Ex-Korn guitarist Brian Welch and daughter discuss his addiction as he recalls 'masking himself with alcohol'
In the latest candid interview, former Korn guitarist Brian "Head" Welch and his daughter, Jennea Welch, spoke about the artiste's past and his freedom from addiction. Brian sat down with host Natalie Manuel Lee of 'Now With Natalie' to open up about his life and encouraged those struggling with addiction to quit drugs. Watch the interview below.
On Saturday, October 17, Lee shared a link to the video of her interview with the famous musician and commented about her time with him via social media. "There are many of us who have OR are dealing with addictions that we rarely discuss," she began in the caption for a photo of her and Brian. She noted, "@brianheadwelch was VERY transparent with his story, with his struggles with addiction and how he overcame it! It’s very imperative that we don’t define ourselves by the addictions and then allow it to produce shame in our life." "His daughter @jenneawelch was very vocal about how it affected her as a child and what is produced in her," Lee added and concluded with, "A MUST watch for anyone struggling with ADDICTION or MENTAL health of any kind!! Thank you again @brianheadwelch and @jenneawelch !!✨✨✨" Check out her post here.
In beginning of the interview, Brian discussed a variety of topics, including what it was like being in the band, being a single dad after his divorce with his wife, Rebekah, and more. Describing his early days with Korn, Brian said, "I was just a kid, man. It was kind of like we were a frat party. It was just drinking all the time. Wake up and drink. Have some dinner, drink some more. Hang out with the fans, the girls and then stay up till the sun's coming up and then go to bed, sleep till 3:00. Just repeat. And so it was just a cycle of that." He then explained, "I felt safe as I masked myself with alcohol and drugs. I was a functioning alcohol and drug addict."
In the first segment with Jennea, she discussed what it was like when her dad was on tours. When asked what was her worst memory, Jennea said that as a child during her "third or fourth birthday", her mother "showed up with skinheads at my birthday party and was like, 'Hey, Jennea', like nothing ever happened." "I think the worst memory was her showing up and leaving. It was pretty hard. I blocked it out for so long because it hurt so bad." Brian then spoke about becoming a born-again Christian and how he had faced criticism and judgement from his fans and fellow Christians. When asked about projecting his honest self in his 2018 documentary 'Loud Krazy Love', Brian explained, "You know, there are so many people that are stuck in the depravitiy of their secrets, and if I didn't share the deepest darkest secrets, I feel like it's an injustice to humanity, because they need to know how unoffendable Jesus is and that he can deal with any of their ugly."
Further topics included how the artiste struggled with his faith, finding himself and what it was like trying to be a good father who was struggling with mental health issues. The entire half-an-hour interview truly turned up, close and personal and had many heart-on-sleeve moments and honesty that many celebrities wouldn't easily share. Fans in the comments on YouTube were inspired by the interview. One fan said, "This was such a great interview Natalie, very though provoking... I love Brian and his story is so touching and honest and real...Love Brain and Jennea and all that they do for humanity..They are such a light in the Mental Health world .."
Another wrote, "Cried 😭 such an amazing and moving interview". Another fan called it "Dynamic," adding, "I LOVE this platform. All of the interviews are great and NEEDED." One fan wrote, "Love and humility... 🔥🔥🔥🔥."