Ex-KORN Guitarist: 'It's Easy For People To Be Brave Behind A Computer Screen And Nit-Pick You'

James Wright of Blistering.com recently conduced an interview with former KORN guitarist Brian "Head" Welch. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Blistering.com: Do you think that the way KORN blew up into mainstream success changed people and their attitudes?

Head: The most fun I had in KORN was when we were working our way up, but once we got to the top it was sort of like, "Well, now where do we go?" And there was only one way to go and that was down. We still head it and KORN was still huge, but it was sort of like we had climbed this mountain and once we got to the top the fun was gone. It became a career instead of a dream.

Blistering.com: Are you climbing the mountain again with your solo material?

Head: Yeah, totally, but it's different now because it's not about me fulfilling my dreams of being a rock star; it's about people enjoying the music. I went to a concert recently and I was always the one on stage, but I was in the crowd watching and could see all the fans singing the songs and how happy they were. It just hit me at that point that it wasn't about the artist, but the gift the artist has and pleasing the people.

Blistering.com: Your solo album really takes listeners back to the sound of old KORN.

Head: Thanks, man. I kinda went back to the things that I love. I lost having fun with music and when I quit the band I was able to go back and I could just do what I love. So I went back and discovered the sound that I love without worrying if radio would play it or anything like that. Also, I got to talk about the things that I went through, so there was this connection between the new me and the old me.

Blistering.com: You've been very outspoken about your faith, but is it hard to live up to the expectations of what some members of the church expect you to be?

Head: I just do what I do. The only ones that have attacked me were the MySpace people and sent me messages. It's easy for people to be brave behind a computer screen and nit-pick you, but when they meet you in person, they are nicer and would say things like, "Not judging you or anything, but what's with the girls in the video?" I don't feel pressure, because to me the album is real life. It's sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, but I got saved from that. I don't see what the difference is between talking about it and putting it into video form and showing it. I'm not going to do this cheesy Christian video that some people want me to do.

Read the entire interview at Blistering.com.