“I just share the truth, the whole truth, you know, nothing but the truth,” said Korn guitarist Brian (Head) Welch. “From my past, drug addiction and all of that, from my spiritual awakening and all that stuff. I lay it all out.”
Welch and former Collective Soul drummer Shane Evans are just two of the many speakers who have dropped by the Rock Teen Center.
They were both here back in September.
“It’s the perfect stage for the kids we’re reaching out to,” said Mark Savale, teen center director at Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock. “So having them come and speak was huge because they look up to them.
“A guy like Brian who has dreads down to here, tattoos everywhere, but beyond that he’s a changed guy from where he was,” Savale continued.
“So I got everything when I was in Korn back in the day,” Welch said. “I had doctors that would write me prescriptions whenever I wanted.
“I had drug dealers bringing me the best coke, amphetamines,” Welch continued. “I was addicted to everything.”
Welch reunited with Korn this year after leaving the band back in 2005.
“I was handed this gift of music and success, but I was wasting it,” Welch said. “I also had a daughter and she was 6 years old and I was looking at this perfect little angel and I was snorting at a raging party.
“I had to figure it out, so I ended up in the church,” he continued.
Welch talked to the teens at the center about his destructive lifestyle, becoming a Christian and eventually getting clean.
“We can show there is hope, but it’s up to them to reach out and grab it,” Evans said.
Evans also dove into the life of drugs and alcohol. He first shared his story at the center earlier this year.
“So I was sort of pacing, but at some point a real peace settled,” Evans said.
Evans hopes sharing what he went through can show other young people that it’s never too late to get clean and sober.
“Everything that has been given to me, I have a responsibility to give it to someone else,” Evans said.
It’s helping that one person get their life back on track that both musicians said makes all the difference.
“So hearing stories like that takes away any big check I got in Korn, way better than that,” Welch said.
Coming up next Saturday, Dec. 7, is Alice Cooper’s 13th annual Christmas Pudding event at Comerica Theatre.
Some of the rockers hitting the stage that night are Rob Zombie, Joan Jett and members of KISS.
All proceeds benefit Solid Rock and the Rock Teen Center.
For more information visit www.alicecoopersolidrock.com
