Honestly: My Life and Stryper Revealed (15 page)

We just weren’t as patient as we should have been with Tim back then. We didn’t give him the chance he deserved to learn the parts for the album. Looking back on it, I’m sure he could have pulled it off if we had given him the opportunity and had we shared our expectations more clearly. As proof, I fast-forward to our 2010 release of
The Covering
, an album we did of all cover songs including some that contain the most difficult bass playing in rock music. Tim played on that album and did an incredible job. We had songs on
The Covering
that would be tough for any player, and Tim nailed it with in-the-pocket eighth notes just like we needed him to do. Add to that “Second Coming,” which includes re-records of songs from THWTD, and Tim nailed it!

We worked around the clock to finish
THWTD
. We not only had a tight budget, but we also had a stringent timeline from the label. We had Eddy Schreyer at Capitol booked to master the album and we didn’t want to lose the session. He was the best of the best and we knew he would put the final “ear candy” on the record. He was booked for months on end, so if we lost our scheduled window of opportunity, we’d have no choice but to go somewhere else—and after all we had been through to get to this point, that wasn’t about to happen.

We stayed in the studio mixing night and day. We’d take turns sleeping on the couch and consuming ridiculous amounts of coffee. On the last mix day, when we were scheduled to go to mastering the following morning, Oz desperately needed and wanted a shower. He and I went out behind the studio and he had me hose him down and pour buckets of water over him so that he could at least be semi-hygienic before we had to go to mastering.

The next morning we went to Capitol Records after staying up all night. I was exhausted to the point of feeling nauseous. But we made it through the sessions and Eddy far exceeded our expectations in making our first digital recording sound incredible.

When the guys from the label heard it, they were blown away! I remember playing it for them for the first time and seeing the surprised looks on all their faces. I could almost see the dollar signs racing through their heads. We had given them a radio-friendly rock/metal record, or more suitable to the times, an MTV-friendly record. We did get some good airplay. “Honestly” peaked at #23 on the Billboard charts and would become our only single to hit Top 40. But MTV was a different story. They weren’t quite ready for us either, but thanks to DIAL-MTV, the fans would soon change and force the minds of the Music Television executives.

TWENTY-TWO

During the
To Hell With The Devil
era, we continued to fuel controversy within the Christian community. More Christians began to support us, but more Christians also continued to protest our shows. Our Christian detractors often felt we didn’t preach enough and that we were conforming to the world in order to be accepted. Although our mainstream fan base grew during this period, our Christian message often turned away non-Christians.

We weathered the reactions from both Christians and the mainstream, but I was sometimes frustrated to hear our fans boo the opening act. This happened at the Anthrax show years earlier at The Country Club and I was somewhat bummed that our fans would boo them. Too often, a band would take the stage, singing about whatever, and I’d start to hear booing between the songs, and I would cringe in the dressing room.

I just wish that sort of thing hadn’t come from our fans. Instead of booing a band, I wish they had shown respect. It doesn’t set a good example and certainly does not exemplify the love of Christ. There are countless accounts in the Bible where Jesus teaches us to be a good example to others. Booing a band, to me, just isn’t a good example of exemplifying Christ.

Another incident I recall happened in Greensboro, North Carolina, where we had a band called PKM opening for us. They were a spin-off band with members from the Epic Records act Nantucket who had toured with AC/DC—so they were obviously talented. I was standing side stage and PKM started throwing album covers of their new record into the audience, and I saw people rolling them up and throwing them back at the band, accompanied by boos and questionable remarks.

We always purposely took bands on the road with us that were not Christian bands. We still prefer to operate that way. The reason is twofold: We want their fans in the audience in hopes that we can share our faith, and we want to share with the bands themselves if the opportunity presents itself. And by “share our faith,” I mean showing them the love of God and hope that it may have a lasting effect on them.

What band in their right mind would want anything to do with Christianity when the fans of a well-known Christian band are booing them and throwing their stuff back at them? It was disappointing for me to see this coming from our fans, never mind the fact that it made it difficult for us to be taken seriously. What were we supposed to say?
“Yeah, Christianity is great. God is good! Just think, if you accept Christ, you too could have fans that are disrespectful and boo your opening acts.”

I have friends, many of them close friends, who have a regular routine of going out into public places in order to witness to others. They’ll go to a mall or a grocery store, not with the intent of buying clothing or milk and bread, but instead to witness to people and share their faith. I’ve never done this, and I know I wouldn’t be very good at it. It’s not me at all.

The way I try to share my faith is through my life. I try to let God shine through me by being nice and showing respect to people, by being an approachable and personable guy. I’m more the kind of guy that would be interested in developing a friendship with people, maybe invite them to dinner. Then, only if the door opens widely, I will talk about God. My purpose for developing the friendship is first and foremost to become someone’s friend.

People know what I stand for and know that I’m a Christian, so there’s really no hiding it. I don’t need to boldly say to people in my everyday life,
“By the way, I’m a Christian. Have you accepted Christ?”
But even if they didn’t know me, and I wasn’t in Stryper, it’s not my personality to operate that way.

If I’m going to speak boldly about Jesus, it’s going to be in the songs
. “Jesus is the Way!”
It doesn’t get much clearer than when I sing,
“God, I will follow You because You died for me. Gave to me Your life to set me free.”

We have songs that are basically the sinner’s prayer summed up in a song. That’s how I prefer to share my faith. That’s my platform and opportunity to tell the world about God. I’m just not that guy that takes his Bible and goes out seeking others. Even if we didn’t have fans worldwide that I could share my faith with, I still wouldn’t be that guy going door-to-door.

I don’t force my faith on people. Growing up I was around a lot of people that
did
force it on others, and that made me uncomfortable. I don’t think you sincerely reach people like that, and if anything, I believe you can push them away. But it works for some, so God bless those who have the ability to “preach” more boldly than I do.

Believe it or not, I’m also shy. That plays a role, too, in my disinterest in sharing my faith in a forward manner. Sure, when I’m on stage, I’d prefer the audience to be focused on the band. But if I’m at a dinner party or a social gathering, I feel more comfortable when nobody notices me.

I’m not shy, however, about sharing my faith. I don’t go door-to-door looking for people to talk to about God, but if someone asks, I’m of course upfront about it and comfortable with sharing my beliefs.

There’s a lot of disagreement among Christians as to the right way to witness and share the word of God. I’m perplexed when one side can’t see the other’s side, or doesn’t try to understand. “Door-to-door” Christians sometimes get upset because I’m not as forward about my faith as they would like me to be, and lead-by-example Christians are often turned off by those who share more boldly. I try to understand both sides and feel that all Christians should understand this one basic point: God does not call all people in the same way. Some He calls for service in one area and others for service in another. It’s always been frustrating for me to see Christians upset with other Christians because they believe God has the same calling for all Christians. He doesn’t.

During the
THWTD
era Christians were constantly trying to convince me that I should be doing something the way God called
them
to do it, whatever that might be. I simply wanted to show people that love is the greatest gift, and we’re called to love one another. If we lead by example, our faith will shine through just fine.

Being “nice” was difficult during the
To Hell
era when I’d regularly run into protestors screaming at me through a bullhorn, “You’re going to hell. You’re a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Repent.” What I really wanted to do was grab the bullhorn and beat them over their heads with it, but of course, I didn’t. I tried my best to lead by example. Hopefully a few “protestors” over the years noticed my character and have gone on to throw away their bullhorns and make an actual difference in somebody else’s life.

This time in my life was as eye opening as it was confusing. Personally, I had a plate full with my newly found domestic life. Professionally, I was doing everything I could to help Stryper turn the corner into mainstream popularity. Spiritually, I was constantly struggling with the odd clash between the Christians and the non-Christians we were meeting on tour. Going into this era of my life, I assumed the Christians would greet us at concerts with open arms, encouraging us on this path we were taking. Not the case. I assumed Christians would show respect to the non-Christian bands we were taking on the road. Again, not always the case. And I assumed the non-Christian music fans would be our constant antagonists on the road. Also not always the case.

I grew a lot as a result of that confusion, and that growth helped lead us through what was to come.

TWENTY-THREE

New technology and new methods constantly change and challenge the music industry. Some people, usually the old-school folks, hate these changes, and some people wonder how we ever lived without them.

My kids grew up in the Internet Age, a time that forever changed music. Napster made it possible to download music for free. Apple and iTunes made digital downloads the standard for music buyers. Most musicians my age were not happy with the idea of free music when it was introduced. We felt we should be paid for our art, for our work. We also didn’t like it because the sonic quality of a download was sub-par by comparison with CDs.

My parents came of age during the proliferation of rock ’n’ roll. Turntables made it easy for them to listen to their 45’s anywhere there was electricity. Portable radios, car stereos and AM rock radio stations meant they could listen to rock and roll just about anywhere at any time they wanted to. But many in my grandparent’s generation saw the new music and the technology that generated it as a passing fad or, worse, evil.

I, however, came of age in what I consider to be a great time in music history—the music video era. For the first time ever fans could not only hear, but also
watch
their favorite bands. An entire network had formed that showed nothing but music videos. MTV was the new radio, and life would never be the same for the music business. All of a sudden it wasn’t enough for a record label to make a record and release it—they had to also make a video to accompany the song.

Once again, people on the other side of the fence viewed videos as a passing fad. Given that the video channel YouTube, 30+ years after the unveiling of MTV, is now the most popular outlet by which people discover new music, I’d say the naysayers were once again incorrect about the short life span of music videos.

We had produced two videos prior to releasing
To Hell With The Devil
, but neither had seen much airtime. After making what I and Enigma Records felt was the album of our career, it was time to make videos that would properly reinforce this music. It was time to get on MTV, something all musicians viewed as the ultimate triumph on the path to success. Being on MTV in 1986-1987 was today’s equivalent to a video going viral on YouTube and achieving millions of views quickly. It was
that
big, if not bigger. And every band from that era wanted to be a part of the music video phenomenon.

Enigma hired the best of the best to shoot our first video for the song “Calling On You.” Wayne Isham, with a company called The Company, had directed notable acts from Motley Crue to Michael Jackson to Bon Jovi to Metallica.

We shot “Calling On You” at The Charlie Chaplin sound stage at A&M Studios, the location where he shot many of those old, legendary silent movies. The enormous sound stage provided a venue for what was often referred to as a “live without an audience” video, basically a performance on a massive stage with pyrotechnics and five trillion lights and cameras and no audience. It’s a little awkward at first, but you get the hang of it. This was a common format for rock videos of the 1980s, and it seemed to be working for us as well.

Just walking in to that sound stage at A&M took our excitement level through the roof. We really felt like, for probably the first time in our careers, this was something that would catapult us to a new level of popularity.

The video shoot took one day, with editing taking about a week, and when I saw the final cut I was amazed. I couldn’t believe something so big, so huge, so cool
was us
, four “regular” guys from Southern California. Swinging boom cameras covered a stage the size of a football field (or at least so it seemed), and we pulled out every rock move/pose we could think of—all in the quest of a coveted prime-time slot on MTV. Finally, we were going to have the opportunity to really take God’s message to the masses. Finally, the years of hard work were about to pay off.

Not so fast.

All the pyro, jumbo stages, swinging cameras, crazy outfits, Maybelline and Aqua Net didn’t make up for the fact that we were still viewed as a Christian band—and MTV didn’t play Christian music.