Part Two - July, 1994

Jeff: We have got a friend with us, Craig Goldy. Who has been lead guitarist for some major rock groups, Dio and Gia Frea. He's worked with, written songs for David Lee Roth from Van Halen. He has written songs for movies. He has toured the Monsters Of Rock Tour, where they had 80,000 or more people at every concert. Goldy has been a Christian, he gave his heart to the Lord as a young person. By young, I'm talking when he was 13 years old, he gave his heart to the Lord. Then he wandered away. Well, he's back and he's rededicated his live to the Lord. Well, we did a program together, where you kinda talked about how you'd gotten saved as a kid. And then you kinda wandered away. You went through chronologically some of the things, where you felt God had anointed you, and was doing some neat things with your music. But you then started going real heavy into the rock thing. I think where we left off before, you were talking about how you wanted to witness. But you were kinda in the middle of a very hellish kind of enviroment. You want to come up to speed from there?

Craig: After a show, especially a large show, they didn't really want to meet me. They wanted to meet the guitar player of the band that played. It could have been any body. But because it was considered to be great, exalted, all these people came to see it. They think if they can get close to the exalted people, then some way, shape or form, they would feel great too. So, while they were talking to me...

Jeff: It's a major let down alot of times, too, when people meet the 'exalted one' that is being exalted, and find out they're probably more skrewed up then they are themselves. :) Anyway...

Craig: Well, based on the history of musicians going in or out of towns, they normally get invited to do drugs. Or get invited up to hotel rooms because the girls want to be with them sexually or whatever it is. They're not used to hearing the word 'No'. Just that one word 'No' throws off the conversation. I might have been sitting there with a drink in my hand, :) but the whole point is that...

Jeff: You were kinda compromising here.

Craig: Yeah, we were talking about life...

Jeff: Well, why did you wander away? When you were a young guy, high school, and you gave your heart to the Lord. How did you wind up in this compromising type situation that you found yourself in?

Reeni: It was like you were seduced really away from it.

Jeff: Was it the money? Or?

Craig: Well, number one, I was living in a car, sleeping in a car on the streets. Sleeping on couches that were only really meant for dogs to sleep on.

Jeff: And it wasn't an Aston-Martin, was it? :)

Craig: And so, when I had an opportunity to play in a band, where my favorite singer of all time was producing it, I jumped on the chance. And alot of times, I got seduced for the same reasons other people do. They just want to do something with what they feel they can do good at and make money for it. Once I got in, with good intentions of being able to witness to people, things just started to happen. Once you get what you wish for, it comes in it's true form, not necessarily what you wished for. And all of a sudden reality smacks in the face, and you've got hell instead of heaven. And so, I got lost inside of all sorts of typical ways of rock'n'roll. And alot of it had to do with me just being selfish oriented. And for whatever reasons it was, I was easily seduced into it. Basically, I feel that kind of music preys on people who have turned their back on normal life or normal love or anything like that.

Jeff: You mean by that kind of music some of the dark metal stuff, some of the things singing about the occult?

Craig: I don't mean its the devil's music or anything like that, because the devil can use anything to cause some one to steer away from God.

Jeff: Well, he uses Country music, too. He uses anything.

Reeni: He even uses Scripture.

Craig: Absolutely.

Jeff: And there's even, I'm sure, there's even songs being sung in churches, that some people would try to twist for their own thing here. So, what do you think the first look at Jesus should be?

Craig: Something that doesn't repel people. I'm not saying that the ends justify the means, let's go off and be blasphemous in order to save souls. I was talking about some lyrics that came to my head the other night, where it's not exactly hidden or a puzzle, but God is presented. They need to see Christianity in a way that they feel they could be that kind of Christian. But not blasphemous.

Jeff: Aren't we talking personality here though? Because the Word of God says, My Word will not return void, but it will go forth to accomplish that which I have sent it out to accomplish.

Craig: Absolutely, that's true.

Jeff: But isn't it the motive of the heart? I think the operative word here is 'insincere' hypocrisy. I think when you have a guy walk up to you in a Matterus jacket with, well I started to say, with a beenie on. :) But I don't want to go too far here. You could have some one walk up to you. And if he looked at you and you could see sincerity in his eyes, even at your worst moment, if you really felt that sincerity, you're not going to turn him away. You're talking about insincerity. 'Look at us. We've got it all together. We've put our flowers on the stage. We've put our trees up indoors. It all looks so beautiful. And now we're all going to stand up here and say, 'Bless the Lord. This is the day that the Lord has made.' And it becomes some kind of a performance. It could be preceived that way?

Craig: I'm not saying I have a problem with the traditional christians, because I love that. When I was a kid, I loved going to Baptist churches. And I loved going to the Black churches and stuff. I love the traditional church. My only point is insincerity. Even the sincere traditional christian can't get through to these kids, because it's a language interpretation. It's like a Japanese person trying to speak with a person who speaks English. And neither of them have a clue about the other's language. They may be sincere in wanting to be able to do business together or even have lunch or even to say 'get out of my way.' But because it is a completely different way, a different language almost to these kids, they're not reached. Because these kids have had love and family and everything ripped from them, most often. Most of the times most heavy metal rock'n'roll kids have turned that way, because that lifestyle has opened its arms to them. Whatever it is, alot of the times it goes back to the family and how they were treated. Once you've felt that, it's so easy to be seduced by the rock'n'roll lifestyle.

Jeff: But also, what's being played seduces. Alot of times musicians will play what's in their hearts. We're going to put it out there. If we're searchung, if we're hurting, if we're violent, we'll put it out there. I just did a book for Harrison House. In the book I talked about coming out of the youth prison. As a kid I was in and out of jail. I had a hardened heart. I was nasty. So alot of this stuff came out in my music. When you and I met, I still remember the day I met you, I was singing for Black Sabbath at that time, making an album with those guys. I had such a hard time there, we won't even go into it. But then you guys called and said that you'd just put a band together with the bass player and drummer from Ozzie's band. And you'd asked if we could get together. So, I met you.

Craig: We heard your tape. We couldn't believe that you existed, because of your voice. We thought we couldn't get you. So it was like...

Jeff: Well, anyway, we got together. And I remember that I was in between. It says, A double minded man is unsteady in all his ways. And I remember when we sat down and had dinner. I said that I loved the Lord. But everything that I was doing didn't point in that direction. :) You said that you loved the Lord. But everything you were doing didn't point that way. :) Then Ruddy said he did. And Tommy said his brother was a preacher or something like that. So I thought, 'Wow, we're going to have a good group!' :) Well, then we just kinda went off. And one made the others look good. And then you went off with Dio. And they joined White Snake. And I started witnessing and standing up, doing what I'm doing now. And then God really moved on your heart. I guess you came to a place, where you said you were going to rededicate.

Craig: Yes, 'cause alot of it came from those moments on the road. Because we did start talking about life. Sometimes it got to the point where we'd pray together. And they'd actually get saved on that day. I'd walk off to the next city on stage in front of 20-40,000 people; having my dream come true. But it paled in comparison to those nights where I talked with people and they got saved. When that happened I felt that's what I'm suppose to do. This is what playing for God means, you know, to me. But, when people say, 'You're suppose to play for God.' That doesn't mean anything for rock'n'rollers. It's too corny a message for them to swallow. And so they say, 'Why should I do that?' Their choices, in their own minds, seems so limited and so unappealing that they often just stay where they are.

Jeff: What do you say to them?

Craig: I think my thing is that I might be able to someday be the other choice to some of the kids that I think I can reach. I think that is what I can do, playing the kind of music I can create. And the way I play might be a way in which to reacquaint them with God, or introduce them to God. I have seen people the next year and their all cleaned up. And the say, 'Thank you'. It's just amazing but I feel that's what I'm suppose to do.

Jeff: I had a girl on the road one time, that came to one of my concerts. Some body had advertised it as a head-banging thing. Nine or more concerts I was doing in New Zealand at operahouses. And they advertised as head-banging because they wanted to sell tickets for $20 or something a seat. I didn't know what they were doing. But what I wound up with was preaching to some really raunchy people out there. I had a girl come back stage that was named Leanne. She was wearing a pair of pantyhose, a bra, a bluejean jacket, and spike heels. And they brought her backstage. She was a prostitute. She was out there on the streets. She told me, 'I can't receive Jesus, 'cause I'm going to be doing this to make money.' And I said, 'Just give your heart to the Lord today. Don't put all these big demands on yourself. Repent of your sin.' One of the women with us was pretty shocked by that. But I just knew in my heart, that if she would truly give her heart to the Lord, that God would take hold of her. And that there would be a change that would happen in her life.

Reeni: She did by the way.

Jeff: She did by the way, yeah. I saw her three days later at another part of the country. And she had changed how she dressed. She was wearing bluejeans, tennis shoes, sweatshirt. And she really looked like a happy seventeen year old young lady. Just three days later.

Craig: Nothing like that, no crowd you can perform for, nothing replaces the feeling like that.

Reeni: That's right.

Jeff: God is the one who restores. He's the one who restores. He's the one who will make your life shine. You need to give your heart to the Lord. And you need to come to where the love is in your life, the love of the Lord Jesus. He will never forsake you, never leave you. Just pray this prayer: Jesus, save my soul. The Word of God says, All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. We praise God for you. And I praise God for Goldy. And I praise God that He still loves us. We serve an awesome God.

Part One - July, 1994
Part Three - December, 1994
Part Four- January, 1996

Photographer, David Dadourian, August, 1995