October 2, 1997 * Vol . 10, No. 3
October 2, 1997 * Vol . 10, No. 3
SINGER-SONGWRITER-keyboardist-producer Paul Janz had a career that was cooking. Number one songs, a Juno award, his own CBC television special, a lucrative record contract, big sales, big reputation.
But something was missing and, when Janz bottomed out in his personal life, it led him back to Simon Fraser University.
"I'm an alcoholic," he admits today without hesitation, "though I've been sober for two years now. Seeing life as an addict was one of the most horrible things I've ever experienced, but it allowed me to look at life with a new perspective."
In climbing out of his self-made hell-hole, Janz "turned his life over to a higher power," threw out the booze and decided to do what he'd always yearned to do: study theology.
Showing the same kind of resolve which took him to the top of the charts, Janz transformed himself into a A-student. He graduates Oct. 3 from SFU with a B.A. in philosophy.
Janz won't actually attend Convocation. Instead, the 46-year-old rock star will be at Cambridge University to begin studies leading to a doctorate in divinity. "It's weird," Janz concludes. "I would never have considered it possible to be a drunk and then a couple of years later be studying divinity at Cambridge."
Religion and music have always been intertwined in the life of Paul Janz. His father was a Mennonite minister and, by age 10, young Paul was arranging and performing gospel music before huge audiences. By the mid-'70s, Janz had formed a band in Europe called Deliverance and it was soon delivering hits.
Deliverance broke up in 1981 and Janz, his wife and children returned to Canada. His long-denied yearning to study theology prompted Janz to phone a theologist in Germany to seek advice. Go to SFU, his friend said; it has the best philosophy department in Western Canada.
The next day Janz drove to SFU, gained admission as a mature student, and began studying full-time. He would have graduated years ago, but A&M Records came knocking. He temporarily left philosophy behind and resumed his music career full-time.
But professional success demanded too high a price as alcohol upgraded itself from occasional friend to full-time master. Janz, fortunately, was too smart to ignore the fact that he was in trouble.
"I feel really grateful," Janz says now. "My life has
been given back to me."
© Simon Fraser University, Media and Public Relations