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Family Values 1998 – A tour that changed music : Q Magazine

10 Tours that changed music
Extreme Noise Terror 1998 – Family Values Tour
Q Magazine – March 2002

Started: War Memorial, Rochester, New York 22 June 98
Finished: Patriot Centre, Fairfax, Virginia 31 Oct 98
Bands: Korn, Limp Bizkit, Rammstein, Ice Cube (replaced by Incubus from 25 Oct), Orgy.
The inaugural Family Values Tour paired self-immolating Germans with big-shorted American mall rats, recalls Dan Silver. Cue: the birth of nu-metal, 243,000 ticket sales and countless teenage bedrooms left untidy.

Back in 1997 Korn guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer was struck down with viral meningitis, forcing the band to withdraw from what would prove to be the last Lollapalooza tour. Whether their presence would have saved Perry Farrell's troubled travelling circus is a moot point, but a year later Korn were heading out on a genre-straddling jaunt of their own. The irony wasn't entirely lost on Korn.
"I think the Family Values Tour brings back what Lollapalooza was shooting for before it turned out to be a corporate deal," said Jeff Kwatinetz, a partner in Korn's management company The Firm.
Billed as a "sound and sight extravaganza that no fan will ever forget", the first Family Values tour took in 27 American cities during the winter of 1998. As well as Korn, the production promised four other acts. Rammstein, Ice Cube, the then relatively unknown Limp Bizkit and Orgy made up the bill, playing in front of elaborate sets on a revolving stage, all for an admission charge of less than $30. At the time, America's "alternative" youth were still struggling to fill the post-grunge void. Aside from Korn and Marilyn Manson, the market was dominated by established arena acts Metallica and Pearl jam. The Family Values package proved to be a marketing masterstroke. Not only did it act as a catalyst for the nascent nu-metal scene, it also helped establish its driving dynasty.
Family Values had been aptly named. "Politicians say rock music is destroying our youth. We named it Family Values to piss those people off," Korn singer Jonathan Davis told Rolling Stone. But there was also an air of nepotism about the whole affair. Openers Orgy were the first signings to the Korn frontman's Elementree imprint and Limp Bizkit were The Firm's baby band at the time.
The shows wore spectacular, with each band attempting to outshine the one before. Limp Bizkit emerged each night from the bowels of a giant spaceship. Ice Cube's set was dominated by a massive Mount Rushmore-esque carving of his likeness. Rammstein singer Till Lindemann would arrive onstage in a - quite literally - smoking jacket before shooting fiery arrows across the audience's heads. Meanwhile, the headliners played in front of a "Korn Cage" filled with fans and strippers. "It was fun to watch every night," remembers Korn's bassist, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu. "We could feel that we had created something special. There was an open floor and the kids got to go crazy." Once the tour had rolled out of town, the kids "got to go crazy" in the local record stores. In all, the package played to 243,000 people and grossed over $6.4 million. But the real success story was what happened next. Korn's just-released third album Follow The Leader, became their mainstream breakthrough. Rammstein's Sehnsucht album achieved platinum sales status in America. Yet, most notably of all, Limp Bizkit went into the tour having sold 400,000 copies of their Three Dollar Bill Y'All debut album, and left it with enough momentum to reach the two million mark.

Now that’s the true value of family.

Tours in the Top 10
1966 – The Beatles 1966 World Tour
1972 – Stones North American Tour
1975 – The Rolling Thunder Revue (incl. Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell)
1976 – Anarchy Tour (incl. Sex Pistols, Damned, Clash)
1987 – DefJam Tour
1989 – Nirvana’s SubPop Tour
1990 – Madonna’s Blond Ambition Tour
1992 – Rollercoaster Tour (incl. Jesus & Mary Chain, Blur)
1998 – Family Values Tour
2001 – U2’s Elevation Tour

© 2005 Sue Lindemann