Korn on Tye Trujillo: It’s crazy how much you see his dad in him

Korn with Tye Trujillo
Korn with Tye Trujillo

Korn guitarist James ‘Munky’ Shaffer has spoken about having bass player Tye Trujillo join them on their South American tour.

The 12-year-old son of Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo was brought into the lineup in place of Fieldy for the band’s run of South American dates in support of latest album The Serenity Of Suffering.

And Munky says the youngster’s talent is shining through and has blown them away with his playing.

Munky tells NME: “We’re having fun! He’s having a great time. His dad’s out here with us, just hanging out, shootin’ the shit and catching up.

“Tye knows 17, 18 Korn songs, and he knows them really well. It’s crazy. All the stops, and the breaks – it’s crazy to see somebody that young so talented. He’s gonna be a professional musician, and to know that at that early of an age is just inspiring.”

The guitarist says that Tye has attracted plenty of autograph hunters on the tour, but the youngster is handling his moment in the spotlight well.

Munky says: “When we go to the shows, he’s got people wanting his picture and his autograph – he’s a little overwhelmed, but he’s handling himself just like his dad, which is cool, collected and modest.”

Munky reports the collaboration happened after Korn vocalist Jonathan Davis and regular bassist Fieldy bumped into Robert Trujillo at an airport. The Metallica bassist showed them videos of Tye playing, leaving the Korn duo impressed.

Munky continues: “When we found out Fieldy wasn’t gonna be able to come on this trip with us, he suggested Tye.

“It’s not just some replacement – this is the DNA of Robert Trujillo, one of the greatest bass players on the planet!

“You can see it – it’s crazy how much you see his dad in him.”

Korn will bring the curtain down on their South American tour tonight (April 27) with a set at Santiago’s Teatro Caupolican in Chile.

They’ll return to North America next month for a run of shows, kicking off at the Carolina Rebellion on May 6.

Korn 2017 tour dates

Apr 27: Santiago Teatro Caupolican, Chile
May 06: Carolina Rebellion, NC
May 07: Silver Spring The Fillmore, MD
May 09: Huntington The Paramount, NY
May 10: Pittsburgh Stage AE, PA
May 11: Grand rapids 20 Monroe Live, MI
May 12: Maryland Heights Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, MO
May 13: Maryland Heights Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, MO
May 14: Kansas City Uptown Theatre, MO
May 16: Memphis Minglewood Hall, TN
May 17: Nashville Municipal Auditorium, TN
May 18: Atlanta The Tabernacle, GA
May 19: Columbus Mapfre Stadium, OH
May 20: Columbus Mapfre Stadium, OH
May 21: Columbus Mapfre Stadium, OH
Jun 12: Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre, CA
Jun 16: Salt Lake City USANA Amphitheatre, UT
Jun 18: Albuquerque Isleta Amphitheater, NM
Jun 20: Chula Vista Sleep Train Amphitheatre, CA
Jun 21: Inglewood The Forum, CA
Jun 22: Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre, CA
Jun 25: Boise Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater, ID
Jun 26: Pocatello Portneuf Wellness Complex Amphitheatre, ID
Jul 19: Syracuse Lakeview Amphitheater, NY
Jul 20: Mansfield Xfinity Center, MA
Jul 23: Hartford Xfiniity Theatre, CT
Jul 25: Toronto The Molson Amphitheatre, ON
Jul 26: Camden BB&T Pavilion, NJ
Jul 27: Holmdel PNC Bank Arts Center, NJ
Jul 29: Noblesville Klipsch Music Center, IN
Jul 30: Clarkston DTE Energy Music Theatre, MI
Aug 01: Cincinnati Riverbend Music Center, OH
Aug 02: Cleveland Blossom Music Center, OH
Aug 17: Stockholm Grona Lund, Sweden
Aug 19: Dinkelsbuhl Summerbreeze Festival, Germany
Aug 20: Pratteln Z7, Switzerland
Aug 21: Saarbrucken Saarlandhalle, Germany
Oct 07: Cincinnati Riverbend Music Center, OH

Metallica’s Robert Trujillo discusses son Tye’s Korn stint

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.