When bassist Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu stepped down from Korn in 2021, most fans thought it would be a temporary arrangement. A statement issued by the man himself at the time saw him offering in part:
“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.”
Fieldy went on to say to his bandmates in that very statement, “Jonathan, Munky, Ray and Head, I love you and I don’t want to bring any tension or bad vibes to the circle.” Korn would go on to continue on without Fieldy, enlisting the services of Roberto “Ra” Díaz in his place since. While some took Fieldy‘s mention of “bad habits” to mean potential substance abuse, Fieldy would later shutdown that speculation.
In the years since, Fieldy has admitted that he hasn’t kept in touch with his Korn bandmates, letting years lapse without a word being spoken between then. To this day it has remained a bit of an ongoing mystery to most fans of the pioneering nü-metal band as to why Fieldy continues to sit on the sidelines.
Now, in a newly shared interview originally conducted late last year, Fieldy gave a clear answer as to the circumstances of his departure. Fieldy sat down alongside his ex-L.A.P.D. bandmate Richard Morrill for a joint interview on a podcast dubbed Shady Characters. The friendly chat charted the pair’s musical path together and their eventual divergence, including insight into L.A.P.D. — a band that also included future Korn members James “Munky” Shaffer and David Silveria.
Morrill even went on to share his thoughts on watching his aforementioned former bandmates go on to change the heavy music world without him and more in the discussion. Perhaps due to the level of comfort, and the pair already being acquainted with the show’s hosts, Fieldy didn’t dodge the question when it came to what saw him exit the band.
As he himself revealed in this chat, his aversion to the COVID-19 pandemic was a chief factor in what initially led him to step down. When asked directly what led to him taking time off from the band, Fieldy replied [transcribed by theprp.com]:
“COVID happened. That’s it. I’m like, ‘I’m not going out there.’ That’s what happened, ’cause it was new. Now. I’m like… The whole time — I mean, I didn’t get vaccinated or anything — but when you reflect on it, that’s what happened. They’re like, ‘We’re going to Florida and all this.’ And I’m like, ‘I’m not going to get vaccinated.’ I’m not going. I go, ‘People, this is weird right now.’
But I mean that’s kind of what happened. But it gave me time to sit, and once you sit, you can reflect and you’re like, you’re kind of just waiting you know to what’s next, ’cause I don’t know what the rest of this day is going to bring. I’m just on fire for whatever, whatever is ready.”
Fieldy also went on to say of the perspective he holds now after reflecting on exiting the band he spent decades in:
“That’s what it is. You see bands, and bands kind of just go through these motions. This isn’t anything new. I mean, from L.A.P.D. to all these bands. I mean, Chili Peppers have Flea and Anthony [Kiedis], you know? It just happens like that sometimes. A lot of bands — not sometimes, almost every time. It’s rare that all the same [members stay in a band.]”
“Man, I look back at my life and like, you know, almost 30 years with Korn, that was a blast, man. I mean, it was… I can’t explain it. It’s like you’re going on you’re going to the ultimate [thrill]… It’s not easy. But it is a blast. I don’t look back going, ‘That sucked.’
“I mean, I could look at it and complain, but how are you going to complain? That was everything everybody dreams of. And I got to go almost like a vet. I put in 30 years and now here I am. You know? it’s like I’m cool with that.”
When asked if he would consider himself ‘retired’ from Korn at this point, Fieldy stated, “I’m retired from Korn today, but we’ll see what the day brings tomorrow.”
When it was brought up that the death of Limp Bizkit bassist Sam Rivers last October saw fans hope that Fieldy would be the one to take over Rivers‘ role, Fieldy said he hadn’t heard about that fan-led campaign. He did however relay the following about his aforementioned late friend:
“I’m friends with all the guys in Limp Bizkit. So you know, it hurt my heart, man. I heard about that because I’m friends with Sam and all those guys.”
“We kicked it all the time. I used to go out — my son showed me — he’s like, ‘Dad, check this out’ — And it’s like [a video in which] I’m playing a Limp Bizkit bassline on tour with them and then he comes up, Sam comes up, and he like looks at me and I’m like, ‘Oh.’ And I give [the bass] to him. It’s like a gag we did every single night. ‘Cause you’re in a different city. It wasn’t like today, you do it one night and It’s all over the internet.”
“So we were doing that and I’m like listening to it and I told my son, ‘That’s a dope bass player.’ Look how much better he’s playing that than me. The way that he moves his fingers and the way that he finesses the strings. He’s sick. So I even knew that, because the first time I went down to Jacksonville, I picked up John Otto [Limp Bizkit drummer] and Sam, and I went back to their house and John Otto had a drum kit in there and Sam had his bass stuff.
I don’t know these kids. And they’re like, ‘Hey, you want to jam with John Otto?’ And I’m like, ‘I’ma show these kids what’s up right now.’ You know, because we were playing somewhere in town, and this is in the beginning of Korn — it was like a little club or something like that. So, I get on, do my my clickity clackity, you know. And I go, ‘You play man.’ You know, I already killed it in my head. He plays. he gets done. I’m like, ‘I suck man. You are dope. You’re so much better than me.’ I told him straight out. I remember that. I was embarrassed. I’m like, ‘You rip.’ That’s one of my two favorite rhythm sections.”
Fieldy also touched upon the this photo from last August, which suggested that he, Sepultura drummer Greyson Nekrutman and Cypress Hill/ex-Fear Factory, etc. bassist Christian Olde Wolbers had a new project in the works. Fieldy stated of that:
“I’m doing another project. We got two rough songs done with Greyson [Nekrutman] from Sepultura on drums. He’s a sick drummer… He’s like a jazz drummer. He can play the old school jazz way, but fast. Like that guy, that guy’s an insane drummer. He’s one of the sickest drummers I’ve ever worked with. And you know what? Every drummer I worked with is dope. David Silveria, Ray [Luzier, Korn drummer] Mikey [Bordin] from Faith No More and Ozzy, who else did we work with? Brooks Wackerman.”
Fieldy also mentioned that he and guitarist Sean Olsen had sent a new song to Morrill to work on, describing it as a “rough project.” You can learn a whole lot more about L.A.P.D. and the bands that preceded Korn, as well as what Morrill and Fieldy have been up to lately in the below chat.
