Brian “Head” Welch, ex-guitarist for rock band Korn, is coming to the end of a book signing tour promoting his memoir, which became one of the top 20 books on the New York Times Bestsellers list after only one week.
Welch will read from Save Me From Myself: How I Found God, Quit Korn, Kicked Drugs, and Lived to Tell My Story at the Borders Book and Music in Oak Brook, Ill., near Chicago, Wednesday evening, following visits to cities including New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Phoenix, and Los Angeles.
The book, which released July 7, is a reflection of the Korn founder’s dramatic conversion story. In it, Welch explains the evolution of Korn and how his life ended up in so much pain. He also relives his greatest difficulty: an addiction to meth that he could not break, even with the birth of his first daughter
“I got hooked on methamphetamines the last two years I was in Korn, and I did meth everyday,” explained the guitarist in an interview this month with The Christian Post. “I wanted to quit [but] I couldn’t quit. I tried to quit. I went to rehab, and I just couldn’t quit.
“[One night I prayed] ‘Lord, if You’re real … please take these drugs from me. Make them go away. Reveal Yourself to me and all that.’ I think in a week or two, I got the urge to throw away all my drugs with the help of a friend. I was done.”
For more than a decade, Welch played as lead guitarist and garnered huge success in mainstream music. The band's CDs went platinum, they won multiple Grammys, and Welch amassed incredible wealth. Beneath all that, however, the musician felt trapped.
"The enthusiasm from Korn's early days was gone. I just sat there in so much dark depression,” writes Welch in his new book. “How did I get here?...Why is my life such a nightmare?...It felt like I was under a curse, honestly. I was stuck. And it didn't look like I was ever going to get out."
In 2005, at a 10,000-person concert people in Bakersfield, California, Welch shocked millions of his fans around the world by telling them he had found God and that he was leaving the band.
He says only through God was he able to kick the habit – a life-changing event that he says proved the Lord’s true existence to him.
The final destination for Welch’s book signing tour is Bakersfield, Calif., where he’ll be on Aug. 1.
On the Web: Brian Welch’s tour schedule.
Christian Post reporter Kevin Jackson in New York contributed to this article.
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I am so thankful for this story! I never liked heavy metal before, but had many non-Christian friends that did. So I am so hopeful that these type of people that they look up to, if they can be converted and have there eyes open to the truth, this will in turn have a really Great impact on there fans. I hope that this will continue throughout many celebrities and musicians!
Thank you Jesus! You are so worthly of ALL praise!
I finished Save Me From Myself last night. It was a decent book. It's obvious that Welch is new to writing. It's also obvious Welch hasn't been a Christian very long. His testimony is powerful, however. I look forward to getting this book into the hands of the kids I work with. They're Korn fans and also meth addicts.
Thanks for your coverage of Brian "Head" Welch and his conversion to Christ. Here's are a couple of original song that depict his conversion and a recent personal encounter I had with him (first song).
Korn Off Da Kob
Dr BLT
words and music by Dr BLT (c) 2007
Shrink Rapped Records
http://www.drblt.net/music/KORNoffDA.mp3
Tradin' in Korn (For a Krown of Thorns)
Dr BLT
words and music by Dr BLT (c) 2007
http://www.drblt.net/music/TradininKorn.mp3