Rock Stars on God: 20 Artists Speak Their Minds About Faith (Paperback)

~ Doug Van Pelt (Author), Michael Sweet (Foreword) "For most of 1993, when this interview occurred, Rage Against the Machine's controversial debut album had been kept underground because of its radical, lyrical content;..." (more)
Key Phrases: bad religion, Jesus Christ, Alice Cooper, Social Distortion (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Sex, Drugs and Religion? Rock Stars on God is a collection of hard-hitting interviews about spirituality, the afterlife and our purpose here on earth with some of rock's biggest names. Not only will you discover insights about each artist's spirituality, you'll find a training ground for engaging others in conversations about Jesus.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Relevant Books (April 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972927697
• ISBN-13: 978-0972927697
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #771,627 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hey, by the way, what do you think about Jesus?, August 14, 2004

By	Tom Hinkle (Tulsa, OK USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

OK, let's talk about the book title and the author. It's really a stretch to call some of these interviewees "Rock Stars." I follow popular music fairly closely, and I've barely heard of some of these interviewees. One of them is that doofus Jesse that won the MTV V-Jay contest about 10 years ago, and he now happens to have a band that you've never heard of. But, hey, I was just chomping at the bit to hear his opinions about God and Jesus. Now, the author is listed as Doug Van Pelt. But he didn't do all the interviews; maybe half of them. He's definitely the best interviewer of the bunch and maybe SHOULD have done them all.

Another issue is the style. All the hemming and hawing and uh, well, hmmm type stuff is left in. That may make it sound more authentic, but it gets annoying after you're about halfway through the book, because almost everyone does it. It is interesting, however, to be reading the interview with Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson, finding him to be very articulate and well-spoken (at least on the page), until he's asked about Jesus, and then he hems and haws with the best of them.

My favorite part of the book was the interview with Alice Cooper. This comes from me being an Alice Cooper fan in high school, and being made to feel somewhat guilty about it because I was a Christian and Alice was supposedly "of Satan." Now Alice, who was a preacher's kid, is a bona-fide Christian who continues to perform in the "secular" world, so I feel vindicated. Plus, his interview is really, really good, because you can tell that the interviewer enjoyed doing the interview--probably a relief to talk to a real Christian after all those interviews with people who have rather off-center ideas about religion. The other interview that stood out to me was with Henry Rollins, a definite non-believer, who seemed to be a threat to do physical harm to the interviewer if it hadn't been over the phone. Fun, fun, fun.

To conclude, there's some interesting stuff here, but nothing earth-shattering.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting read, but not a devotional book., November 11, 2004

By	Everlybr "everlybr" (California) - See all my reviews

My main gripe about the book is that the introduction makes it seem like this is a book of devotions. It is not. Most of the interviews are taken from the (Christian) HM magazine column "What So and So says" where secular stars are interviewed and approached about thier beliefs in God and Christ. The responses are interesting, but not necessarily spiritual.

By far the best interview is the one with Alice Cooper. As a long time AC fan, I bought the book mostly for this one interview. This is the first time (to my knowledge) that he really discusses his conversion experience (He doesn't want to be a 'celebrity beleiver'). It is AMAZING! He is very open about his faith and he reasons for staying in the secular music scene. The book alone is worth reading this rare interview!

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Who would have thought Alice Cooper was so articulate? , August 30, 2004

By	Michael Erisman (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I picked up this book because I am a big music fan. I love those "behind the music" type shows. This book also intrigued me because of the many different types of artists they interviewed and how they were direct in asking them non-musical questions about their faith and backgrounds. Since rock stars often get a platform to speak it is rare we hear them really discuss anything of importance outside of music.

From Sammy Hagar and KISS, to Alice Cooper and Jethro Tull, to Green Day and a host of 90's bands I have heard of but never listened to, there were a wide range of musical styles represented. The premise of these interviews is that a journalist from a Christian Music magazine would interview other artists and ask them about their lives and their faith. Some of the reactions were what you would expect. Henry Rollins basically acted as he is depicted, and Sammy Hagar has even more energy in print than in person. Some of the artists were quite articulate and thoughtful, while some were not.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was from rock and roll bad guy himself - Alice Cooper. Alice is a strong Christian family man with a great outlook on his life and his role. He has some really funny quotes about having to live down some of his reputation. He thinks God must have a sense of humor to use him.

The book is written well, and the interviews themselves are pretty much as said, with all the poor grammar and colorful phrases kept it (although often "bleeped"). Overall a fun book and a good look inside the music on an important topic.