Jonathan Davis Thinks Today’s Music Scene Doesn’t Value Talent
While many things have changed in how music is marketed and present in recent years, where does talent lie within the overall equation? That's something that Korn's Jonathan Davis and Evanescence's Amy Lee discussed during a joint discussion with Interview Magazine.
The conversation evolved out of Davis complimenting a cover Lee had done and revealing that he's rather stingy when it comes to giving out compliments. He then told Lee, "I'm totally into talent. It seems like music has moved on to a place where it doesn't matter about talent. It's about how talented the engineer is at faking everything."
The Evanescence singer responded, adding, "And it has become so much about personalities too, right? I feel like that's like the new generation. It's more about a personality than the actual song. I've seen their Instagram but like, what is their music? What does that mean to you? But I don't want to be the old person complaining."
While Davis joked that he's old now, Lee added, "We’re purists. We’re allowed to say it." But in the end Davis surmises, "In the long run, it’s cool because everybody’s enjoying music. That’s all that matters."
Lee adds, "There’s still a lot of good stuff out there. The world of rock, especially heavy rock, has just grown and expanded a whole bunch. And I am really excited about what is happening with our tour with all the different openers instead of one. It ended up being this rad combination of cool things."
In fact, the tour does include some buzzy new names that have been tipped for future success alongside veteran support acts. Helmet and rising TikTok star Jeris Johnson are supporting on the first portion of the tour, while Palaye Royale, Dana Dentata and Johnson handle opening duties on the second portion and Dentata and rock vets P.O.D. support down the stretch run of dates.
The Korn / Evanescence tour kicked off this past week, with Lee joining Korn onstage for a cover of "Freak on a Leash." You can catch Korn and Evanescence on tour into September. Get your tickets here.