Sid: Hello. Sid Roth here. Welcome to my world where it’s naturally supernatural. I am so excited about my guest. You’re probably familiar with him because he was with the musical group Silverwind and you’ve probably heard of the songs that he was the principle writer of, “Bullfrogs and Butterflies,” “Music Machine”. A whole generation grew up with these songs. Georgian Banov, you’ve sold something like 3-1/2 million. But that doesn’t excite me. You know what excites me? Is when he plays his violin miracles erupt. Marriages are restored. People have cosmetic plastic surgery supernaturally. They have dental miracles. The blind see, the deaf hear and there’s sort of like, Georgian, it’s almost like an inner healing of all the troubles that people have had when you play that violin over them.
Georgian: Broken hearts get healed and marriages get restored, supernaturally. It’s the release of the Holy Spirit.
Sid: You know what’s so amazing? He started in, he was born in communist Bulgaria. And in Bulgaria, and you were taught there was no God. And how in the world did you start the first rock and roll band in Bulgaria?
Georgian: Well it was our response against the communism trying to indoctrinate us, and it was our way of trying to find identity.
Sid: A little rebellion, too?
Georgian: A little rebellion, too, quite a bit. And we heard the Beatles and some of these songs through the shortwave radio. They were blocking everything we could hear a little bit.
Sid: But then they stopped you.
Georgian: They stopped us because they realized they made a big mistake.
Sid: Why?
Georgian: Because we weren’t even that good, but there was no way to prove it. But we were the first. And so they put us on TV. There was only one channel, and so everybody started watching us. Overnight, we were the number one band. There was no number two. So everybody flocked to our concert. I mean, we packed the largest halls.
Sid: But why didn’t they like that?
Georgian: Because young people get together and start clapping. That is like next to a revolution. They don’t like that. They’re scared.
Sid: Okay. He escapes from Bulgaria. He comes to America. But he’s not used to having much food. In Bulgaria or in America he didn’t have much money. So some Christians are giving free food for three months. Did you enjoy the food?
Georgian: I loved the food. And my mind goes, there’s no God. You know, whatever they’re talking about, my belly goes, oh yes there is. Get back in there. And it was my belly that knew Jesus because I kept being hungry everyday and they kept offering food. So I go for the food. But really, I was born in that.
Sid: Okay. He goes up on a mountain and he’s being real. As a matter of fact, Georgian, that’s what I like about you. You are a real person. What you see is what you get. He goes up on this mountain and what did you say to God?
Georgian: I didn’t know what to say. I had never believed in God. But the thought came to me to say, “God do you exist?” And I just said it. What I said, I thought I’d get it over with. And the moment my breath left that God did exist, everything changed around. It’s like someone came near me with like His ear listening, like a large ear coming in. Acoustics changed. Like everything around me changed. And I’m going, what is this? And there’s nobody, but I can feel somebody. And I begin to talk, and the more I talk, the thicker, the closer, the thicker, and just the faith that God exists went right through me like this. And I collapsed in the dirt. I was just so overwhelmed that all these years I didn’t know that He existed and here He is now. And I said, “Who are you? What are you like? And I cannot see, but I can feel you. I want to know everything about you.” And I shook and cried, and with that nearness, a whole day on the mountain, that was my first day with God.
Sid: And tell me about this song we’re going to have you play, “Pour out my spirit”.
Georgian: Oh that’s the song and came and saved the Lord in 1995. A great revival came. A great renewal came. My marriage was broken. Everything was falling apart. And the Lord poured his spirit on me and my wife.
Sid: Guess what? Lord, pour out your spirit.
I’m gonna lay down in my soul… Can’t keep my feet from dancing. Sanctify deep into my heart, sanctify my every part. Make me whole and this is my prayer. Suddenly out of nowhere, wind is blowing through me. Pour out your spirit, Lord, fill me up. Way down in my soul, let your river flow. Joy unspeakable… full of prayer… Can’t keep my feet…
