1983 - I was regularly attending church at College Center Covenant Church and college group on Wednesday nights with Mark Hoffman. As I Mentioned earlier, the house I was renting was one of two on a lot. In many of the older neighborhoods of San Diego, there are homes set up like this; mostly because families would build additional houses on their property for their aging parents, i.e. the granny flat. I was in a little cottage on the back of the lot which I can only guess was built for someone’s granny. The front house was bigger- a three bedroom and there were a bunch of girls living there who were lesbians. Bo and I struck up a casual friendship. She was the main renter and the other girls came and went like the spinning of a turnstile door. Bo worked for R.E. Hazard as a heavy equipment operator and definitely looked the part, and would frequently offer me a beer and loved to shoot the breeze like one of the boys.
I didn’t agree with her lifestyle choices, but mostly I just listened and kept the conversations light. But she came to know that I stood on God’s Word for my own lifestyle guidance, although many times I failed to follow it. Meanwhile, during that time, my cousin Gerard had moved to San Diego from Worcester Massachusetts (near Boston) when he was discharged from the Navy. He got a room in an apartment with a guy he met at the bank and the guy and his other roommates turned out to be gay. So G-man (as I call him) was itching to move out of there and eventually he came to live with me. But before that, he told me about this book by Hal Lindsey called -The Late Great Planet Earth. I got a hold of it and read it very quickly; it was one of those page turners that are hard to put down. The main theme was end-times theology; the rapture, millennium, and coming apocalypse. It scared the bejeesus out of me as it did many other impressionable young people all around the world. Around the same time frame, CCCC had this special speaker come in with a big presentation all about Satanism- how it had been infused into rock music and culture. I took all these things in like a sponge and tried to make sense of it all. It reminded me of how I needed to get my life right with God and I began to take bible study more seriously. One day I was alone, reading my bible and started praying. I remember going into the bathroom, looking in the mirror and asking God to equip me to defeat Satan and his influences on the earth. About five minutes later there was a knock on the door. It was Bo and she seemed excited. “Hey I have all this stuff that was given to me and I don’t have any use for it, so I was wondering if you wanted it” she said. I followed her to her house and there were two reel to reel tape decks, and a number of other items, including a large tapestry of the last supper. Pointing to it, she said, “I want you to have this… my ex husband brought it back from Pakistan and it’s the real thing. But you know me; I’m not living the Christian life and the thing makes me feel guilty. So I thought you would like it!” I was blown away- the timing was so perfect; it was a total answer to prayer. And the things Bo said made me realize that the changes taking place in me were noticed and even having an influence on those who knew me. That same day, I wrote this song; Demons. The lyrics reflect my new awareness of the spiritual kingdom all around me from the perspective of the evil side. I was beginning to see why it’s dangerous to sin and create inroads for the enemy to access my spirit.
DEMONS
Words & Music by Reggie Michaud © 1983
Hey beware demons are coming
Wearing black suits and you know they’re cunning
Got two horns ugly as sin
Knocking on the door baby don’t you let em in
Better open your eyes cuz hidden everywhere
Is a very subtle message gonna take you unaware
Got long nails eerie dark eyes
If you open up your soul gonna take you by surprise
And they’re demons, demons, demons, are hiding and waiting for you
Demons, demons, demons and they’re working for Satan too
Demons, demons, demons gonna mess with your mind
Demons, demons, if you’re sittin on the fence gonna sever your spine
Well the war is raging on and it ain’t flesh and blood
But the spirits and the rulers of the demon thugs
Got captains and followers too
If you’re living unprotected gonna recruit you
If you’re filled with paranoia then you need to be saved
Cuz the power of the savior gonna make you brave
You can resist and the devil will flee
And the name of Jesus Christ gonna set you free
And they’re demons, demons, demons, are hiding and waiting for you
Demons, demons, demons and they’re working for Satan too
Demons, demons, demons gonna steal your soul
Demons, demons, demons are coming so you need to be told