KORN's MUNKY To Miss Five Shows On ALICE IN CHAINS Tour; Temporary Replacement Announced

KORN guitarist James “Munky” Shaffer will miss a week’s worth of shows on the band’s North American tour with ALICE IN CHAINS so that he can be home with his wife as they await the birth of their daughter. Filling in for him will be J.R. Bareis, who previously played with KORN guitarist Brian “Head” Welch in Welch‘s solo effort LOVE AND DEATH.

Munky announced his absence from the tour in an Instagram post earlier today. He wrote: “Since our family is waiting any day now for the birth of our daughter, I won’t be performing starting on Tuesday August 6th through Sunday August 11th. I’ll be back in Detroit. I’m going to miss you all very much on those dates. But, you’re in great hands with our close friend and brother @jrbareis95 who is filling in for me…and of course the rest of @korn_official who will carry the load.” He added: “Thank you to all of our fans for your understanding and support! @evis_xheneti @dangelodraxon @imrockyrebel.”

Munky and Evis Xheneti have two sons together, six-year-old D’Angelo and three-year-old Rocky. Munky also has a daughter named Carmella, the product of his marriage to Stephanie Roush. She was born in June 2001, three years before the guitarist and Stephanie got divorced.

Shaffer will miss the following shows:

Aug. 06 – Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
Aug. 07 – Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
Aug. 09 – Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
Aug. 10 – Hartford, CT @ XFINITY Theatre
Aug. 11 – Saratoga Springs, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center

Welch famously left KORN in 2005 in order to take care of his daughter Jennea and “save” himself. He rejoined the group eight years later.

KORN‘s co-headlining tour with ALICE IN CHAINS kicked off on July 18 at Austin360 Amphitheater in Del Valle, Texas and is hitting nearly 30 cities before wrapping on September 4 in Mountain View, California.

KORN‘s new album, “The Nothing”, will be released on September 13 via Roadrunner/Elektra. The follow-up to 2016’s “The Serenity Of Suffering” was once again produced by Nick Raskulinecz.

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Since our family is waiting any day now for the birth of our daughter, I won’t be performing starting on Tuesday August 6th through Sunday August 11th .I’ll be back in Detroit. I’m going to miss you all very much on those dates. But, you’re in great hands with our close friend and brother @jrbareis95 who is filling in for me…and of course the rest of @korn_official who will carry the load. Thank you to all of our fans for your understanding and support! @evis_xheneti @dangelodraxon @imrockyrebel

A post shared by MUNKY (@munky_korn) on Aug 5, 2019 at 1:28am PDT