As previously reported, Stryper bassist Tim Gaines announced that he is no longer a member of the band.
Gaines said that “all hell broke loose” after he “ended up getting a divorce, which is taboo as far as Christianity, I guess.” He added, “…I’m not the only guy in Stryper to have gotten a divorce. Everybody in the band is married to divorced people. And I’m the bad guy, but everybody else has done it too, so? Whatever…”
Remaining Stryper members Michael Sweet (guitar, vocals), Oz Fox (guitar) and Robert Sweet (drums) released the following statement, in response to Gaines’ claims:
“Dear fans and friends,
We wish Timothy Gaines nothing but the best, and we will always remember the history and the good times that we all shared together.
We have done our best to remain courteous and professional despite the barrage of disrespectful comments, posts and tweets that have been made public time and time again by Tim and [his new wife] Brandee on what seems to be a daily basis.
The accusations that have been made that our decision to terminate Tim is based on his divorce couldn’t be further from the truth. We have all struggled with separation and divorce in our relationships over the years, and it has never affected anyone’s position within the band.
The band decided to take a hiatus in order to give Tim time and space to work through his personal issues. However, based on Tim and Bradee’s intentional, erratic and hostile behavior, which has damaged Stryper and threatened to undermine the band’s ability to go forward professionally, we were left with no other choice but to part ways. Tim and Brandee have left their scars and have hurt us in more ways than you can imagine.
We were also forced to retain legal representation based on a public post/threat that Tim made about suing the band in 2016.
Tim is our brother, and we love him, but this has become a toxic relationship at this point and due to that, we cannot continue on with our mission and stay true to who we are and what we represent with Tim in the band.
We’re excited about the future and we will be making an official announcement very soon about our new album, tour and bassist.
We love our fans and we appreciate your support and patience as we work through these changes. The best is yet to come!”
6 Responses
I tell ya..if people would stop texting and actually talk to each other, I would strongly suggest that relationships wouldn’t go off the rails; less divorce (in court, every single text gets put into evidence pretty much..it’s ridiculous), less acting like I am above having a conversation….less restraining orders…trust me.
I think its always sad when long time classic members are no longer part of the band. When it unfortunately happens, regardless of circumstances, my current interest in the band generally begins to wane, although i hope for the best for the band’s continued future success…KI$$ without Ace and Peter, Metallica without Newsted/Burton, Tank without Algy, etc….the list can go on and on…..
It’s a difficult thing maintaining relationships with people for as long as some of these bands have been together, especially when you mix professional and personal issues. Couple that with the additional spotlight their Christian image, places on them, and it can be twice as difficult. I agree with Shannon that social media really does poison relationships, as people use it to vent their frustrations in public, where as before social media they would either keep their frustrations to themselves or actually talk it out face to face with people. And it is sad when classic members of bands leave for whatever reason. But I always try to give the band a chance with the new member, and as long as their music is still exciting (look at Van Halen when Dave left, for example), I will still support them.
…texting, emails, social media, public music sites…. 🙂
…exception being Doug R. of course, who exists on a higher plane than us.
People gave Vince Meal hassles for looking like a woman in the 80’s. But did you ever see Tim Gaines in his 80’s prime? Aerosmith wrote about the wrong ‘dude’.