Watch: STRYPER Performs With Battery-Powered Practice Amps After Electricity Goes Out Before Concert

November 7, 2022

Christian rockers STRYPER were forced to perform their concert Saturday night (November 5) in West Hollywood, California with two battery-powered practice amps, one snare drum and three members of the band singing a cappella after power went out at the legendary Whisky A Go Go club.

On Sunday (November 6),STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet took to his social media to share a photo from the venue, and he included the following message: "Well, that was a first!

"The power went out on Sunset last night 30 minutes before our set and we went out on @thewhiskyagogo stage and rocked with 2 battery powered practice amps, 1 snare drum and 3 acapella vocals to a second night, sold out crowd!

"You can't stop The Rock.

"The power came back on 30 minutes after our set.

"What an amazing night and we love you all!!!

"It was one for the books……

"The light always shines in the dark".

Last month, Michael once again claimed that STRYPER was never a "Christian" band despite the fact that the lyrics in a number of STRYPER songs explicitly point to Christ. During an interview with Effect Radio, the 59-year-old guitarist/vocalist, who is STRYPER's primary songwriter, explained: "Everybody knows where I stand on that term, 'Christian rock.' I've never really understood that term. We're a rock band comprised of Christians. We are Christians, we are believers, we have a deep faith and we're so honored to be able to tour the world and share that with people. And it's such a blessing. God has really blessed the band over the years. And we're looking at almost 40 years. And it's pretty amazing that the band is still thriving and still doing really well. We just performed to two sellout crowds in Costa Rica and Colombia, and whenever I go out on the stage and I see that, I'm in awe. I mean, I'm just thinking to myself, 'How is this possible? This is amazing.' And that's a God thing. It's incredible."

He added: "With the term 'Christian rock band,' a lot of people who aren't Christians aren't going to come see you — they're not gonna come see you. So, isn't that what we're here to do, is to reach people that aren't Christians? So why would you wanna limit yourself by saying 'we're a Christian rock band.' It's not to discredit what we stand for, who we stand for. We are firm believers in Christ and we're so proud to stand for Christ."

Even though STRYPER's third album, 1986's "To Hell With The Devil", made Sweet and his bandmates the first contemporary Christian act to score a platinum album, the group has often felt unwelcome in Christian circles, with some members of the church feeling that Christianity and heavy metal are incompatible.

"STRYPER was certainly not the norm," Sweet told Effect Radio. "We broke down all barriers… You can look at a video of us performing at the Dove Awards [which honors outstanding achievements and excellence in Christian and gospel music] in 1986, and I'll never forget the look on some of the people's faces when we performed. It was that deer-in-the-headlights look.

"I don't even know what's going on with STRYPER. All I know is God's used us and continues to use us in a powerful way to reach those that need to be reached. And that's all that concerns me. And we're gonna keep doing it until God tells us to stop."

In a 2018 interview with the Detroit Free Press, Michael said that STRYPER was never fully embraced by the heavy metal and hard rock communities, largely because of the band's Christian lyrics.

"We've never been accepted by either side," he said. "The secular side, the mainstream, they've never accepted us to this day. We're probably that band that everyone's going to go to whenever there's a time to mock. We'll be the band used for that in most cases. Now on the Christian side, we've never really had the full support of the Christian side because we don't fit into their little club. We're not wearing suits and ties and going to every church and preaching."

Formed 39 years ago, STRYPER's name comes from Isaiah 53:5, which states: "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

STRYPER's albums include "To Hell With The Devil", "Second Coming", "No More Hell To Pay", "Fallen", "God Damn Evil", "Even The Devil Believes" and the band's latest effort, "The Final Battle".

Find more on Stryper
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).