When I was a kid, I didn't dream of becoming a rock star someday, I dreamt I was a rock star already.

I got my first guitar on my twelfth birthday and in Junior High, I put together my first band with some of my buddies from school.

About that same time, the popular press, TV and Magazines all said GOD WAS DEAD! I think it started in Europe and spread quickly to the USA. It didn't matter to me however—I didn't believe in God anyway—

ELVIS WAS MY GOD!

My band got our union cards and started making some "real" money playing Top-40 Songs in dance halls, ballrooms and nightclubs even though half of us were underage.

I found myself in jail a few times and my parents disowned me. I was a total disgrace to them so I moved out. HEY, I was sixteen. I could take care of myself.

We had a good band and even got to play
on a live TV teen band-stand program. We played with all the big-name stars who came through our area and we were in the middle of recording an album when our leader got killed in a freak motorcycle accident. We had only half the album finished when that happened.

That band, The Starfires are currently in the Rock & Roll Halls of Fame in three different states: Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota.

One of my drummer buddies from high school was BUDDY MILES. I heard he was playing with Jimi Hendrix out in California so I packed my guitar and a duffel bag of clothes and hitched a ride to California to look him up. I wanted him to introduce me to HENDRIX.

HENDRIX WAS MY GOD!

I didn’t quite make it all the way to California though, I got stuck in Arizona living on a hippie commune for a while, experimenting with all kinds of different drugs.

I’m an artist—so, to survive, I sold lots of artwork of my FAVORITE GODS: Paul McCartney and Mic Jagger for example...

I WORSHIPED them.

I also made a bunch of different psychedelic black-light posters, bumper-stickers and such for quick money.

Nearly all my money was consumed on drugs. I could not stop. I was such a fool. As you can tell by the attached photo, the drugs were not doing me any good. I only weighed 120 pounds.

I finally made it to Hollywood in 1970 and all the newspaper headlines blasted: DRUGS KILL JIMI HENDRIX AT 24—OVERDOSE! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...

HE CAN’T BE DEAD—
JIMI HENDRIX IS A GOD!!!!!

As fate would have it, a friend introduced me to the Doors' equipment manager and knowing they didn't have a bass player, I thought maybe I could become their new bass player.

Suddenly, I had a NEW GOD and without any hesitation, I joined the
road crew setting up equipment and stuff—hoping I could JAM with them and they’d see what a good bass-player I was.

In 1971, Jim Morrison took his girlfriend Pam to Paris for a little vacation—but they never came back. They found him DEAD in his Paris hotel bath tub.

My Door of opportunity suddenly slammed shut.

OHH NOOOOOOOOO.... NOT AGAIN!!!!
ALL MY GODS WERE DYING!!!!

There were rumors going around Hollywood at that time, that the Jesus Freaks were just a bunch of drug addicts that used Jesus to get off the drugs. Everyone mocked them.

I tried everything to quit drugs... but nothing worked. I didn't want to die like Hendrix and
Morrison, but I was doing all the same drugs and alcohol that killed them.

That's why, when I saw a Jesus Freak hitch-hiking down Sunset Boulevard one afternoon, I decided to pick him up and ask him if it was true about them getting off the drugs with Jesus. I knew he was a Jesus Freak because he had long hair and had a big black Bible under his arm.

He hopped into my van and very first thing he said was, "Dude, DO YOU KNOW JESUS?”

“SURE” I replied confidently, "He was born in a manger and..."

"No" he interrupted, "I didn't ask if you knew ABOUT him, I asked if you knew HIM—PERSONALLY!"

"PERSONALLY?" I said shrugging my shoulders "How can I know someone who died two thousand years ago personally?"

"DUDE" he chuckled, "Remember Easter?"

(face-palm to the forehead)

"Oh Yeah.....EASTER!"

He told me that Jesus was ALIVE and that His Holy Spirit was right there seated in my van with us .

"No way."

"Yah Way."

"Right here?"

"Um-hmm!"

"Really?"

"Yeah Really!"

He said he was on his way to his weekly bible study/prayer group meeting and he invited me to go with him—I was curious—so I went.

That night, I made a major decision.
I decided to BELIEVE God is REAL for a change instead of doubting.
I decided to BELIEVE that the Bible was true—NOT just a book of fairy tales and fables.

Kneeling at the altar, I looked up to heaven and said. "Jesus, if you're really real, please come into my heart and help me kick the drugs."

Almost immediately, a million pounds was lifted off of me.

That decision changed everything.

I hung-up my Rock and Roll and gave myself over to totally serving the Lord with my talents.

When I went to quit my band, the drummer said mockingly, "Awww... you're just using Jesus as a CRUTCH to get off drugs."

"YEAH—EXACTLY!!!
You figure that out all by yourself,
did ya?"

(I almost became the first martyr in my family line.)

My new Jesus-Freak friends told me that I needed to go buy a Bible.

So I went out and bought me a Genuine Leather King James Bible—
Red Letter Edition—and immediately opened it to the BACK—
yeah, that's right—
the book of Revelation—

I wanted to see how it all ends!!!

Guess what...

WE WIN!!!!