Photo courtesy of the Newsboys
Marilyn Manson and the Newsboys? On the same stage? Well, not exactly. But Newsboys’ guitarist Paul Colman quickly answered Marilyn Manson when asked which mainstream artist he would like to tour with. Not exactly who I would have thought.
“I’d like to get inside his head; find out what he’s thinking,” Colman said. “It would be an interesting backstage, that’s for sure. You know, I like a good fight, being Australian and all. No really, I would like to see the different spirits in the room. It would be different contrasts for sure. You know you don’t need a lot of light to shine in a dark room.
“He sounds like a very intelligent guy,” Colman continued, “but a lot of anger. Anger can be good if it leads to something, but by itself it can be self-destructive.”
Self-destruction was a major theme when talking to Paul, who has overcome the same demons many rock stars wrestle with day in and day out.
“As a musician people worship you, put you on a pedestal, and it becomes very destructive. We were not made to be worshipped. Look at Elvis, Hendrix, Janis, Hutchins. You can’t operate that way. It’s just brutal. You end up in a crisis if you keep going…. Recreational drugs, sex, alcohol. Music is not satisfying. You are empty.”
It was that emptiness that led Colman to God and the Christian rock genre.
“I realized there was something bigger, thankfully,” Colman said. “God’s hand is over all you are creating. It’s very real for me. It makes me realize the most important thing is your character. God and his people. You may have a gift, a talent, but God is there.”
Colman began his musical career banging on the drums, turning to bass, and then hitting notes on a keyboard before settling on the guitar when he was 15. And it appears the guitar was best suited for his young ego.
“I moved to guitar because you could move around stage – can’t do that with a piano,” he said chuckling. “Bass didn’t fit my ego, but back then at 15, guitar suited me just fine.”
But now Colman’s focus is not just on the music. It turns out that people are his real motivation.
“I don’t think about the music as much as I think about the people,” he explained. “I find the people more interesting than the music. Music is a great way to get to people. The best thing for me is I get to chat with people after a show. That’s what gives me energy. That’s what I love most in the end.”
You won’t find Marilyn Manson at the Newsboys show Sunday, March 2 at the Budweiser Events Center, but you will find what Colman calls the best show out there. And that resonates with the band being known for its live shows that have featured drums on a rotating platform that tilt downward 90 degrees.
“There is nothing out there better than this show, we have all the bells and whistles,” Colman said.