James Christian Shaffer (born June 6, 1970), also known by his stage name "Munky", is an American musician best known as co-founder and guitarist of the nu metal band Korn. Shaffer set up the side-project band Fear and the Nervous System in 2008 and is also the founder of Emotional Syphon Recordings, who have signed acts like Monster in the Machine and Droid. Shaffer was ranked at No. 26 of Guitar World's 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time. Shaffer's work with Korn has resulted in over 40 million albums sold. Early life Shaffer was born June 6, 1970, in Rosedale, California. Shaffer and the other members of Korn grew up in an agricultural town of Bakersfield, California, two hours north of Los Angeles. When trying to sneak out to a party, the tip of one of his fingers was severed by the chain on his three-wheeler, and, as part of his rehabilitation, Shaffer picked up a guitar. During high school, Shaffer met fellow guitarist Brian Welch and the two would often jam together. Musical career Early musical career Shaffer, along with fellow future Korn members, David Silveria and Reginald Arvizu formed a band called L.A.P.D. with singer Richard Morill. When the band moved from Bakersfield, California to Los Angeles, Silveria dropped out of high school and Shaffer stayed in Bakersfield. When Shaffer reunited with the band, they found a manager and released an EP entitled Love and Peace Dude in 1989 through Triple X Records. L.A.P.D. released their first full-length studio album on May 3, 1991, which consisted of eleven tracks. The album was entitled Who's Laughing Now. After releasing two albums, L.A.P.D. broke up. They were also briefly known as Creep, recording a demo with a singer named Corey until Shaffer, Arvizu, and Silveria enlisted Brian Welch and Jonathan Davis to form the band that went on to become Korn. Korn (1993–present) When thinking of a band name, someone suggested "corn", but the band rejected that name, so Shaffer had the idea to spell the name with both a "K" instead of a "C", and a backwards "R", so the band's name would appear as "KoЯn". The idea of using a backwards "R" came from the logo of toy retailer Toys R Us, for which many of the band members had previously worked. On February 22, 2005, Brian "Head" Welch left the band. Shaffer accepted his friend's