Greg Prato of Brave Words spoke with Stryper frontman Michael Sweet. Excerpts from the interview appear below.
BW: Let’s discuss your book, Honestly: My Life and Stryper Revealed. Did things come back to you that you hadn’t thought about in many years?
Michael Sweet: Oh yeah, definitely. And to this day, I’m thinking of things that should have been in the book. There’s so much that’s happened. I tend to focus on one thing at a time. It’s very difficult for me, I’m not a multi-tasker, so it’s hard for me to think of a hundred different stories. I’ll just think of one. But I did my best to just hit all the key points and all the stories that I felt people would want to know and want to hear. A lot of question marks over the years by fans, like, why did Tim not play on To Hell with the Devil and In God We Trust? What happened during Against the Law? We heard the rumors, but what really happened? Why did you leave the band? Why did you remarry so soon? All these things that people have really come at me with serious questions – deep questions – over the years, that I wanted to address. And that’s what I did in the book. But at the same time, tell my life story – from the time I was born until now. I talk about being arrested as a kid and a lot of things that people might not expect to hear from Michael Sweet.
BraveWords: I heard there is going to be an upcoming project with George Lynch, too.
Michael Sweet: It is going to be released on Frontiers. I was really blessed with the opportunity to produce it and to co-write it with George. It’s myself, George Lynch, Brian Tichy, and James Lomenzo. And that will come out roughly this time next year, maybe a little earlier.
BraveWords: And what is the name of that band?
Michael Sweet: We don’t have a name yet. It’s been a real difficult decision for some reason. I can’t tell you why. The good thing is we have probably five or six months to do so, so we’re all good.
BraveWords: Lastly, what is the current status of Stryper?
Michael Sweet: The current status is we’re very busy. We’re prepping for some touring. We’ve got a live album coming out in October or November on Frontiers. We are starting on a new album next year, I’m already writing for. We’ll start recording that in January/February. That will come out next year. And then the Sweet/Lynch album that’s coming out – that’s being mixed right now. So I’m juggling a lot of different stuff. I’m literally on the phone calling in mix tweaks while I’m going downstairs with a cup of coffee and putting in my in-ears and running through the set with Stryper. They’re all here at the house right now. So it’s just been a little crazy around here. And the biggest thing for me to overcome is I’m OCD, and I’ve got to keep cleaning toilets and picking up after people. I want to definitely get in the ring with some guys in the band right now!
Read more at Brave Words.
7 Responses
What a great and honest man. I totally respect him and can’t wait for the book and new material. Please Stryper, come to St.Louis Mo. That would be Pops Nightclub. We love you Michael, good luck!
Very talented guy.
One of the most underrated guitarists of all time ! A huge influence on my playing back then,and a huge influence on my writing now ! I remember back in the days of the old “sindizzy” chat room & bbs forum when the stryper folks would answer questions and have live chats just about every Friday night ! That was a blast. I’ll definitely pick up the book.
I think everything this guy has done as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist has been underrated and under valued. Only Stryper fans really know how great a performer and creative person he is. I’m not the world’s biggest Stryper fan, but I respect him, and the other three for staying true to their convictions and travelling a road that most wouldn’t due to their faith. The fact that they could sell millions of records back in the day using a rather unpopular subject matter speaks volumes of how good they were as a band. To your point, his playing gets overshadowed by Ox Fox, another great player. But Michael Sweet and a rare triple threat. I’m very interested to hear what he can do with George Lynch. Most of Lynch’s projects don’t impress me much other than Dokken and Lynch Mob. But teaming with Michael Sweet could be very interesting.
I remember seeing Stryper at The Ritz in NYC in 1990. They closed their set with Van Halen’s “On Fire”. AWESOME.
Michael has a great voice and I’m stoked about the project with George Lynch.