James Christian Shaffer (born June 6, 1970), also known by his stage name "Munky", is an American musician best known as co-founder and guitarist of the nu metal band Korn. He has cited Steve Vai, Eddie Van Halen, and Randy Rhoads as some of his influences. Shaffer set up the side-project band Fear and the Nervous System in 2008 and is also the founder of Emotional Syphon Recordings, who have signed acts like Monster in the Machine and Droid (band), Droid. Shaffer was ranked at No. 26 of Guitar World's 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time. Shaffer's work with Korn has resulted in over 40 million albums sold.

Early life

Shaffer was born June 6, 1970, in Rosedale, California, Rosedale, California. Shaffer and the other members of Korn grew up in an agricultural town of Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield, California, two hours north of Los Angeles. When trying to sneak out to a party, the tip of one of his fingers was severed by the chain on his three-wheeler, and, as part of his rehabilitation, Shaffer picked up a guitar. During high school, Shaffer met fellow guitarist Brian Welch and the two would often jam together.

Early musical career

Shaffer, along with fellow future Korn members, David Silveria and Reginald Arvizu formed a band called L.A.P.D. (band), L.A.P.D. with singer Richard Morill. When the band moved from Bakersfield, California to Los Angeles, Silveria dropped out of high school and Shaffer stayed in Bakersfield. When Shaffer reunited with the band, they found a manager and released an EP entitled Love and Peace Dude in 1989 through Triple X Records. L.A.P.D. released their first full-length studio album on May 3, 1991, which consisted of eleven tracks. The album was entitled Who's Laughing Now. After releasing two albums, L.A.P.D. broke up. They were also briefly known as Creep, recording a demo with a singer named Corey until Shaffer, Arvizu, and Silveria enlisted Brian Welch and Jonathan Davis to form the band that went on to become Korn.

Korn (1993–present)

When thinking of a band name, someone suggested "corn", but the band rejected that name, so Shaffer had the idea to spell the name with both a "K" instead of a "C", and a backwards "R", so the band's name would appear as "KoЯn". The idea of using a backwards "R" came from the logo of toy retailer Toys R Us, for which many of the band members had previously worked. On February 22, 2005, Brian Welch, Brian "Head" Welch left the band. Shaffer accepted his friend's choice and the two remained on good terms. When drummer David Silveria left the band, Munky said in an interview that he had a strong friendship with him and was very sad to hear that he had to leave. On an interview about Welch's departure, Shaffer said he felt pressure because they were always working together, writing songs, and creating albums. But when Welch left, he had to write all the guitar parts into one part, so Korn could play live, and he continued to play like that until Korn got a backing guitarist. Welch officially returned to the band on May 2, 2013, to work on the album The Paradigm Shift that was released in October 2013.

Fear and the Nervous System (2008–present)

On March 4, 2008, it was announced that Shaffer would be releasing a solo record on August 8, 2008, with his solo band Fear and The Nervous System which would feature Munky doing vocals and guitars, Brooks Wackerman of Bad Religion (who also performed on Korn's eighth album) on drums, Leopold Ross on guitars and programming, Bill Gould of Faith No More fame, and Zac Baird (Korn's keyboardist) on keyboards and programming. The record would be produced by Munky and Ross Robinson. Guitarist and friend Wes Borland originally recorded guitars for two songs on the album but they would not make the final cut. Borland also created cover art that would still be used on the album. The band's debut album was originally due out August 8, 2008, but was pushed back multiple times until its release in 2011. On Modlife in October 2009 (Korn.com), Shaffer explained that he would not be doing vocals on the Fear and the Nervous System album because he is not "very good at singing." It was later announced that Steve Krolikowski of Repeater (band), Repeater would be handling vocal duties.

Emotional Syphon Recordings (2006–present)

In 2006, Shaffer founded Emotional Syphon Records to give daring and diverse bands a chance to be heard. The first bands to be signed were Droid (band), Droid and Monster In The Machine, however Shaffer says he does not want to limit himself to only releasing metal acts but to create a multi-genre label.

Personal life

On January 15, 2000, Shaffer married Stephanie Roush. Together, they had a daughter, Carmella Star Shaffer (born on June 23, 2001). In 2004, Shaffer and Roush got divorced. Shaffer then started to date the Albanian American actress and model Evis Xheneti in 2005. They were married on January 2, 2012, in Paris, France. They have three children together: D'Angelo DraXon Shaffer (born on November 7, 2012), Rocky Rebel Shaffer (born on August 20, 2015), and Heart Hera Shaffer (Born on August 7, 2019).

Equipment

Shaffer predominantly uses Ibanez guitars, most often his signature model the Ibanez Apex 7-string model and Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier & Diezel guitar amplifier. Like Head, he uses many pedals and effects to shape the distinct Korn sound. Munky describes his live pedal board as a "spaceship" because of the large, diverse quantity of effects he uses.

Discography

;With L.A.P.D. *1989 – ''Love and Peace, Dude'' *1991 – ''Who's Laughing Now (album), Who's Laughing Now'' *1997 – ''L.A.P.D'' (Compilation album, Compilation) ;With Korn *1994 – ''Korn (album), Korn'' *1996 – ''Life Is Peachy'' *1998 – ''Follow the Leader (Korn album), Follow the Leader'' *1999 – ''Issues (Korn album), Issues'' *2002 – ''Untouchables (album), Untouchables'' *2003 – ''Take a Look in the Mirror'' *2005 – ''See You on the Other Side (Korn album), See You on the Other Side'' *2007 – Untitled Korn album, Untitled album *2010 – ''Korn III: Remember Who You Are'' *2011 – ''The Path of Totality'' *2013 – ''The Paradigm Shift'' *2016 - ''The Serenity of Suffering'' *2019 - ''The Nothing (Korn album), The Nothing'' *2022 - ''Requiem (Korn album), Requiem'' ;With Fear and the Nervous System *2012 – ''Fear and the Nervous System (album), Fear and the Nervous System'' ;With $UICIDEBOY$ x Travis Barker *2019 – ''Live Fast, Die Whenever

References

External links

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Bakotopia interview with James 'Munky' Shaffer"James 'Munky' Shaffer's 2002 Korn Guitar Rig"
GuitarGeek.Com {{DEFAULTSORT:Shaffer, James 1970 births Alternative metal guitarists Alternative metal musicians American experimental guitarists American heavy metal guitarists American industrial musicians American male guitarists American people of German descent Record producers from California Eight-string guitarists Guitarists from California Korn members Lead guitarists Living people Male guitarists Musicians from Bakersfield, California Rhythm guitarists Seven-string guitarists Virgin Records artists Fear and the Nervous System members