Honestly: My Life and Stryper Revealed (2 page)

In the music world, after 10 years of working together, many are ready to put on the boxing gloves and duke it out. I’m happy to say this isn’t the case with Michael and me, and I feel equally as comfortable with Michael in a church, in a movie theater, or in a bar.

I’ve always known Michael’s hard work would pay off. I believed there was a world outside of Stryper where he would be recognized solely for the incredible talent that he is and not so much as a member of a groundbreaking Christian rock band. This is not to diminish the place of Stryper in his career. I just always had this gut feeling that his future held something exciting for him outside of the Christian rock scene.

That future arrived in 2007 when I received an email from Kim Scholz (wife of Boston’s Tom Scholz) asking if Michael would be interested in performing at a tribute concert to Brad Delp, the former Boston singer who had died in March of that year. Members of Boston along with a smorgasbord of “Who’s Who” in rock music were invited to perform.

Michael happily agreed to sing a few the band’s songs with the other members of Boston.

The show took place August 19, 2007, at The Bank of America Pavilion in Boston. The most faithful of Boston fans were out in full force to pay respects to their hero, Brad Delp, one of the greatest rock singers of all time.

For the first time since I’ve known Michael, I was nervous for him. I wanted so badly for a world outside of Stryper to see him shine as the amazing musician and vocalist that I have always known that he is.

He was about to go on stage
in
Boston and perform with the remaining members
of
Boston to what could potentially be the most difficult crowd he’d ever performed for. He was about to sing Boston songs to Boston fans, all of whom were very emotionally charged coming off the death of Brad. This was a recipe for disaster.

I was truly a nervous wreck. Before the show I headed to a bar located inside the Pavilion. I needed a beer or two to calm my nerves and I knew if I hung around with Michael backstage he would sense my nervousness, and I certainly didn’t want that. So I found a barstool and proceeded to calm my pre-show jitters.

As I sat there contemplating all the things that could potentially go wrong, but still convinced that Michael would handle the night with professionalism, five guys walked in the bar and sat down next to me. They were locals, no doubt about it. One was wearing a Red Sox baseball cap. Another had on a classic Boston Spaceship T-shirt. And they all had thick New England accents.

As I eavesdropped on their conversation, one of them spoke up with a tone of reservation,
“
I heard that Jesus Dude from the band Stryper is singing a bunch of songs tonight
.”

“
Yeah. Whatever. No way he’ll pull it off like Brad did, but it’ll be cool. This may be the last time we get to hear these songs live
,”
said Spaceship.

“
That’s true. This may be the last time we hear these songs live—So Jesus Dude better not f**k it up for us!
”
exclaimed Red Sox as they all laughed and high-fived each other.

No words I could have said would change their opinion of “Jesus Dude.” They were going to have to hear it for themselves and make up their own minds. But this pre-show moment in the bar confirmed that tonight would be an amphitheater filled with skeptical naysayers. The only thing I could think to do was order another beer. Until now I had never simultaneously prayed
and
chugged an Amstel Light at the same time.

I finished my beer and headed into the concert area. I set up shop near the back row. I suppose I felt less nervous being furthest from the stage, but I also wanted to watch the crowd’s reaction from the rear of the venue.

Michael came on stage with the confidence and grace I’ve come to expect from him, yet with all the humbleness and sincerity of someone paying genuine respects to Brad. Still, I was a wreck.

His moment arrived when the band started playing the Boston classic “Peace of Mind.” My heart sank. I knew Michael had the chops to hold his own, but one screw-up and he was potentially facing a brutally unforgiving audience of Delp fans. It was an amphitheater filled with 5,000 or so fans like those I had just encountered at the bar, all with the sense that this may be the last time they hear these classic songs performed in concert.

Michael Sweet had performed to tough audiences before—most notably at heavy-metal festivals where the attendees are some of the most cynical music fans in the world. And he did a fine job at winning them over, but that was always within the confines of Stryper—his comfort-zone, so to speak. To date, Michael had never performed
in
another band of Boston’s caliber, and here he was performing the vocal parts of a recently deceased singer. I had no doubt he was one of the best at winning over tough audiences, but this was different. Could he pull this one off?

The signature guitar sounds of Tom Scholz blared over the PA system and the crowd cheered loudly as they began to recognize the song. Within seconds, before he even started to sing, Michael had the audience on their feet with hands in the air clapping along. Then it came time for the opening line and he belted it out as strongly as I’ve ever heard that angelic voice of his. The crowd stayed right there with him, singing along, hands in the air, and going wild. This pattern continued throughout the night. He had done it. He was one with a Boston crowd, in Boston. He had the approval of the fans of one of the greatest rock bands of all time.

In my mind, that was
the
night. It was the night 5,000 people found out what I and other long-time loyal Stryper fans already knew—that Michael Sweet is one of the most talented rock vocalists in the world. On that night he held his own with a crowd that for the most part had no idea who he was, or at best knew him as “That Jesus Dude.” In the end, they knew him as the guy who did great justice to the spirit of Brad Delp.

Michael went on to become a touring member of Boston during 2008.

I’d love to lean back in my chair, light a cigar, prop my feet on the desk and tell you I orchestrated the whole thing. But I didn’t. His union with Boston and recognition the world over as a talented musician came about because of his hard work and devotion to his craft. It happened naturally—the way great music usually does—without the intrusion of managerial finesse. It happened because Michael is truly an amazing talent.

When Stryper fans ask me,
“
What’s Michael like?” I respond with “He’s pretty normal.” He’s not, actually. He’s insanely motivated and driven, and sometimes he has a fairly strange sense of humor. But as a human being, he’s actually pretty normal.

I recall going to Boston during the recording of
Reborn
as the area got hit with a really bad snowstorm. I was in the studio with engineer Kenny Lewis. At some point we looked around and couldn’t find Michael. We walked out the studio door and there was Michael with a big smile on his face shoveling snow off the sidewalk. He just disappeared, grabbed a shovel, and started shoveling snow without telling anyone. That’s Michael Sweet, equally as happy recording a Billboard-charting record as he is shoveling snow.

I tell people all the time that I haven’t worked a day in my life. It’s because I do what I love—music. And I have Stryper to thank for putting me on that path. I feel as though I have truly lived The American Dream. I went from selling my stereo for Stryper tickets to managing the band, all in one lifetime.

This is the effect Stryper has on people every day. They give people hope and inspiration. They help you believe in yourself and that you have the ability to do anything you set your mind to. I am living proof of that. I walked out of my very first concert, a Stryper concert, saying “This is what I want to do with my life.” And I did.

Thank you Tim, Oz, Rob, and Michael for giving me hope at such a young age, and for believing in me for so many years as your manager. You all are truly amazing people and I am forever grateful for being a part of your organization.

-
Dave Rose, Raleigh, NC December 2013

ONE

I drink. Occasionally I smoke. If you ask my wife, my kids, my tech, my agent or my manager they'll all tell you that I curse more than I should. I've fooled around with women on tour buses. I’ve been arrested for indecent exposure. I've been reckless with money to the point of bankruptcy. My favorite bands are The Beatles, Van Halen and Judas Priest. I was pissed at God when my wife died of cancer and I despise religion.

I am a Christian.

I'm Michael Sweet. I’m a singer, guitarist, songwriter, producer and a founding member of the pioneering Christian rock band Stryper. We've sold almost 10 million records to date and were the first Christian band to air on MTV, and to have four #1 videos. We even had two top-10 videos at the same time, back when MTV actually played music videos. We've played soccer stadiums and biker bars, sometimes in the same week.

Despite having done all of that, I'm still often known as the Bible-Tossing-Yellow & Black-Bumble-Bee guy. The Jesus guy. The ‘80s hair/glam Christian metal guy. An irrelevant joke. Or, even worse—sometimes I'm not known at all.

So who am I? I'm a guy that grew up in Southern California—sort of a surf punk kind of guy who absolutely loved music. My brother, Robert, and I are the founding members of Stryper. Our band hit at the right time in the right place, and I thank God for every experience that I've had.

If you've picked up this book in hopes of reading stories about me hiding in a closet shooting up heroin, buying prostitutes with all my earnings or beating the crap out of a club owner because he looked at me funny, you should probably read the Motley Crue book instead, because you won't find that here. I’m not better than they are, but my story is different. I’m not an angel, either, and I think you'll find some pretty eye-opening stories, and I hope—whether you know my music or not—you'll find them enlightening or at least entertaining.

When I casually become a little introspective, I conclude that I'm a fairly normal guy—but that might just be wishful thinking. You read through the stories of my life and then you decide—am I a regular guy or am I just a big mess?

In one lifetime that seems like an instant I've gone from being a struggling musician on The Sunset Strip to being the songwriter in a multi-platinum selling band (Stryper), to going bankrupt (Stryper), to leaving Stryper, to topping the charts on Christian radio (solo years), to working at a campground and harvesting cranberries, to reuniting with Stryper, and then being a co-lead singer and guitarist in another multi-multi-platinum selling band (Boston), to losing my wife to cancer, to remarrying, to leaving Boston, to recording more Stryper records and producing more solo albums. God only knows what's next.

I live near Cape Cod and I’m blessed with two incredible kids, Mikey and Ellena, and an amazing wife, Lisa. I have a handful of people I would call friends and a whole lot of people who I know by face, but couldn't tell you their names if my life depended on it. My life is good. Still to this day I can’t believe that I get paid for what I do, and not a day goes by that I take that for granted.

I have the most unique legion of fans. The vast majority of my fans are, like me, middle-aged family people. Good, normal people, many with some sort of Christian upbringing, but yet out of nowhere I find out that people like Larry The Cable Guy and Chris Jericho are fans. That Mike Wengren (Disturbed) and Richard Christy (Iced Earth) are fans. I read an article once where Wyclef Jean said he grew up listening to Stryper. Twiggy from Marilyn Manson saw us back in the day and even dressed up as a member of Stryper for career day when he was in high school. John 5 (Rob Zombie) saw us multiple times when he was growing up and even caught a bible that he still has to this day! Drew Barrymore recently used a Stryper T-shirt in her film
Whip It
.

To the mainstream public or maybe even to the hobbyist musician, I'm the guy that may be slightly cooler than Kip Winger, but isn’t nearly as cool as Bono. But if you get a couple of beers in people, you'd be shocked at who is willing to say, "Stryper? Hell yeah. They're one of my all-time favorite bands.
To Hell With The Devil
, baby."

How it got to this point, I have no idea. Some would call it luck. Some may call it a curse. I call it humbling divine intervention.

TWO

Whether you are a plumber, doctor, lawyer, or banker, there is someone, perhaps even several people, whom you can attribute to directly influencing your chosen career path.

For me, those people are Janice Sweet, Philip Sweet, Robert Sweet, and Jimmy Swaggart. We’ll get to Jimmy later, but let me start at the beginning.

On July 4, 1963, my mother Janice Sweet gave birth to me, Michael Harrison Sweet, at Whittier Presbyterian Hospital on Washington Boulevard, about 20 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.

Robert is actually my half-brother. I also have a half-sister Lisa, who is also a half-sister to Robert. Robert, Lisa, and I each have different biological fathers. My mother, with all the promise of love-ever-after, married two times before she met Phillip, my biological father, who eventually became a brakeman for The Southern Pacific Railroad by day and was a very gifted musician by night.

My father later legally adopted Robert and Lisa.

My mom and dad loved us all unconditionally and equally. It is because of their love and support and lack of pressure that my chosen profession has been music. I wouldn’t be writing this book today if it were not for the encouragement and support of my parents over the years.

I was born into a family of working musicians. Don Imus’ brother, Fred Imus, was my dad’s songwriting partner and together they penned the number one country song in 1976 called “I Don’t Want to Have to Marry You”, performed by Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius. Jim Ed Brown, founding member of The Browns, had a number one hit in 1959 with the song “The Three Bells.” My dad’s song helped re-ignite Jim Ed Brown’s career.

My mother, also a very talented singer, was in a trio with my aunt Reba and my grandmother Maxine. They sang in a live version of the show
Gunsmoke
. In 1958, my mom was in a beauty contest with Amanda Blake, “Miss Kitty” on
Gunsmoke
, as a judge. Not long after, she became friends with James Arness who played Matt Dillon on the show and she went to a few tapings that year.