On open date during tour, Korn hands it to Palms

Spencer Patterson

Monday, July 7, 2003 | 8:09 a.m.

Korn drummer David Silveria has spent many a night partying at the Palms' Rain in the Desert nightclub.

He's been there on regular dance nights; he's seen Jay-Z and No Doubt perform in the venue.

So when the Huntington Beach, Calif., resident discovered his band had an off night during its Ozzfest tour through the Southwest, Silveria knew exactly where he wanted to play.

"The Palms is my favorite hotel in Vegas. I try to go there whenever possible," Silveria said in a phone interview from his band's tour bus in Lubbock, Texas, last week. "I think it's a really cool place for a show because it's so small, so intimate."

Tonight at 7, Silveria will get his wish when Korn plays a rare club gig at Rain.

"I'm very excited about it," Silveria, 30, said. "It should be a really good time."

Korn is between albums, having released its fifth CD, "Untouchables," in June 2002. Silveria reported the metal band's next disc has been recorded and is ready for mixing, in preparation of a holiday release date.

"It sounds amazing. Everyone's really happy with the songs," Silveria said. "They're songs that we really like to play, so it feels like we made a really good record."

One of those new songs, "Did My Time," from the "Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life" soundtrack, will likely be included in tonight's set. The track is available for download for 99 cents on the band's official website, korn.com.

For the first time, Korn's five members -- singer Jonathan Davis, guitarists James "Munky" Shaffer and Brian "Head" Welch, bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and Silveria -- are self-producing their upcoming album.

"We just thought we could do it, that we had enough experience to produce it," Silveria said. "We wanted to do it for ourselves, and we're happy with it."

Korn fans are likely eager to hear the new material, having waited nearly three years for its predecessor. Following the release of fourth album, "Issues," in 1999, the band went on a long hiatus before returning to the studio to begin recording "Untouchables."

During the time off, several band members pursued side projects. Fieldy released his hip-hop debut and Davis worked on the score to a film, "Queen of the Damned."

And Silveria? The drummer opened a sushi restaurant, called Tuna Town, in Huntington Beach.

"It's on the main drag, by the ocean. I spent as much time there as I could," Silveria said. "And I tried to spend as much time with my kids as possible."

Silveria also used the time off to work his way back from a devastating wrist injury which forced him off the road during Korn's March 2000 U.S. tour.

"It was pretty scary, especially when they couldn't figure out what was wrong with it," he said. "After eight or 10 months of trying to figure out the problem, I started really getting worried that maybe I wouldn't be able to come back."

The condition was finally determined to be the result of a pinched nerve, which Silveria said still results in occasional weakness in his wrist.

"It's not completely back to normal. They said it may never be. But it's good enough that I can play," Silveria said. "I just don't hit as hard, and I have to pace myself a little more."

Silveria won't get much of a chance to pace himself this summer. Along with Marilyn Manson, Disturbed, Chevelle and others, Korn will support Ozzy Osbourne on his "Ozzfest 2003" tour through the end of August. The traveling festival kicked off June 28 in San Antonio.

Silveria, for one, enjoys the opportunity to play alongside some of the other top acts in the hard-rock genre.

"Doing these big outdoor festivals is the best fun you can have all summer. It's like a big summer camp, where you know all the bands and everyone is hanging out with each other all night and everyone is outside," Silveria said. "It's a lot more fun than being stuck in arenas all summer."