I have two words for you: Sully Erna.   He is one of the few current mainstream artists that acknowledges his Wiccan beliefs.  We like that his mainstream website doesn’t stress his Wiccan beliefs, but quietly provides a link to Laurie Cabot.

Most of the Community is already well familiar with Sully, but for those without direct ties to the Community grapevine, Sully Erna was with the extremely popular band Godsmack and is an accomplished poker player as well.  In 2010, he released his solo album called Avalon, which included more tribal sounds and beats and is currently a popular album circulated amongst the Community these days.  While not promoted directly as being a Wiccan or pagan album, it contains themes that coincide with our beliefs providing an album that is both mystical and extremely well-produced for us to enjoy.

Earlier this year, Sully indicated on Twitter that he had undergone knee surgery due to an old sports injury.  May the Goddess speed his recovery (and maybe bring us another solo album).

As for our religion, I think Sully is doing an amazing job of addressing the mainstream regarding our beliefs and consistently represents them in a proper light, such as in this interview he had in 1999 with the NY Rock.  But Sully does something else as well.  He doesn’t stress our beliefs in connection with his work.  He is not trying to be the “poster child” embodiment of the Craft and he is especially not trying to capitalize on the darker aspects of our faith.

In the early 1970s and 1980s, we need people who were willing to be those “poster children” in order to bring even the concept of our religion forward and educate mainstream America that we existed.  Now that they know we exist, we need to move past our beliefs being used as a value judgment encompassing everything we are individually and defining one person’s inherent makeup as being the same as any other Wiccan.  We are individuals who also happen to be Wiccan rather than it being that we are first defined by being Wiccan and, therefore, it is automatically assumed that we must also be (fill in the blank) and having to fight the judgment value of the (fill in the blank) mentality just because of our beliefs.

When being interviewed generally, there are very few mainstream artists that are asked whether they are Jewish or Christian in the first five questions, but if there is a hint of Wicca and witchcraft, well, then that’s news!  Yet, it seems that Sully endures the religion question over and over and over.   While he fields those questions honestly and directly when they are asked, it makes you wonder how many more decades it will take for us to just “be” what we are and move away from our religion being a “curiosity” to invoke responses and sensationalism in mainstream America and elsewhere.

Look at what Stevie Nicks endured with a rumored Wiccan association.  She ended up having to confront the religion question repeatedly even after she continued to repeatedly deny the question and never confirmed it as a fact.  As to whether she is or not, I’m just going to have to put it out there that even if she is, will be, or had been, I couldn’t blame her one bit for denying it after the media frenzy that ensued and still follows her to this very day.

Albums by Sully Erna:
Avalon (2010)

Videos:

From the Avalon album.

Sully Erna on the making of the Avalon album.

Contact Info:
Website – www.sullyerna.com
Twitter – www.twitter.com/#!/SullyErna

Albums by Sully Erna:
Avalon (2010)

Albums by Godsmack:
Godsmack (1998)
All Wound Up (1998)
Awake (2000)
The Other Side (2000)
Faceless (2003)
IV (2006)
Good Times, Bad Times – Ten Years of Godsmack [Explicit] (2010)
The Oracle (2010)