KORN played its first show with Roberto “Ra” Díaz (SUICIDAL TENDENCIES) last night (Friday, July 16) at the Upheaval festival in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below (courtesy of the “BREWtally Speaking” podcast).
Díaz is filling in for Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu on KORN‘s current tour. Fieldy announced last month that he would sit out the trek in order to “heal” after “falling back” on some of his “bad habits.”
“We appreciate your kind words of support in response to the recent tour update about @Fieldykorn,” KORN wrote in a social media post on July 12. “While our brother takes some time to heal, we wanted to let you know that we are bringing our friend @Ra_Diaz from @SuicidalTendencies out with us this summer to fill in on KORN bass duties. We’ve all been rehearsing to get ready to bring the heat, and we can’t wait to see you next month.”
On June 21, Fieldy broke the news of his absence from the trek, writing in a social media update: “To all KORN fans worldwide. The past 6 years I’ve been dealing with some personal issues that at times have caused me to fall back on some of my bad habits and has caused some tension with the people around me. It’s been suggested to me to take some time off to heal. I’m going to respect what was asked of me and take that time. Unfortunately you will not see me on stage with my band. I will be working towards getting the bad habits out of my system. In the meantime I will be staying creative to keep my mind & soul in a good place.
“I’m thankful for all of your support, patience & understanding as we all have something that we deal with.
“Jonathan, Munky, Ray and Head, I love you and I don’t want to bring any tension or bad vibes to the circle.”
A short time later, KORN‘s official social media shared Fieldy‘s statement, along with the following message: “We love and support our brother, Fieldy. Health and family always comes first.”
In May, KORN announced a U.S. summer tour featuring special guests STAIND on all dates. Produced by Live Nation, the coast-to-coast 28-city outing will kick off August 5 in West Palm Beach, Florida and make stops in Long Island, Detroit, Irvine, Phoenix, Austin and more, before wrapping up with a performance at Dallas’ Dos Equis Pavilion on September 21. Furthermore, both bands will perform at Louisville, Kentucky’s Louder Than Life festival on September 23.
Back in 2017, METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo‘s then-12-year-old son Tye Trujillo filled in on bass for KORN‘s South American tour after Fieldy was unable to make the shows due to “unforeseen circumstances.”
Fieldy‘s 2009 memoir, “Got The Life: My Journey Of Addiction, Faith, Recovery And Korn”, detailed his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction during KORN‘s early years and how he became a born-again Christian to help get his life together and get sober.
Fieldy‘s STILLWELL side project released its third album, “Supernatural Miracle”, last September.
KORN‘s latest LP, “The Nothing”, arrived in September 2019 via Roadrunner/Elektra. The follow-up to 2016’s “The Serenity Of Suffering” was once again produced by Nick Raskulinecz.
