembers also said they'll be giving away free Family Values tickets to all U.S. soldiers on leave who want to check out the concert when the 'fest rolls through their towns.

"We got together with the USO and we're offering, in any city we're stopping in, free tickets to the show [to members of the armed forces on leave], so that they can have a good time," Davis explained. "We've always looked out for those guys who're going over to Iraq, risking their lives for us. It's the least we could do - offer them some entertainment and have them forget about what's going on over there for a little bit."

This isn't the first time Korn's worked with the USO. Back in November 2005, the band gave a special live performance on a transatlantic flight to London before an audience of contest winners and eight U.S. soldiers who had served in either Afghanistan or Iraq.