Korn praise their “talented and inspiring” 12-year-old bassist Tye Trujillo
The son of Metallica's Robert Trujillo
Last updated 27th Apr 2017
Korn have waxed lyrical about their 12-year-old stand-in bassist Tye Trujillo saying he’s destined to be a renowned musician.
The son of Metallica’s Robert Trujillo, Tye is performing on the South American leg of Korn’s world tour after bassist Reginald ‘Fieldy’ Arvizu had to quit due to unforeseen circumstances.
Lauded by rock fans for his precision playing at such a young age, the band’s guitarist James ‘Munky’ Shaffer has now heaped praise on the child prodigy.
“His dad (Robert Trujillo) is out here with us, just hanging out, shootin’ the s*** and catching up,” Munky told NME. “(Tye) knows like 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.”
Revealing how Tye is coping with his new-found fame, Munky continued: “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.”
Explaining how Tye was invited to be a part of the tour, Munky added: “There was a moment when a couple of the guys from Metallica and Jonathan (Davis) and Fieldy kinda bumped into each other in some airline lounge, and Robert was like, ‘Hey, have you checked out my son playing bass?!’
“They were watching some videos and Jonathan and Fieldy were like, ‘Woah, he’s so good!’ 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.”
Having played shows in Colombia, Brazil and Argentina, Korn continue their South American tour at Teatro Caupolicán in Santiago, Chile on Thursday night (27th April) before wrapping up in Peru over the weekend.
The band also play Reading and Leeds Festival this August Bank holiday weekend.