By Jeb
Wright
Michael Sweet knows about tragedy and
triumph. He recently lost his wife after a devastating battle
with cancer. Her death left him a single father, with a job
that keeps him, mostly, on the road. Sweet had to change his
priorities, and learn balance in his daily life, something he,
all to often, took for granted when his wife was still alive.
He also completed a tour with Boston, picking up the pieces left
in that band by vocalist Brad Delp’s suicide. During the tour,
rock fans discovered the Sweet was an amazing vocalist, an
accomplished guitarist, and a maniac on stage. One could not
attend a Boston concert without finding ones eye’s drifting to
Sweet’s side of the stage. The glory was held in check, though,
by the fact that the only reason he was on the tour was that his
wife made him take the gig.
It is these kinds of ups and downs that
build character in a person. Sweet has reflected on his life,
owned up to his weaknesses, and stepped up to the plate, in both
his families’ lives and his own. He is fortunate that a chance
incident, a condolence sent when Delp died, has lead him to
Boston.
Life before Boston, for Sweet, consisted
of being the ‘go-to-guy’ in the Christian Metal band Stryper.
In this interview, Sweet discusses his days as the good boy on
the Sunset Strip, as well as when he went away from the Lord and
refused to practice what he preached.
Jeb: You
have an incredible musical story, but before we jump into it I
want to pass on my condolences on the loss of your wife.
Michael:
Thank you very much. I have been dealing with that on a
day-to-day basis. It is difficult sometimes because I want to
stay busy. When I am not busy I find that I am losing my mind.
I am getting out and stay active, which is a bit different for
me because I am more of a recluse. When I am out on the road
then I am a busybody but when I am home, I am more on the
reclusive side.
Jeb:
Musicians have the dual personality thing...
Michael: I
guess so. All of my buddies like to go out. Oz [Fox], from
Stryper, likes to go out. If anyone asks him to go out then he
jumps at the opportunity. I am the opposite. I go, “I think I
will just get a movie and a pizza and stay in tonight.”
Jeb: I have
a wife, a son and a daughter and my wife is the bedrock of the
family. I read you story and was really touched. I can’t
imagine what you are going through. My thoughts and prayers
really are with you. It has got to be horrible.
Michael: I
appreciate it, I really do. It really is, but it is interesting
because with all the pain and sorrow that has gone on, there has
been some really good come from it to. I always feel awkward
saying that but it is true. It has somehow helped to bring my
daughter, my son and myself closer together. It is not that we
were not close before, as we were always a close family, but I
was one who got lost in the flow of recording and touring. My
priorities would get a little out of whack and this has really
helped me to keep my priorities in check. I am really getting
closer to my kids through all of this, so something good has
come out of it.
Jeb: On
another note, I saw you play with BOSTON last summer. The
curiosity aspect was that there was a Home Depot employee that
was now a member of BOSTON. I also knew that you, a member of
Stryper, were also in the band. But I will admit I really was
not focused on you. That is until I saw you play and sing. You
were amazing on that stage. I don’t think I gave you the
respect as a vocalist that you deserve. You stole the show.
Michael: I
am one of those guys...I am not about competition. I hate being
in the spotlight. In a room full of people I tend to be more
shy and reserved. If someone asks, “Who wants to go do
something,” I am not going to be the first one to raise my
hand. When it comes to the stage, however, something happens.
Maybe because I am so shy and reclusive I use the stage as a way
to release it. I get lost in the music and I enjoy it so much.
The fact that I am blessed and able to do that puts me on such a
high. I am blessed and I am able to bless others...that is why
I am running around like a chicken with his head cut off up
there.
Jeb: I have
seen BOSTON many times over the years. It was odd without Brad
there, but you guys were amazing.
Michael: I
have to tell you that when I heard the first BOSTON album, it
changed my life. The first song I heard was “More Than a
Feeling.” My chin fell and hit the floor. As a musician, I
could not believe what I was hearing. What grabbed me was the
production. Everything was perfect and that is what floored
me. It helped me to strive to achieve better guitar tones,
better vocal structures, better production methods and all kinds
of stuff. BOSTON was a big influence on my life.
When I look
at old BOSTON footage from Giants Stadium on YouTube, then I am
just blown away. To me, they sounded great. When someone says
to me that this version of BOSTON sounds better than the old
one, I look at those old YouTube clips and the hairs on my arm
just stand up. For some reason, I just love it. Some of the
melodies have changed but there is just a raw energy that is so
cool to see. At the same time, to be told that this lineup is
the best that BOSTON has sounded is hard to believe. I say that
very humbly.
Jeb: As far
as a live sound goes, BOSTON really sounds great live now. All
the parts are there with the guitars and the harmonies. I don’t
know if that has ever happened before.
Michael: I
am so glad to hear that. The other side of the coin is that
there is really a great spirit in the band. It is really fun
again. There is a newness that is refreshing. It is almost like
the first time. Speaking from my experience, in Stryper, I head
everything up in that band and I am the ‘go to’ guy. That can
really take away from the joy of just playing the music. In
BOSTON, I just get to be a musician. Honest to God, this tour
was the most fun tour that I have ever been on in my life. Were
there stressful moments? Of course there were. Were there
moments where my voice didn’t feel up to par and I was worried
about that? Of course there were. Those are just things that go
along with touring. Looking over and seeing an ear-to-ear grin
on Gary’s [Pihl] face and an ear-to-ear on Tom’s face was
great. Seeing Tom move around on stage and smiling and bringing
his guitar up in the air was awesome. We fed off of that and it
kind of spread throughout the entire group.
Jeb: Are
you responsible for getting “Hitch A Ride” back into the set
list? That is the rumor...
Michael: I
don’t think so. I think that is something that Tom and Kim
[Scholz] wanted to do because it was one that had not been
played in a very long time. I was all for it. It is one of my
favorite BOSTON songs and I love the solo in that song. I
wasn’t the one who walked in and said, “I want to do ‘Hitch a
Ride.’” When it came up I was like, “I would love to do that
one.”
Jeb: Tom
explained to me that having you in BOSTON is really a chance
thing that came from you giving your condolences to them when
Brad Delp died.
Michael:
You could never plan this. It happened, in my opinion, because
it was a God thing—don’t worry man, I am not going to get over
spiritual on you. I really do think it was the hand of God
because it was the toughest time of my life. My wife was
diagnosed with Stage IV of ovarian cancer and was really sick.
I was completely floored and knocked down, beyond belief, and
wondering if life was over. Tom was going through the death of
Brad Delp. We were both going through the darkest times of our
lives. I reached out and wrote something about what Brad meant
to me as a singer and a person, even though I had never met
him. Tom read what I wrote and was touched by that. That led
to them reaching out to my management and me being invited to go
out and sing a song or two at, what was supposed to be, the last
BOSTON show, which was the benefit show. The talk was that they
were not going to continue on without Brad. I completely
understood that and agreed. I got my guitar and went up for
rehearsals and learned some songs.
This is my
side of the story, but at the very moment when we started to
play, something happened. It was more on the guitar side of
things and not the vocals. We all clicked and there was this
really cool feeling of unity; you could feel it. Tom’s eyes got
big and he made the comment that this was the best that the
guitars had ever sounded. We started getting to the point to
where we were actually rehearsing and I sang “More Than a
Feeling,” and Kim, Tom’s wife, said she got goose bumps.
Everything clicked and continued to fall into place. It wasn’t
forced; we weren’t making it happen. It was them as people, and
me as a person, and it just worked. We went and did the show
and after the show Tom was really excited about the future. Tom
came up to me and said, “If all the planets align, Michael, and
we do anymore then we would like you to be a part of it.” Not
long after that, I was in Spain with Stryper and I got a phone
call from BOSTON’s agent, who tells me they are booking a BOSTON
tour. It was really surreal.
If you put
BOSTON and Stryper aside, I am just so blessed to be in their
lives and to be a part of their lives. I am very blessed to
call them friends and for them to call me a friend; that is the
blessing in all of this. The icing on the cake is the rest of
this but the cake is the fact that they are my friends. I am
blessed, as was my wife, Kyle, to know Tom and Kim. I consider
them family and I think they consider us family too. They are
incredible people.
Jeb: This
is more than just playing music...
Michael: We
share a lot of the same values and views. We just hit it off.
I understand them and they understand me.
Jeb: I have
not found this to be true but a lot of people say Tom is hard to
work with. Where does that come from?
Michael: I
shouldn’t say that I don’t know because I do know. I think
where that is misunderstood, and misconstrued, is because he’s a
perfectionist. He wants everything to be perfect and I am the
exact same way. I understand that. It doesn’t make you a bad
person but it can sometimes make it more of a stressful
situation when the other people you are working with don’t agree
or are not perfectionists. They don’t understand and they will
say, “That vocal is good enough,” or “That guitar part is good
enough,” and in your mind it is not good enough. You want to
keep getting it better and better until, in your mind, it is the
perfect one. I don’t think there is a perfect take. I can’t
listen to Stryper records because I listen to everything that is
not perfect; instead of what is good, I listen to what is bad.
I think Tom may do that as well because he is an extreme
perfectionist. I don’t get the “difficult to work with” thing.
I have not seen that at all. Tom just wants everything to sound
perfect so the people who come to the shows get the best of the
best. He is one of the nicest, giving and most incredibly
humble people that I have ever met on this planet.
Jeb: I
think the media does not like it because he is not out there
doing a ton of interviews and waving the BOSTON flag.
Michael: I
hear what you are saying but I don’t get it. I am one of those
guys who waves the flag. Tom is very talented and he is very
smart—he is ‘from another planet’ smart.
Jeb: When
you were going to jam with BOSTON for the first time were you
nervous?
Michael:
There was a side of me that was saying, “Pinch me.” There still
is that part of me that says that. I am still saying, “How did
this happen?” I may get to sing on the new BOSTON album and I
may get a song on the new BOSTON record. I might get to tour
with BOSTON again. I never assume anything; I am very cautious
about that. Life changes and things happen that are out of my
control but the fact that they are my friends, today, is
incredible. When I really step back and think about it then I
really know how this happened. I view it as our paths crossing
because of God saying that we needed each other during these
dark times in our lives.
It has been
like a movie; these things just don’t happen in real life. This
goes beyond the events that happened with me. Look at the
events that happened with Tommy. We got to go out with Styx and
that was the best band for us to go out with. Everything really
clicked. I came off of that tour thinking that I would not have
gone back and changed a thing. The most difficult thing was
being away from my wife. Knowing my wife the way I do, that was
her gift to me. She insisted that I do it. She was very
sacrificial. I was receiving that gift and that made it even
more special.
Jeb: Tell
me what you know about a new BOSTON album?
Michael:
There is no time frame or date being set; nothing is set in
stone. I can tell you this: It is being worked on. There is
some material that might be re-recorded and there is some
material with Brad on it. There is also new material and I have
a couple of songs that I have presented to Tom. There are all
sorts of ideas going on right now.
Jeb: With
two perfectionists working together...it may never get done.
Michael: I
hear you. Tom is really working away on it and I know there is
a lot of work being put into it this year. The goal is to get
it done sooner than later.
Jeb: As
successful as you have been in Stryper, you have never had to go
into the studio and top the debut album or Don’t Look Back.
How do you do that?
Michael:
When you get into a situation where you are making comparisons
between songs that were hits, you lose sight of what you are
doing and it becomes sterile. It can become lifeless and then
you end up with something that is not going to touch peoples’
hearts. When you go into it with the attitude of writing from
your heart and expressing your art that comes from your heart
and soul then you can do it. If you do that and put everything
into it then the rest is all going to fall into place. That is
what is happening here. I don’t think it is a situation where
Tom is trying to make an album like the first album. This album
will have it’s own thing and it is going to be different, but I
think it is going to be really great.
Jeb: Tom
does not need the fame, money or accolades. He is free to create
whatever he wants.
Michael: I
stress this with this album or any band making an album: Write
from the heart. Don’t get stressed looking at statistics or
looking at the past or any of that stuff. If you go down that
path then you are on a path that you don’t really want to be
on. I have done that with some of my solo albums. I was trying
to write an album that was like another album. Stryper did that
with In God We Trust. We tried to copy the To Hell
With The Devil album and it didn’t work.
Jeb: You’re
still in Stryper but do you ever look at the set list for a
BOSTON show and just get blown away from the songs that are
written down?
Michael:
When we are playing “More Than a Feeling” or “Long Time” or “Smokin’”
I am having flashbacks to when I was thirteen-years-old and was
a fan. It, honest to God, feels like I am dreaming everything
because it just doesn’t feel real. It is so cool to be up there
playing all of these songs that affected my life and so many
others.
Jeb: Did
you buy the first BOSTON album way back when?
Michael: I
sure did. I don’t have it any more but my wife still has it.
She has quite a vinyl collection and the BOSTON record is in
there. I do have a copy of the original BOSTON record. I
should get Tom to sign it.
Jeb: When
did you know that music was going to be your life?
Michael: My
parents were singers and songwriters so this has always been in
my life. When I was two and three years old, I used to rock
back and forth whenever music was being played. My dad used to
come home from work and play everything from Mario Lanza to
Elvis Presley to Creedence Clearwater Revival. Whenever he
would put anything on I would start bopping back and forth—I
could feel the music.
When I was
five, I wanted to learn how to play the guitar. He had a Gibson
twelve-string that was the worst guitar I could have ever
learned on. But, he showed me some chords and I worked hard,
and when was eight I got an electric guitar. By the time I was
eleven or twelve, I got amps and distortion boxes and got into
really playing. I had a musical family and music has always
been a big part of my life.
My brother
had a band and they needed a vocalist. My dad talked him into
letting me try out for the band. I was thirteen and he was
sixteen and wanting to be serious. He didn’t want to try me out
but he finally let me and I got the gig. We bought a PA and we
started playing clubs when I was fourteen. I played
Garzaries
when I was fifteen and sixteen years old. I played all of the
Hollywood clubs then. I look back on it and I wonder how it
could be because I was in these clubs and it was illegal for me
to be in there.
Jeb: Was
the family where your spiritual life came from?
Michael: It
was. My brother started watching an evangelist on TV on Sunday
morning. I got interested and, over a period of five or six
months, my whole family started watching him. We got involved
in our local church and we started doing music in our local
church. I fell away from that and went through a period where I
didn’t want to go to church or even have anything to do with the
church. I got heavily into the club scene. We were playing
with Ratt and Motely Crue.
Jeb: You
were not called Stryper then.
Michael: We
were called Roxx and then we changed the name to Roxx Regime.
We played the club scene for years. There were a number of
times when people would come up to me, while I was on Sunset
Strip and tell me about God. There was this guy named Arthur
Blessit, who carried this cross around the world, telling people
about God. All of these little things started happening to me
that started making me think about God again.
To make a
long story short, we wound up forming a band. Our bass player
was in a band called Stormer, who were one of the biggest
Hollywood bands. He left the band and he was the bass player we
always wanted. We always thought that he would be the coolest
person to be in a band with. We saw a picture of Stormer and
Tim [Gaines] was not in the picture. We got his number and
called his house and spoke to his mother. We found out that he
left Stormer because he had become a Christian. We contacted
Tim and he came down and we formed the band, that a few months
later, became Stryper.
Jeb: Was it
hard to come out as a Christian Metal band?
Michael: We
chose to be a light in the dark and to be a positive instead of
negative. We wanted to be an encouragement instead of a
discouragement. We started telling people that they didn’t need
drugs. We tried to encourage kids to get out of that whole drug
scene that was going on and is still going on.
Jeb: In
Roxx Regime were you in the Sunset Strip lifestyle?
Michael: I
was going up in sin in that lifestyle. I was there every
weekend smoking and drinking. I was just there getting drunk.
I was completely absorbed with that lifestyle. I finally
discovered that was not me. From about the age of fourteen
until the age of twenty, I lived that lifestyle. When I was
twenty, I made a commitment to encourage people with the music
that God gave me.
Jeb: You
were young out on The Strip.
Michael: I
started playing at an early, early age. I played talent shows
and parties when I was ten years old. I played bass then and
the bass was bigger than me. I recorded with my parents when
they were recording Country records. I progressed very
quickly.
Jeb: How
old were you when you first played
Garzaries?
Michael: I
was either thirteen or fourteen. I joined my brother’s band
when I was thirteen and I might have played
Garzaries
when I was just about to turn fourteen. I looked older than my
age. I never got questioned by anyone. LA was on fire
musically at that time. You had Y&T, Van Halen and Quiet Riot
who were creating a huge buzz. In the early to mid-Eighties,
you had Ratt, Motley Crue, Great White and Stryper. All of
these bands were getting record deals from playing the clubs in
Hollywood. People would come and see bands play in clubs and
they would be signed two weeks later. We were in the right
place at the right time.
Jeb: You
say it like that but Stryper could play their instruments. You
guys were better than a lot of Strip bands, talent wise.
Michael: I
view us as four guys who strive to be good but who really aren’t
that good. I prefer to view it that way because it keeps me
humble. There are guys who put us to shame. There are guys who
can sing and play circles around me. I will say that I always
try to play from the heart and I will continue trying to do
that.
Jeb: When
you switched from partying on The Strip to being a good
Christian boy, how did the other bands treat you?
Michael: We
took a lot of flack, we really did. We would get a write up in
the paper where they would say, “This has got to be a joke.”
They would bash us until they would come and see us play live.
They would come and see us and then they would say, “Never mind
what I said before.” We were not the best musicians but we
always gave it our all. Oz and I would spend days on one guitar
solo working out every single note in harmony. I am talking
tapping and everything. It was pretty intricate stuff and we
had to work really hard at it to pull it off. We put more time
into it than you will ever know. We busted our butts. I think
that came across live. When people would see us live then I
think that came off. The vocal harmonies and the guitar solos
really sounded good.
Jeb: I
heard Stryper but I never paid attention that you were a
Christian band. Someone had a cassette and I heard some of it
and thought it rocked. Then, I found out you were a Christian
band and I decided that I had to hate you.
Michael: It
is amazing because that has happened more times that you would
believe. People would hear the music and like it but then find
out we are Christians and not like us. The same people will
take some of the really dark stuff and not want to listen to it
because of the lyrical content. Our latest record, Reborn,
is not lyrically like it was in the past. In the past, it was
all about Jesus and it was really up front. We are not sweeping
anything under the carpet now; we still take a really strong
stance on who we are and what we are and we would never run from
that. We have just changed our approach over the years.
Jeb: You
have to change. You can’t put out the same thing over and over
and over.
Michael: I
listen to a lot of new bands. I made a solo record called
Truth and I was trying to stay up with what was going on
within the scene. I try to do that with Stryper too. When we
mix I try to capture something similar to what is going on now.
We don’t want to sound dated.
Jeb: You
can’t go too far to the new or people will think you are not
being true to yourself.
Michael:
There is a very fine line there and it is hard to pull off.
Reborn was our attempt to retain our roots and still step
into 2005, which is when it came out.
Jeb: My
only complaint on that album is that there needed to be guitar
solos.
Michael:
Two things that we have heard about that album are, “Where are
the guitar solos?” and “Where are the high notes?” We just
weren’t feeling it at the time. If I could go back then I would
at least add guitar solos. Our new album, Murder by Pride,
is all about guitar solos. There are a lot of harmony guitar
solos with lots of notes.
Jeb: MTV
played you a lot and I think that helped people get over the God
thing.
Michael:
Stryper really tried to achieve the best. If you listen to
To Hell With The Devil, and compare it with other records
that came out at the same time, then you would notice how well
it was produced. The same was true with Against the Law,
although that didn’t get much recognition. Tom Werman produced
it and it had an incredible sound and production to it. It
could really hold up with the best of them for that time. I
think, coming from a Christian band, it blew people away. This
is not a knock against other Christian bands but they tended to
not sound like that. They sounded like they were made for ten
thousand dollars instead of a hundred thousand dollars. They
just lacked in quality and were not up to par. Our records
always were up to par. We tried to make records that could
stand up against anything out there.
Jeb: Did
the record company try to get you to exploit the Christian angle
so they could market you as something different?
Michael:
We actually got signed and the record company had no idea
that we were a Christian band. We played in clubs and we were
really loud. The vocals were always muddy and not very out
front. They had no idea what we were singing about. They loved
the music and they signed us. When it came time to submit
lyrics and liner notes, they freaked out. They called and said,
“Are you serious about these lyrics?” This was a label called
Enigma, who had signed Motley Crue. They said, “We didn’t know
this is what this was going to be and we are not happy with
this.” They really wanted out but we had a really good attorney
and there was no way of getting out of it without it getting
really nasty. They ended up releasing the record, Yellow &
Black Attack, and in a three-week period it sold about
250,000 units, which for a totally underground, no world press
type of band just blew them away. All of a sudden, we were
their best buddies. We developed a great relationship with
Enigma and they became really great friends of ours. We stuck
to our guns and we did what we did and it ended up doing really
well for them. Each record sold more than that last.
Jeb: Where
did the spandex come into play? You are as famous for the
yellow and black spandex than you are for anything else.
Michael: It
is one of those love/hate things. The yellow and black is such
a big part of Stryper. A lot of times that is how we are
recognized. I will be talking to people and ask them if they
have ever heard of Stryper and they will say, “No, I haven’t.”
I will say they were the ones with the yellow and black and they
will go, “Oh yeah, the bumblebees.” It is such a visual thing
and it helps people remember the band. It is also kind of a
curse at times. It is also what people want to see but we don’t
always want them to see it. We want to be remembered for the
music.
Jeb: You
went with a different look on Reborn.
Michael: We
incorporated the yellow and black but we did it in a toned down
way. On this tour, and for this album, we are going to do a set
with the new bass player and the new material and then we are
going to take a break. We are then going to come out and play a
set with new clothes that are being made for us, that are yellow
and black, and play the yellow and black guitars and play a set
of the old songs, with the original bass player. It is going to
be really different.
Jeb: I
think you and Motley Crue should have toured and called it The
Saints & Sinners Tour.
Michael: We
talked about a tour with Motley. We talked to Vince Neal and we
talked about touring together. It never progressed into
paperwork or going into the legalities. We were going to call
it The Heaven & Hell Tour but it never came to be.
Jeb:
Stryper never attacked their peers for their behavior. There
was no holier than thou attitude.
Michael: We
reached out to our peers. We enjoined hanging out with them.
Michael Anthony would come to our photo shoot and hang with us
and tell us that he bought Stryper albums for his kids. We are
all people and we are all flesh and blood. We all go to the
same place in the end.
I never
wanted to have the attitude that we were better than them or
knew more than them. It doesn’t work and it is the wrong
attitude for any Christian to have.
Jeb:
Stryper broke up for a while. What caused the break up?
Michael: We
broke up in 1991, due in part to the fact that, for a brief
period in our lives, we kind of walked away from God. We made a
record called Against the Law and our hearts changed. It
became more about the music than the message. We got caught up
in the whole scene. We started doing things that we had never
done and things that we had always spoke out against, and
encouraged people not to do, like getting drunk. We were
relying on alcohol to make us happy. We started bringing beer
into rehearsals, which we had never had before. We had beer on
the bus, which we had never had before. One guy would have one
beer and then another and then another. It snowballed into
something that we just weren’t and never wanted to be. It got
to the point to where I thought we were being hypocrites. We
wound up going our separate ways.
Jeb: I
though you all just faded away as popular music changed.
Michael: We
would have continued and made another record. We went through
that phase and we needed to get away from one an other to renew
our minds and restore ourselves. I am very openhearted and I
speak freely, even though it might be uncomfortable for some
people to read those things, but it helped me to become the man
I am today. I learned a lot through it, and from it, we all
have. At this very moment we are all in good places in our
lives.
Jeb: Did it
drop your jaws when some of the major religious people were
speaking out against you?
Michael: It
did and it didn’t. It dropped our jaws in the sense that we
were trying to do the same thing that they were. It was
somewhat painful and hurtful. When we stepped back and realized
why they were doing that then it made us understand it a little
bit more. You have to look at us. We were one of the first
bands to do what we did and to do it the way that we did. It
was shocking. I could image people in the church looking at us
with the long hair, makeup and spandex and being shocked.
We used to
have people from local churches come out to our shows with
bullhorns. They would have twenty to thirty bullhorns and be
shouting at people telling them not to come into our shows.
They would say we were wolves in sheep’s clothing... We were on
the news and it was just wild. We would always go out whenever
that happened, and it happened often, and try to love them and
be nice. We would offer them tickets and ask them if they had
ever seen us before. Nine times out of ten they would say they
had never seen us. We would say, “Why don’t you come in and
check us out before you protest what we do?” Sometimes they
would. Those that did come in, their hearts were changed
because they saw what we were trying to do.
Jeb: Last
one: Have Tom and Gary got you to stop eating meat yet?
Michael: I
will be honest here... no, I still eat meat on occasion. My
wife was a vegetarian. I considered myself a vegetarian for a
while but I wasn’t a real diehard vegetarian because I still ate
fish. I ate vegetarian on this tour and it is the best that I
ever felt. We had a staff that would make these incredible
meals. I consider myself a healthy eater. I like sushi;
actually I love sushi. I respect the fact that Tom and Gary are
so disciplined. It is not just about what they put into their
bodies but it is about why they don’t eat meat as well. If you
think about the inhumane side of things… it is tragic and I
think it would change anybody who knew about it. It is about
knowledge. If you don’t know what is going on then you are not
going to change. If you see how animals are abused and the
process of how it is made and packaged then it will change what
you put in your mouth.
Jeb: I
admire anyone who has that kind of conviction. I am still
addicted to cows.
Michael:
Once you do it and get into that mind set—it takes a lot more
work to find good food and to prepare the food. Once you get
into that way of doing things then there is no turning back. It
is incredible food and you feel better. In many ways you are
also helping the situation. It is the way to be. Tom and Kim
have certainly been an influence. Every time I go to see them
she makes these incredible meals. They would change anyone’s
mind.
Jeb: Last
one: BOSTON is taking a year off playing live. What is Stryper
doing?
Michael:
Stryper will be out this year from September to mid November.
As far as BOSTON goes, there will be more touring but it just
depends on when. It could be 2010, 2011 or it could be 2048
[laughter]. I think there will be more and I am so excited
about that possibility and everyone is looking forward to it.
www.bandboston.com
www.stryper.com
www.michaelsweet.com
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