Kim - How are you?

Michael - Good, how are you?

Kim - I'm doing great. I understand that you are getting ready to go back out on tour with all of the original members of Stryper.

Michael - The first time in 12 years with all of the original members. I left in 1991. They continued on and did a few shows overseas as a trio. Then they parted and went their separate ways soon after. We're doing what originally was going to be around eight to ten shows, which turned into 18 to 20 and is now 32 shows. We start October 2nd, the first show, down in Virginia, and we end on the 19th of November in Boston.

Kim - Ya'll are going to be busy.

Michael - Oh yeah. We're going to be doing a few five in a rows, a six in a row a lot of four in a rows, one day off. It's going to be brutal. The question is will we hold up? You know, I hope so.

Kim - I think you will. With God behind you ... He'll give you all of the strength you need.

Michael - Absolutely. We're going to need His strength. Our strength won't be enough to get us through. We're not conditioned and we're older. We haven't been touring and you know, all that stuff.

Kim - I understand the older part. (laughs)

Michael - I know. We're all getting older aren't we? But you know, if you can eat right and take care of yourself then you can get better with age. I definitely eat better. I still don't eat great but better. Back then it wouldn't be a problem for me to go to McDonald's and down three Big Macs and two fries. I don't do that anymore.

Kim - That's good. We try to eat right. I'm one of those stringent moms who insists on vegetables.

Michael - I grew up on southern cooking you know. My mom is from Oklahoma. I grew up eating pork chops, fried tomatoes and fried okra ... that's my favorite ...I love fried okra. I haven't had it in a long time. Black eyed peas ... all that stuff. She was a good cook and that's what I grew up on. I love that stuff.

Kim - Good stuff. So what made you guys decide to get back together, release a new CD and go on tour?

Michael - I got an email from Hollywood Records, which is the label that released the new record. They emailed me back before Thanksgiving and expressed an interest in releasing a compilation/best of Stryper record. They wanted my input as far as song sequence and song choice. I emailed them back and said "why don't you make it a little more interesting and a little more of a rarity and put us back in the studio and we'll cut some new songs?". They emailed me right back and said "that's great". That was right before Thanksgiving and we were in the studio by the 3rd of January. As you know, at that time everything kind of closes down, so it was very difficult to get everything taken care of ... the flights booked, the hotels, the deal with the label 'cause everyone was taking off for the holidays. It was kind of a stressful time but we got through it. We got the time booked. We got in the studio and we went in and recorded two brand new songs. Then we started talking about doing a few shows and it went from doing a few shows to doing 32 shows. We've got management involved now, Deep South, got a publicity firm involved. Everything's been slowly taking form and taking shape. Everything's falling into place very nicely. It's nice to see. Originally I was kind of handling everything and now other people of handling everything and it's nice. I can breath again and just relax and focus on music instead of all of the details and the business end. To be honest, I did it, but that's not what I prefer at all. I'd much rather focus on the music and deal with the music versus all of the business. So it's nice to have management handling all of that. It makes it much easier.

Kim - Are you seeing a future with Stryper being back together as a more permanent thing?

Michael - No. This is a one time deal. We're doing this reunion and it's more of a celebration type of reunion. We're not permanently getting back together as a band. There are no plans to go do another tour or another record. We're just going to all go out there, celebrate what Stryper did and the ministry of Stryper and have some fun. Hopefully we'll encourage and help people deal with some things that they may be going through in their lives and help them pull out of that. Be it drug addiction, alcohol addiction, suicidal thoughts, bad marriages, whatever it may be ... we want to encourage people and help people through those things. So that's what we're looking at it as. It's an opportunity to go out and do that once again through the music of Stryper, through the message and the ministry of Stryper. We're excited about that. Reuniting permanently as a band, no, that's not the case. And I do want to make that clear 'cause a lot of people think that it is. I don't want people thinking or believing in something that isn't the case. That's all.

Kim - God used Stryper to open doors in the Christian music industry 20 years ago that have expanded our definition of what Christian music is. How does it feel to have been a part of something that big?

Michael - It's amazing to look back and to realize what we were a part of. Something that was just on such a huge level as far as what God did with and through the band. As far as why God chose us, I have no idea. He could have chosen anyone for that matter and for some reason he chose the four of us to go out and put together Stryper, tour the world and make music. You know, to look back on it and to realize that I was a part of something so spectacular and unusual and such a powerful ministry, and that so many lives were affected, changed and renewed, that is amazing to me. It really is. I don't take any glory myself at all. But to have been chosen to be a part of that ... what a great feeling. I would absolutely love to be a part of something like that again. Be it this tour, if it's the next Michael Sweet solo record, if it's another band ... whatever. But it's an incredible thing to be out there and you have the crowd basically in your hand and the opportunity to share with them and they're giving you their undevoted attention. That's an incredible feeling.

Kim - What would you say you miss most about Stryper being together on a full time basis?

Michael - The thing that I miss most is seeing the lives changed. Going from venue to venue, from city to city and meeting the people that were pulled out of the hell that they were living in because of one song or the message of one album, or one song or one Stryper show. Meeting the people face to face is what I miss the most. It's amazing to come across these people and to hear their stories of how God, through Stryper, affected their lives. Incredible. What we got more than anything, most of the time, was people who were thinking about taking their own lives. At that moment they heard a Stryper song or saw us on TV and God, at that moment, helped them to pull out of the thought of taking their own life. Not only pull out of that, but also commit their lives to Christ and then continue on in that life in Christ. That's amazing. That happened many, many times. Incredible stuff like that is what I miss the most.

Kim - Something that you have had to deal with for the past 20 years is those people out there who are so busy pointing the finger at Christian rock being too worldly that they miss the whole message. I know that you've spoken on that in the past and you had some impressive arguments. Where this tour is concerned, and how God brought you back together to do this, to me, is a very big statement.

Michael - I agree. There have been some rumors, some true and some not true, over the four of us not getting along and not liking each other. Some of it's true. We went through some tough times and we're still working out things. But the fact that we're able to get back together and go out there and show people that God can renew and restore and everything that we were telling people and, through the message, preaching to people, is true. God can do anything. He can and will change lives. To have the opportunity to get back together as a band and go back out there and tell people that is just amazing.

Kim - Do you have any particular steps you take regularly before you go on stage?

Michael - Not really. I should have more than I do as far as warm-up techniques. Of course we pray, we get together and pray before every show. But as far as preparing musically with our skills and our talents ... not really. I drink a lot of water, and if I'm hoarse, I'll have some hot tea with nothing in it. I always get in a hot shower and just sit there and steam out my throat. That's about it. Some people are fanatical and I'm not like that.

Kim - Ice or no ice in your water?

Michael - No ice. Room temperature at all. No soda's. It will affect your vocal cords. I drink a lot of water long before I go on to hydrate my vocal cords. It's not instant you know. Some people think that if you just take a drink of water before you go on you instantly hydrate your vocal cords and that's not true. It takes a while so I start drinking water long before the show and during the show.

Kim - In regards to everything that is coming up, is there anything in particular that God has really put on your heart? Something that He's teaching you about what you're getting ready to do?

Michael - Not really. To be honest with you, I just want to make sure that we're all on the same page. That our hearts are to go out there and share with people, not so much to go out there and be rock stars and to bring any glory to ourselves. We want to go out there and we want to share with people. That's my hope and prayer, that we're all in agreement with that and that we're all thinking the same thoughts regarding that. I think that it's as simple as if we do that, everything else will fall in place. We don't need to worry about anything if we can do that. My plan is to make sure that that happens. We're going to have prayer time, devotion time, scripture reading time. We're gonna have pastors coming out to visit us. The focus is going to be staying behind God, letting God lead and staying with God. Not stepping out in front of God, and that's what we've done in the past. That's when you run into problems and the flood gates open. You wind up having tremendous problems hit you. I don't want that. I want God to be our fifth member. The only way to do that is to devote the time and make it happen.

Kim - I have heard that this tour is going to be yellow and black.

Michael - It is going to be yellow and black. We're going to have yellow and black guitars, drums, scrims in front of the amps. We're not going to have that much yellow and black clothing. Speaking for myself, I'm going to probably have a lot of black clothing ... black leather pants, black shirts, black t-shirts. No spandex. We're not pulling out the old outfits. I think it would look kind of funny to have older guys wearing old spandex clothes that they wore when they were 21, 22. And it's not what is going on now. I want to make sure that we don't come across as a joke. I want to be taken serious. For the new people, the younger generation and say "oh wow, I want to check that out. They sound cool and they look cool". I don't want to look like clowns.

Kim - I know you're going to be in Atlanta and there are a lot of people here that are looking forward to that show. I'm hoping to be able to get up there for the show and maybe talk to you a bit there as well.

Michael - Get with our management and they'll run it by us. I know that we're going to be crazed out there with sound checks and all sorts of things. Our focus is for the people that are coming to the shows, and to share with them. I know that we're going to have a lot going on but anytime that we have available, we'll make ourselves available.

Kim - I appreciate that. I've really enjoyed talking to you.

Michael - It was very nice talking to you and I will see you soon on tour.

Visit Michael's official web site at www.michaelsweet.com