Korn guitarist James ‘Munky’ Shaffer recently joined Chaoszine for an interview. During the conversation, he talked about Reginald ‘Fieldy’ Arvizu’s departure and said if Fieldy wants to continue his music career without Korn, then it’s great for him.
On June 21, Korn announced that their bassist Reginald ‘Fieldy’ Arvizu will take a break and won’t be performing with the band on their summer tour. Following that, Suicidal Tendencies’ Ra Díaz replaced Fieldy.
In the announcement he posted on his Facebook page, Fieldy revealed what caused him to take a hiatus from Korn. He said he has been dealing with personal issues for the past six years, and he fell back on some bad habits because of that.
Following that, Fieldy stated that he needs to take some time off to recover. He also added he will stay creative to keep his mind and soul in a good place while working on getting these bad habits out of his system.
After Fieldy’s announcement, Korn showed their support to Fieldy and stated that health and family come first. In an interview with Chaoszine, Korn guitarist Munky commented on Fieldy’s departure as well and revealed the last time he contacted him.
Munky said he texted Fieldy on his birthday on November 2 to wish him a happy birthday. In the text message, he also told the bassist he hopes he is healthy, and he misses him. Moreover, the guitarist admitted that they are trying to pull back to let him figure out what he wants to do.
Following that, Munky said they are giving Fieldy some space to think about his future. He then said if Fieldy decides he wants to continue without Korn, then it’s great, but if not, he will need to find a balance between work and his family to feel happier.
Talking about the last time he spoke to Fieldy, Munky said:
“I texted him on his birthday, which was like a month ago, and I just wished him, ‘Happy birthday, I hope you’re healthy, hope you and your family are good, I miss you.’
A happy birthday-type of short, and he’s like, ‘Thanks, hope you’re well you and your family are good, appreciate the happy birthday.’ So that’s really… We’re trying to pull back a little bit to just let him figure things out because that ultimately, we just want him to be happy.”
After the host Arto Mäenpää told Munky it’s not good to push someone, Munky told him:
“No, just give him some space to figure it out. If his future in his mind is inclusive of Korn, then great! If not, just figure out what balance makes you a happy person.
He’s got kids, he’s set up for an amazing life to live a long time, and we want him to be happy through that.”
You can watch the full interview below.
