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01-24-2008, 03:19 PM

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Punk rocker, poet and now a Christian radio and TV host

Brian Nixon, who twice a week co-hosts a live radio phone in program across America called Pastor's Perspective with Chuck Smith and has been given a weekly interview show on His Channel (His Channel) has quite a fascinating past.

He was once a punk rock singer, then formed a Christian group called
Dan Wooding with Brian Nixon following the recently KWVE interview

Widow's Mite that was signed by rock keyboard legend Rick Wakeman for his Hope Records label, and now continues to write his poetry.

I spoke with Brian Nixon recently for my Front Page Radio program on KWVE 107.9 FM in Southern California, and I began by asking him to talk about his early life.

"I was born in Montebello, East Los Angeles, at Beverly Hospital so, in a sense, I guess I could say that I'm a home boy," he said.

Nixon said he and his family had then moved to Albuquerque New Mexico and it was there that he became a Christian in 1980. I asked him what had led up to that.

"I had grown up in a Presbyterian church there and I knew all about the Lord, but one day some Baptist missionaries came to my door and they started a conversation with me," he said. "I happened to be the only person home at that time and somehow or another they made their way into my home and they continued to talk with me. One of them asked me if I was a Christian and I said, 'I guess I am. I go to church.' He then pressed me asking, 'Have you ever received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?' I star ted to think about it and I said, 'I don't know if I really have done that.'

"So right then and there, two Baptist missionaries from Hoffman Baptist Church led me to the Lord. That was June of 1980 and, of course, it's been beautiful ever since."

He then spoke about his musical career.

The Electra -- Left to Right: Chris Manic (Peanut Butter Wolf), Hippy Wilson, Brian Nixon, Jeff Carlson (Jeff Jank)

"I was signed to my first record contract right out of high school and it was a secular record contract with American and Epithet Records with our Band The Electra and, for the most, part we were a punk rock/modern hip hop group," said Nixon. "We were, quite frankly, a little before our time. I remember the A and R fellow who signed us saying, 'We don't know what to do with you, but we feel this style of music is gonna be the next big thing.'

"I was the singer, guitar player, and drummer; in fact we rotated on the instruments. We had put out three independent records prior to that and then our first major release. I left the band in 1990, after seeking the Lord about my future. I happened to be the only Christian at the time, but really sought the Lord as to what I should do and I actually went to the Central Valley of California to finish up my Bachelor degree at a university there.

"It was there that I started another group called Canterbury - it was named after Canterbury Tales -- and we were a bunch of Christian guys and we just played primarily regionally from San Francisco down to Fresno and got a good following. We put out three independent releases."

"Interestingly enough, during that time with Canterbury, a gentleman by the name of Nic Caciappo, which you and I both know, had heard Canterbury, and started to carry the music in his local record shop there in Modesto, California, where I was going to school. As things turned out he became a fan or follower of Canterbury but before too long we broke up.

"But Nic didn't lose heart and he continued to contact me and say, 'Boy,
Widow's Mite album cover

this music's good; we've gotta get it out there." In the meantime, I started another group called Widow's Mite and Nic sent Rick Wakeman not only Canterbury material, but also Widow's Mite material as we released some EP's and demos. Rick liked it, and when was doing a Christian tour he came to Newport Coast here in Orange County and we had breakfast with him and we got signed to Hope Records and we put out our first release."

Nixon said he was really exited to meet with Wakeman, the keyboardist with Yes, and added, "I was really fascinated by Rick and his story of becoming a Christian and how he was able to 'juggle' both his Christianity with the music business because really there are many Christians in the music industry, but it truly is a 'juggling' because you have to really watch what you can allow come your way."

Nixon then spoke about his love for poetry. "I got involved in poetry via a love I have for literature; a love for beautiful language; and I found early on that poetry and music can express emotions and feelings that sermons or words or other things can not," he said. "So I began my quest in my discovery of a variety of poets and then I thought one day. 'Why don't I just try to do that?' So I started with the process and over a period of time was published in a few publications, poetry publications and t hroughout the years just been one of those little hobbies of mine.

"Poetry is intriguing to me because I find that it can say so much in so little space. I mean you could read a novel, you could read short stories or essays, and it takes the whole essay to communicate a range of emotions, a range of feelings, to get the plot and the climax and the resolution. But in ten, twelve, fifteen lines you can do the same thing so you have to choose the words properly you have to use the right words to communicate and have it's full affect."

He then spoke about his present work on Pastor's Perspective with Chuck Smith.

Chuck Smith
(Photo: Dan Wooding)

"I'm so thankful that Pastor Chuck is there, because my job is just to keep the program moving and it's his job to answer the questions that the listeners come up with," said Nixon. "It's been a blessing for these past five six years to watch Pastor Chuck in this capacity with his command of the Bible. Many of our listeners may not know that he does not walk in with a Bible to do the radio program. I would say ninety-five percent of what he is telling our audience the listeners is from his mind. So when he' s cross-referencing scripture, or he's giving you scripture, that is literally from his mind. He is not looking at a text. Now there's those other five percent where he will get on the computer and look up the scripture text to really analyze it. But it truly is amazing to see how Scripture is so much a part of Pastor Chuck life."

I wondered if Chuck Smith had a photographic memory.

"He and I have talked about that I've asked him between commercial breaks, and between broadcasts, and he said that his mother early on had a great influence on him and he started to memorize scripture as a young boy and it's just stuck with him," said Nixon. "It really is an amazing ability for that capacity to bring out scripture in that way."

Another surprising part of Brian Nixon's story is that the new teaches church history at the Calvary Chapel Bible College in Murrieta Hot Springs, California. I asked him if this was just Calvary Chapel history.

"No ,I teach the total church history, from the early church to the modern church era and into the post-modern church era; and sometimes we even like to forecast and look at what's being called the faux modern which is what's supposedly coming after post-modern era.

"So we cover the full gamut I break it down into three major segments, the early church, the medieval church, the modern church and then, of course, we conclude with the post-modern church."

I then said to Nixon, looking back over the years, what would you say is the biggest lesson you've learned since you've become a Christian?

"I would say the biggest lesson I've learned throughout these past years has been just really a dependence and trust in the Lord," he said. "I'm almost forty years old but in my forty years I've been through a lot. I've buried a child, my wife had cancer and throughout all those situations you have to just stop and say, 'Lord, You're in control and I just need to trust and obey. I just need to walk with You and let You lead. Jesus said it the best: 'Don't worry about tomorrow; just worry about today' and then focus on the Lord. "

I concluded by asking Brian Nixon what he great prayer request would be and he replied, "It is that the Gospel go forth in all its fullness and that churches would get back to simple Bible teaching, expository teaching through The Word, taking the Bible seriously and really hearing from the Lord through His Word."

Note: I would like to thank Robin Frost for transcribing this interview.

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