Honestly: My Life and Stryper Revealed (33 page)

I made the phone call to break the news to Dave. This was a guy who had given a toast at Lisa’s and my wedding. He had been to Kyle’s funeral. He had believed in my music without any hopes of Stryper ever reuniting. So, when I called to say,
“Dave, we’re going to let you go and take on new management,”
it wasn’t an easy call to make. Dave had become my friend over the years, and firing a friend is never easy. To show my loyalty and belief in him, I asked if he would remain on as my personal manager. He agreed to do so.

Meanwhile, we as a band moved over to new management with all the hopes and promise of a bright future. In February of ’11 we released
The Covering
, an album comprising 12 cover songs by artists that had inspired us from our early days and one new original, “God.” I’m really proud of that album’s production and musicality, and it gave me the opportunity to show what I can do as a producer. Charles Foley, my longtime keyboard player and vocalist for solo projects, and Stryper’s touring keyboardist and vocalist, really helped in giving authenticity to the songs that required piano and keyboard parts. He also sang all the background vocals with Oz and me. Everyone really stepped things up on this album, and it was met with great critical acclaim. It sold well by today’s standards but failed to meet our expectations.

We toured in support of that album and did our best to spread the word and self-promote the band. Sadly, the tours were losing money and I personally, as the bandleader, was not getting along with John Greenberg very well. Our communication methods were entirely different. In less than nine months with John, we were making less money as a band than ever before and our fan base was not growing either. The carrots that were dangled to convince us to go with Union seemed to continually remain just outside our grasp. Frustrations continued to mount.

Once again, it was time to regroup. We parted ways with John and Union just a little over a year after we started working together, and for us that couldn’t have come a day sooner. It was not a healthy relationship and things were getting really bad. Tour numbers were down. Sales were down. Finances were all but nonexistent.

Fortunately, Lisa is an incredibly bright businesswoman and excels at finances and budgets. She helped us orchestrate a plan to bring Stryper management in-house, saving tens of thousands of dollars a year in commissions. She helped in delegating the duties a manager would normally handle to within the current Stryper business team. We brought Dave Rose back in to oversee finances. Lisa brought in an assistant, Marilyn Becrelis, to help with travel and administrative duties. Our tour manager took on a few extra responsibilities as well. We also hired a new booking agent named Sullivan Bigg, owner of Bigg Time Entertainment. As far as management goes, I have basically managed the band since 2003, only now we’re not throwing 15-20 percent into the fire by hiring a manager to do what I’ve done for more than 10 years. If we ever find the right manager, maybe we’ll reconsider.

Thankfully as 2012 began, we started to see a turnaround in the right direction. Our finances are growing again. We signed a major, multi-record deal with Frontiers Records, which enabled us to release three records and a DVD within two years. I signed a new multi-album and book deal with Big3 Records and so much is happening now. Our touring entity has become a more refined operation and things are only going up from here. Truthfully, prior to this regrouping and reorganization, I was beginning to think it was the end of the road for Stryper. Thanks to Lisa and her business skills, she managed to help get us back on the right path. We’re heading in the right direction now, and for that we are grateful.

I don’t deserve all that God has blessed me with over the years. From all of my musical success with Stryper, solo and with Boston to the incredible blessings in my personal life, I am thankful God has remained faithful to me despite my occasional straying from Him.

If I’ve learned anything in my adventures through life it has been to not predict what God has in store for me. I have learned to accept what He brings into my life and to do my best to remain faithful when He takes something or someone away. More so than I think ever before, I wake up each day thankful for all that He has done. I may not always agree with it, but ultimately I find that God knows best. What He has in mind for my tomorrow, I will never know. Nobody can predict the future. What I do know is that I want to follow His leading and direction, and if I can stay strong on that course then, the sky is the limit.

Conclusion

The three greatest moments in my life as they relate to Stryper are as such:

1. 1983—Forming Stryper
   
2. 1992—Departing Stryper
   
3. 2003—Reuniting Stryper
   

That’s simplifying things a bit, but here’s the bottom line: I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with my feelings about being in Stryper. I never, even in my worst moments, deny what God has done through this band, and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to serve Him through music. That said, I can’t help but wish from time to time that I could do the same service without Stryper.

I’m so different personality-wise than my band mates. I regularly feel like I’m struggling to further the band, only to take two steps backward because of an opinion or statement made by one of my band mates. It’s a huge burden to carry the torch known as Stryper, yet seemingly no one fully understands how difficult it can be. The songs don’t just write themselves. The business team that surrounds us doesn’t just show up at our doorstep. The career-making decisions have a profound effect on our livelihood. Often when I try to move us forward, it’s as though I can feel a force within the band pulling us backward.

We all have a full understanding and appreciation for Stryper and what it has accomplished over the years. I just don’t think that we necessarily like each other at times. We love each other. We just don’t always like each other.

“So why not just quit?” you may ask. “You’ve done it before. What’s stopping you?”

You’d make a great point if you were to ask me that question, and I’m afraid I’d fall short in coming up with a reasonable answer that would be easily understood by the masses. It’s hard for
me
to understand completely, so I certainly don’t expect anyone else to comprehend it.

It’s not as if I don’t want to make music or serve God with all my heart. I do. I just wish at times that I could do it without having to rely exclusively on Stryper.

I love writing songs. I love producing records. The studio excites me and truthfully, I love performing.

What I don’t like is the proverbial monkey that sits on my back because I’m the bandleader. The logical question might be “Why not let one of the other guys lead the band?” And again, that is a fair question. Truth is, I don’t completely trust anyone else to lead the band. It’s not that I think they’re dishonest or malicious because they’re not at all. It’s just that I don’t trust their production and or business decisions to be in the best interest of the band. So I’d rather carry the weight and make most of the decisions myself.

In a professional band there are seemingly countless decisions that need to be made on a daily basis. Interview requests. Show opportunities. Licensing and recording decisions. Accounting and travel details. And yes, we have a team to work with us on all of these points, but ultimately the decisions come down to the band—and since there are so many of them to be made on a daily basis, one person has to be the leader, the visionary, the decision maker. And that person is me.

Playing in Boston was incredible for two reasons. First, it was Boston—the influential rock band of my youth. Second, and probably more the reason why I enjoyed it: I didn’t make any of the decisions. I showed up and played music to the best of my ability. As long as I showed up on time, well rehearsed and did my job, life was good. That’s a feeling I have never really felt before, and I liked it.

Yet in Stryper, I often feel such a burdensome responsibility. I feel responsible for so many things—keeping the band active and progressing forward, keeping the band’s professionalism intact, maintaining the financial state of each band member, taking God’s message to as many people as possible, and pleasing the fans who have supported us all these years and not disappointing them by leaving or discontinuing the band.

As I touched on earlier, I stick around partially because it’s my livelihood. This is my chosen profession. It’s not as if I can go back to law school and become an attorney. Bottom line, I’m a musician. So to support my family in a responsible manner, I rely on music. Right now, Stryper affords me the best opportunity to do that. I’m definitely not getting rich playing in Stryper. I make a living. It’s not a great living, but it’s a modest living.

I’m responsible for bringing home a portion of the bacon (Lisa brings home a lot of bacon, too) and without Stryper, there’d be less bacon.

That’s probably part of the problem. I feel trapped at times. I can’t really leave Stryper because it allows me the ability to put food on my family’s table.

So I feel somewhat caged at times with no way out.

And then, just when I least expect it, I wake up the next day with a fire, fervor, and love for my band unlike anything in my life. I wake up proud of Stryper, and I want to give it my all. And for a while I do. Then something happens—an argument with Oz, a complaint from Tim, a pity party for Robert, or some skeleton from my past rears its ugly head and decides to haunt me, often in regard to bad business dealings we made back in the ’80s. And I’m trapped again.

It’s a never-ending cycle, and the cycle itself wears me out. Some days I think
“I’m too old for this. Isn’t the point of life to just be happy? I should quit if I’m not happy.”
Other days I’m on fire for Stryper, wanting to pull the team together again and conquer the world.

And then I look at my life and realize that if I want to be responsible for my family, I need to learn to let go of the things that bother me. So I do, for a while. That is, until those same things are knocking on my door again.

I love Stryper and everything we have accomplished. I love my band mates. I love Stryper fans. Honestly, I’m so blessed to be able to do what I love for a living, and here’s hoping and praying I’ll have the opportunity to keep making music and touching lives moving forward.

ENDORSEMENTS:

“Sometimes you see someone or something and you think you’ve got it all figured out, just to find you were pretty far off base. That’s a sucky feeling. I learned a long time ago not to judge a book by its cover, and as much as I used to think that I am nothing like Michael Sweet, I have come to realize that we both have had a lot of hardships in common; the same trials and tribulations, the same band problems, and some of the same relationship issues. Fortunately for us, we both believe in the same Jesus, and serve the same amazing, loving creator, so it’s no wonder that we would both be standing on the same victorious side of life, once all the smoke clears at the end of the fight. I hope you will enjoy his memoirs and come to a new understanding and a new appreciation of Michael Sweet.”

~Dave Mustaine, Megadeth founding guitarist/vocalist

“I've always felt Stryper was one of the more talented bands to come out of the ’80s hard rock scene. I’ll never forget being blown away by the band the first time I saw them, and I was equally amazed at what great players and singers they still are, when I saw them recently. Michael Sweet remains one of the most powerful vocalists in rock!”

~Eddie Trunk, radio personality and music historian

“Michael Sweet is a pioneer, a virtuoso, a musical genius, a rebel, a hero, an inspiration, a peer and a friend. He's a man who stood up for what he believed in and was idolized by some, but persecuted by many others as a result. His story is amazing, interesting, unforgettable and completely unique.”

~Chris Jericho, professional wrestler and musician

“The first time I saw Stryper was on the Soldiers Under Command Tour. They opened with "Battle Hymn of the Republic" as a crucifix in lights lowered behind the band. A stranger gave me my first shot of whiskey and I got hit in the head with a Bible. Needless to say, I was hooked! I went home and put their poster up on my wall right next to Iron Maiden's "Number of the Beast.” They were the band that made me realize how much more powerful the Message of God is than the force of the devil. All and all, their music has always made me feel warm inside. Like a yellow-and-black teddy bear.”

~Jeordie White (aka Twiggy Ramirez), Marilyn Manson bassist

“I've been a Michael Sweet fan and fanatic of Stryper ever since I popped the album Yellow and Black attack in my tape player and cranked the song ‘C'mon Rock’ sitting in the parking lot of Baptist University of America in Ga. Not only did they sound amazing but the words Michael sang were powerfully true. A great underrated American metal band that in my humble opinion rocked just as good as Maiden. If you never heard Stryper then you’re a communist! I hope y'all buy this book Mike wrote because I'm gonna take 15 percent of it for all the free press I've givin’ him throughout the years! In this world of entertainment you need good solid Christian friends to look up to and admire, and I'm proud to say Mike is that for me. Git-r-done and long live Stryper!”

~Dan “Larry The Cable Guy” Whitney