Cheryl Anderson of PostCrescent.com recently conducted an interview with former KORN guitarist Brian “Head” Welch. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
On the events that led to him leaving KORN in 2005 and rededicating his life to Christ:
Welch: It was a lot of things, but I’d say the worst thing was my drug addiction. I was addicted to meth, and what really scared me is when I had my drug dealer send me a couple 8-balls over the mail to Europe because I ran out. I was risking too much. … I was risking his freedom. I was risking my freedom, my daughter’s life and everything. That was the lowest point. For me, it scared me. I was like, I’m over this. And the KORN stuff, as we got big it seemed like all this stuff was going wrong at home. So I was always trying to clean up messes at home and fixing everything. … I was just ready; I was ready for a change. I couldn’t leave KORN. I was addicted to the money and the fame and everything. I called out to Christ and I just felt the power. … I got the selfishness taken out of me, you know. And I started thinking about other people. … Failure is a great teacher.
On KORN fans’ shock when they learned he made the decision to quit:
Welch: Yeah, totally. I made it worse. I grew my beard out, and then I got offered a ticket to go to Jerusalem to get baptized in the Jordan River … so I was in a white robe in a beard and there were pictures of it. Everyone was laughing; is this a joke? Is this a thing (KORN) is doing for publicity? But it was real for me. I had real tears and real life-changing things were happening to me. … It’s not about getting all squeaky clean and being all religious on the outside. It’s all about your heart on the inside. The true change comes from within. …God connects with your heart.
On his take on the youth today and how he hopes to change them through his story and music:
Welch: My temptations when I was a kid were like marijuana, drinking beer and my dad’s Playboy and R-rated movies. That was it. The kids today — there’s stuff everywhere. Kids are getting hooked on porn really young, and drugs and pills are everywhere.… It’s just crazier now. And I think it’s going to get a lot worse. I’m not a gloom and doom guy… but there’s going to be a lot of heartache and addictions if we don’t do something. I’m glad to share my story that the fame and the rock star stuff it’s not what people think. It ruined people’s lives and more in the KORN camp. …Call it fun, but at the end of the day, your life’s ruined. I want to spread that message to everyone.
On whether he is working on any new music:
Welch: I’m working with Jason Rauch, one of the producers of the band RED. We’re writing together and hopefully we’re going to have something out definitely before next spring or I’m going to lose my mind. It’s like three years since my album came out. I need to move forward.
Read the entire interview at PostCrescent.com.
