STRYPER's MICHAEL SWEET Talks About Feelings Of Guilt Over Pursuing Solo Career

STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet was interviewed by rock journalist Mitch Lafon for a recent edition of the "One On One With Mitch Lafon" podcast (Facebook page). You can now listen to the chat using the Spreaker widget below.

Asked if he ever feels a sense of guilt when he does either a solo project or a project that doesn't involve the other members of STRYPER, Sweet said: "I think when anyone does a solo project, instantly, whether it's publicly or internally, or even just in your own subconscious, there's a certain sense of guilt, because you feel like, 'Well, the guys aren't with me on this,' or, 'Oh my Gosh! I'm going out on my own. How are they gonna be? Are they gonna be okay?' Or, 'I'm gonna go tour for three months and they're not touring for three months,' and you're thinking, 'Gosh, I hope they're all right.' So in that regard, absolutely, there's a lot of guilt. 'Cause I want the guys to be okay. I want them to be working. I wanna help take care of them. I wanna make sure that they're not struggling to pay the bills, or that they're doing stuff musically as well. With that being said, STRYPER's been on a real serious roll and been very busy. How do I find the time to go do anything solo, which I do wanna do. I do wanna go out and tour and play these songs live and give it the light of day that it deserves, but it's very difficult when it's all STRYPER, STRYPER, STRYPER, STRYPER — as it probably should be."

Sweet added that pursuing other projects is very important to him because it allows him to dig deeper into his creative soul and personal expression. He said: "I love doing solo stuff, because it's a side of me that I get to… Even if the song sounds similar to STRYPER, it's still a different side of me that I get to express. I have all different sides… Like, I wanna do an acoustic album some day, I wanna do maybe a symphonic… I wanna do maybe a worship album some day. I mean, there's all this stuff that I'd like to do that I can't necessarily do within the realm of STRYPER."

Sweet's next solo album is due later this year via Rat Pak Records. The CD, which Michael promises will be his "best to date," will feature Will Hunt (EVANESCENCE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY) on drums.

Sweet's last solo album, "I'm Not Your Suicide", sold around 2,900 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 154 on The Billboard 200 chart.

Sweet has endured heartbreaking tribulations throughout his life and career, including the 2009 passing of his wife of more than 22 years, Kyle. In 2010, Sweet remarried to Lisa Champagne-Sweet, a woman he describes as "a Godsend and the one who fits perfectly by my side."