David Richards Personal Testimony

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

David performing live on CBS Talk Show- Great Day SA  accompanied by guitarists John Garcia and Luke Cabrera, with percussionist Mark Reyes.

"Voices In The Rain" will be on David's upcoming CD due to be released on February 14th.

The following songs tell stories of some of the battles I have encountered in my own life. Each song conveys a positive message of how we can get through these tough situations. Please read my personal testimony at the bottom of the page so that you may understand the true meaning behind each song.

Throughout the course of the year, David will be hosting several inner-city Outreach Concerts throughout the state, in addition to visiting Juvenile Detention Centers, Housing Projects and Foster Homes. He will be giving away hundreds of positive CDs to At-Risk individuals who want and need them.

For every $4 donated to the CD Seed Fund, one inspirational CD will be given to an at-risk individual. Please know that your donation will be directed to a worth-while cause.

CD Seed Donations

1 CD $4.00 10 CDs $40.00 20 CDs $80.00 50 CDs $200.00

  It was a stormy night in 2001 and I was heading home from a night club I had been tending bar at for about a year. My car had just blown a timing belt a week before, so I had to cab it. Reeking of alcohol and cigarettes, I walked across the alley through the rain and climbed into my "yellow limo".  As the driver asked me where I was headed, I noticed he had an African accent. So, I asked where he was from and he told me Nigeria. I asked his name and he told me it was "Lucky". I remember replying "This must be my lucky night." Little did I know, it would be.     You see, just a few minutes before entering the cab, I was on a mission to end my life that night. I mean, there I was, a washed up entertainer, who had gone from working as a Chippendale dancer straight out of high school, to a night club singer who picked up several addictions along the way. I did not know what a normal relationship was. In fact, I couldn't stand being around anyone for more than a thirty minutes at a time. And as a bartender in one of Austin's most prestigious night clubs, I was constantly surrounded by hundreds of people, yet I was lonely as hell. To tell the truth, I felt like a "Lost Cause".   I had attempted counseling on numerous occasions to help battle my depression. However,  they only wanted to send me home with a bunch of anti-depressants.   I had already been medicating myself with cocaine for 15 years and weed for at least 20, in addition, I could drink any liquor that I wanted. After all, I was a bartender. So, I thought to myself, pay for legal drugs and become addicted to them, or just keep using the ones that had already been supplied for me. Needless to say, I always wound up sticking with option 2.   Now, from downtown Austin to FM 620, where I had lived at the time, was probably about 15 miles, give or take a few.  So, as we drove into the storm, silence filled the cab. Then "Lucky" had asked me how I was doing with a very sincere tone.  I told him I was doing alright. Far from the truth and I believe somehow, he knew that. I can only remember bits and pieces of our conversation, due to the fact that I was pretty wasted. Throughout the course of the night, I had easily done at least 8-10 shots of liquor, snorted at least a 16th of a gram of cocaine, then smoked a joint just before entering the cab.  Needless to say, my mind wasn't all there.   His questions continued and then he asked me if I went to church.  Of course I responded with the typical "every now and then" response. I didn't feel pressured by his approach, so I allowed him to continue. I was well known for cutting people off right at the knees if they mentioned church or God to me.   But for some reason, I allowed him to continue. After all, what did I have to lose, I thought.    Lucky wound up parked in my driveway at least three hours, sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, reminding me that He died for my sins and that I could be forgiven if I would just call upon HIM.  Lucky sat with me long after the storm had cleared and the sun came out, both, inside of my heart and outside of the cab. I remember him asking me if it would be alright if he sent me a bible. I told him "I guess so. " Must have been a Lucky guess, huh?" I wound up going to a big church later that morning and surrendered my life to Jesus, someone I didn't even know. Had it not been for an ordinary person sharing an extraordinary story that night, I don't believe I would be around to share this story.    I have been inspired by "Lucky" to seek God's will for my life and I am now on a life-long mission to encourage others and to reach out to those who are in bondage just as I once was. I share my story through my songs and how God has delivered me from many addictions (cigarettes, drugs, sex, depression, anger, just to name a few) and my testimony is living proof that HE can use anyone to do his work.    I am on a different mission, a Mission For Change, you might say.  I hope and pray that my story will inspire others, as well as yourself, to reach out to at least one person the world considers a "lost cause".  David Richards Founder: SWE Productions N-Side Out P.I.M.P.- Praise Is My Purpose Everlasting Impressions

PEACE, LOVE, JOY... This song is a demonstration of how shame and condemnation can keep someone in bondage. The first verse is about a lady who, as a small child, aspired to be a ballerina. At a very young age, she was molested and later grew up with a false sense of love. She became very promiscuous and later walked in her shame as a prostitute and accepted herself as what the world had labeled her.   The second verse touches on a homeless person. It's a story of a little boy who was abused by his father, verbally and physically. He was told that he would never amount to anything. He ran away at the age of thirteen and hit the streets. A life of homelessness and shame was all he was accustomed to knowing.   Both these stories are true and there are so many children in this day and age who experience these same types of situations.   The third verse is about a man who sacrificed his life for all mankind in order that these bondages could be broken and those who walk in the same darkness, might be set free. The song is derived from JOHN 3:16-17

IN THE BLOOD I wrote this song after I had surrendered my life to Jesus. You see, the devil has a way of making you believe you are who you once were before you came to know Jesus. He (the devil) wants us to walk around in sin and condemnation in order to have control over our minds. There comes a time when you must take a stand against the devil and remind him that you are now in The Blood of Christ and "old things are past away".  So, you could say I dedicate this one to the devil. This one's is my interpretation of REVELATIONS 12:11.

COME TO ME I spent so many years trying to find love in temporary situations. No matter how hard I looked, I could never find true love. I always had a fear of never finding that "one true love" that we all desire to have. This song is based around MATTHEW 11:28-30.