All In | Brian Welch Interview

we're super excited today we just had an awesome opportunity to go just be backstage with Brian Welch lead guitarist of corn they were avant-garde in really many ways started a new metal talked a little bit about just how the band started how you guys got together and really kind of just your rise to stardom I was born in LA and then the fourth grade my parents were like let's move to Bakersfield by the age of 10 I started playing guitar I just really loved music I met the guys fourth fifth sixth grade up to ninth it was 1992 or three and all the guys in the band had been connected somehow or another besides the singer they asked me to join the band about 93 we had a different singer we played one show and then just we walked the video back and said you know I you guys want to get trying to find another singer and we're like yes let's do it we went to a club and there was a band playing and that's where we saw Jonathan Davis so he came down and fell in love with the heavy music we were playing and you know it's crazy he went to see a psychic and a psychic told him if you if you go and do this you're gonna be famous she didn't give us the information that we were gonna almost die from drugs a couple of us and we were gonna be a wreck and it was gonna be hard and the party was gonna all our families we're gonna be ruined you know we didn't hear that part of it but only the good so talk about that I mean in the sense of kind of the the rise of corn and just the incredible stardom that you guys have experienced certainly there was some great parts of that and then there were some dark parts of that so to speak talk to us a little bit about that we were just kids and we didn't know - we didn't know how to accept it we didn't know how to maintain it we didn't know how to be good husbands or Father's we we just tried you know and we had yes men all over you know just anything and we're so famous at the time and powerful that people didn't really have the boldness to do it but climbing climbing the charts and everything was fun you know being able to see us see MTV just grab a hold of us and the record labels really loving and loving us and so that stuff was funny right and go to the ward shows I went to an award show won MTV Moonman and then went to a small little after-party I walk in and Paul McCartney and Madonna is talking at the bar and I'm just like it didn't get cooler than that you know so those were the good times but then for instance that night we we drink so much my wife ended up scoring some coke we would decide to do drugs together and then it was a thing where okay let's not do drugs and then if some if one of us would find the drugs instead of getting yelled at we would keep it a secret and just go do it and try to play it off very sick and so that night she went into the she found some I went into the bathroom and she did Co that she came out and just I could tell then it would start a fight then we left and then kind of a big old fight in our hotel room and it was always like that just a bad relationship and a bad relationship and just thinking that we were you know God's gift to the world understand you know we were just prideful and it just seemed like whenever we got really high you know I'm trying to envision everything but like some high moments in life I playing Woodstock 99 there are 200,000 people there then there was something that was really bad afterwards that would have happened and I just couldn't enjoy the lifestyle talk to us about some of them in essence all the incredible you know the fame the stardom created some crisis in your life talk about the in essence kind of some of the crisis that it created but I remember after the Woodstock to go back to that ended up getting home my parents were watching our baby Jenaya day they saw us and they were like whoa they're there a train wreck and they left we put the baby to bed that night and my ex-wife was just she was out of her mind she punched me in the back of the head just just going and I would take it a lot you know and then that night I just I swung on just to get her away from me I just swung and next thing you know her nose exploded and blood on her face I just felt like I was in the gutter man and I'm like why doesn't my life make sense why doesn't why can't I get this relationship together why can't we figure things out and it was a it was a sad existence for a while and then the guys in the band all of us giving it up getting divorced around a three-year period we didn't know who we were we didn't know who we wanted to be we were just given this rock stardom you know and we didn't know how to take it when I got divorced I was like okay I'm done with drugs you know because I got full custody I got sober and I was sober for months I was working out the gym I was eating like right and everything and I'm like I felt so good and I felt like I was doing it and then 9/11 happened and I don't know man it just brought this darkness saw me the whole world was depressed you know and it was like I started drinking again and by that time I moved back to Bakersfield war Korn started where my family still lives to this day I had a root canal got vicodin and that was a bad thing it was I was jumping from one thing to another cuz I just I wanted an escape you know it's like I was trying to find pleasure and all these things that we're gonna just demolish me and you know eat me alive but I swore I was him do crystal meth cuz I used to do crystal meth with my wife off and on we always had it under control we do it like a couple nights or whatever ended up drinking with some some friends and I ended up scoring some and just promised everybody myself included that I was just gonna do it one night then it turned into a week and I did math longer than I've ever had in my life so I go for a full year doing meth and I'm just like God okay I'll quit after this to where I gotta quit you know I've always quit I've always quit you know I'd do it and then stop and I couldn't stop now and then after a year I'm like okay I'm really gonna I got to put this down I can't put meth into my body 365 days straight so I got off for like a day and a half and I thought I felt like I was gonna kill myself and so I ran back to the dealer and got some more I ran out of drugs in Germany and had my friend send me meth to Germany in the bin FedEx and so that's when I was like this is the worst I got a kid at home I can't be doing this I gotta do something I have to do something I went to outpatient rehab and suddenly I started telling people hey I'm an addict I need help and that's when I was the most functioning Tweaker you'd ever met I was doing real estate deals I was making money I put the face on but these two guys I was doing business deals with was they were Christian and oh we're talking about building this neighborhood out by the airport Bakersfield and everything and they just invited me to come to church in the like I'm gonna go maybe this is what I need to hang around with some sober people so I go into Church not even thinking that God is real I'm just thinking I got to get around different people and then they everyone starts talking that God is real and that have come and live inside of you and all the bad things in your life can't stay if you start a relationship if you're struggling with something I'm just like I asked Christ in my life when I was 12 but I didn't know it was real and started thinking about then I'm like maybe that was something that I did that was that meant something but I totally went the opposite way and so my life is ruined now and I'm an addict and my everything's failed besides Korn maybe that's why I'm a miserable rock star maybe and so I was like okay first things first let's get off the drugs and I received Christ that day I was like you know Lord come and live inside of me please help me and I went home I started praying I'm like maybe this is it it was weird because I felt guilty and I felt ashamed and but then I felt all this hope too and people were teaching me like you know he forgives everything and cuz I was like man I was a the poor know so bad I was I treated people or horribly I was a bad father I was just all that stuff and so you know I went home this is what got me free from drugs it was a touch from from the Lord from through the Holy Spirit Oh however it worked I was at home and I was reading the Bible thinking you know I know I know this is real how do I know this is real and I felt just I don't know how to explain it I just try every time it's just it was like the Christ life like God poured into me and I called it liquid love in my book and it was just a piece that that surrounded me and like an embrace and it was like it was like God just say in your home you're like you're your home and you're gonna wake up finally and everything's forgiven and after that is funny I started having I like to say as a joke that I was cursed with positive thoughts because I stopped doing drugs and I'm like man everything's gonna be fine before it was like kill yourself you're your daughter's gonna be better off without you and all this and I had suicidal thoughts all the time and I would mix uppers and downers xanax and speed I just was filled with hope and I went for it I was all-in we talked about that earlier I was all-in because I found the meaning of life yeah there's this period of time you know go to church come back surrender your life to Christ and then really my understanding is Brian in a three-week period of time you had a twenty three million dollar record deal on the table with Korn you leave Korn 23 million dollars on the table all-in for the person of Jesus Christ and all in in terms of just knowing that you wanted to just be the father to Jenaya that you knew that you need to do it after you made that decision certainly there was certainly some Christ following people that were excited about that they you know certainly cheer John but there's a lot of other people didn't cheer young when he made that decision so talk to us about that whole kind of storm of three that three-week period of time basically they said we're gonna give you all your next three four years up front all the money up front and then but we pretty much own you and you're gonna go and tour and everything you make comes comes to us I couldn't be that person anymore I needed to be the number one thing and I everybody can relate to is Parenthood you know and it's like we don't want to be failures as parents and I was a failure and so I was like I don't care how much money that is I'm I got to be home with my daughter and I got to figure myself out and and follow Christ and see where what he has for me and so I was all in man and it was hard because a lot of the fans just started mocking me and I called him down myself one day I was a big rock star next to him in Israel getting baptized with a beard and a white robe looking like Jesus so but it was it was fun for me too because I was like I didn't care what no one thought anymore it was like I was trying to be cool and and I just wanted to be I just wanted to know God that was it and be a good father period and so when in the media got mocked by some other musicians and everything and came to a time where I was just like I just need to go away and just be a dad and don't be in the media at all and so I went away that was it for the next 2 3 4 years me and my daughter was just like low-key and Baker sorry Phoenix Arizona just taking her to school and just doing life you know going to church finding out how close can a person actually get to God because I was at home for hours just like I would read out of worship it totally set me free from unbelief and everything because I would teeter-totter sometimes go like what if I'm believing a lot you know because it's just your head but then after though after that season all those are gone maybe just give people a little bit of picture Brian Welch before Christ Brian Welch after he comes to know Christ had some good times before Christ but ended up becoming an empty shell with nothing inside no meaning inside no meaning in life after Christ full of meaning full of purpose if you go all-in with Jesus he will show you that the meaning of life and what it what is what it's all for and so I could be doing I could be failing at music and like I did as a solo artist after following Jesus I could be successful again with corn like I'm doing now all and the New Testament said that I've learned to live content in living in lack and having plenty and that secret is I can do all things through Christ and that's basically talking about relationship you know the relationship with Jesus I can do all things through him in my relationship with him and so that's me after Christ it's just every contentment you know nothing's perfect but there's just a river or ocean of peace inside of me that even when I go through hard difficult things you know that he's got this I was super intrigued Brian just about your journey in the sense of all in fully surrendered to what Christ wanted to do in your life totally change your life and then here a few years ago you returned to corn and talked about the decision to go back to corn and and I know you didn't need to then they have to go do that decision talk to us about why you went back and what God's done kind of as a result my whole story was leaving corn to follow Jesus you know and so that was my story and so I didn't want to tarnish that story because a lot of people especially the youth group parents look looked at me like a hero you know see he can do it stay out of the world kids look at this guy you know and then the kids looked up to me too there was a lot going on when I left those eight years I mean there was drugs there was groupies there was crew members that were just not good for the band you know and so after being back in the band and talk to these guys it seems like once they got life figured out and got that stuff out of there then that's when God sent me back it's crazy the hard drugs were gone people start having kids again they just had epiphanies they woke up everybody believes in God in their way I went on tours Pio Dee there rock band you know and ended up at a corn concert ended up seeing all of them for the first time in years and they asked me to play a song and everybody was so excited including me my daughter was there and then it was in a media the next day all over the rock-and-roll media and everyone's like we never thought this would happen it's been a long time they asked me to come back and I was I didn't I still was like No thank you so much but I'm my stories I left it you know but then it was gnawing at my soul and I just I went away for like 30 days and just my daughter was with grandparents and I just got into my house and I was just like is there anything on this and then I had like three people that are really trusted I was talking to them I started to realized that it was pretty clear that pretty biblical to go back to your old people you know after Jesus set the demoniac free cuz I go back to people and tell them everything God done for you so I started getting these just revelations and I was supposed to do that and then I'm like oh gosh here's here it goes here goes the porn fans gonna be happy Christians are gonna be like we knew it he was never one of us he's just going back to the dog returns to his vomit that type of thing and I'm like no really Jesus is leaving this you know you don't understand well what about those songs what about the the cursing and all that if we're gonna get upset over some swear words you know then guess what we ain't can I reach nobody so I had to get some religious taking out of me religiousness taking out of me and so because I was just like no this is my story what are you doing Lord lead me guide me he's like I'm leading you there right so I'm like you're gonna mess everything up boy you know as you've said this is your tribe these are your people and I think I was just so compelled drawn to a seeing you be able to share your faith in a way that people can understand it yeah they can get it and you know you did it with authenticity with integrity into the places that you're putting yourself so that that Christ can be seen and and how that you're leveraging your story and and even you're paying a lot of it was done after giving my life to Christ you know because he makes us stronger through trials and tribulations and it's not for the weak man it's not for the weak it's uh it's for those who are open to finding something worth dying for you know and it's like dying could not be like human life dying but it could be just that dying through circumstances and watching God raise things back to life you know circumstances through life everything's dead everything's hope is gone and then BOOM he fixes it yeah he is the resurrection and the life and so I've seen so many resurrections happen in my life and got through all this pain and I wouldn't change any of the pain I know Ryan that there's gonna be people that are gonna watch this interview who are huge corn fans I've been following you maybe for years they're not sure really what they believe or what they think about God but they're hanging on by a thread what would you tell him what would you say to him today oh it's just like them and the thing is we're kind of wired not to believe but when you bring your humility to God he'll show you the meaning of life and it doesn't all happen at once mine was done like it was kind of dramatic the the the change but then I struggled with you know I know I think it's real I think it's real but what if it's not you know and so and the hill starts to peel back the layers of unbelief God does over time and then all of a sudden you're in and you're just like you find the meaning of life and look you can be yourself I always tell people be yourself you know got to turn into some cookie cutter Christian dude you definitely got that down that look it looks like everybody else but I'm telling you your life if you're just living your life and doing your own thing it's like there's at the end of it all you're just gonna be like there's no meaning here you know God said that if you seek me you will find me if you search for me with all your heart so that's it you search for him with all your heart and it's time it's time for people just wake up you know because there's so much more to life and God says it will prove it to you it'll prove it to you by the Holy Spirit gives you a deposit as a guarantee no other religion can guarantee except Christianity because he gives you the Holy Spirit as a guarantee so you know it's a what's a deposit it's a little down payment on something the bigger the bigger amount that's coming right and so that's what he gives you and so that's why I tell everybody you know if I've done my part I've told you that it's real and that God will guarantee and show you that it's real so it's up to you now thanks so much for being willing to share your story and how you're sharing your story and I just know that all kinds of people are gonna be blessed by even our conversation today so thanks so much for the appreciate thank you so my pleasure to hang with you guys and talk to you right and I love you guys so much love everybody you

Channel: Pathway Church

Views: 1,490

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: korn, pathway church, todd carter, rock, hard rock

Id: S-JJlvVMqhE

Length: 21min 10sec (1270 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 06 2020