Stryper frontman Michael Sweet has taken to social media to say that he's thinking of starting a Stryper tribute band.
Sweet, who formed the pioneering Christian glam metal outfit in 1983, is clearly posting in jest, but – reading between the lines – he appears somewhat exasperated by the entitled manner in which some people interact with bands in the age of social media.
And so, in the manner of all successful content creators in the age of social media, he's come up with 10 Reasons Why Fronting A Stryper Tribute Band Might Actually Be A Good Idea.
And here they are.
- We could gain weight and no one would even care. If we go bald, does it matter?
- We could experiment with the colour scheme and no one would notice.
- We most likely would get booked more easily and get paid more per show.
- We could do any Stryper song we want (or not) and not hear any negative comments.
- We could wear wigs and it would be cool instead of corny.
- We could/would make Robert [Sweet, drummer] set up backwards so no one could see him and we would call him the “Non-Visual” Timekeeper.
- I could/would just play guitar and then people might just stop saying to me night after night “I never knew you played guitar”.
- We could spell Stryper with an “i” and and add a “p” and officially go on the books as “Stripper”.
- And of course, we would bring back Robert's stripper pole so he could swing from it all night long.
- And last but not least, we could basically live normal lives and not get flack for everything we say, do and or think.
Classic Rock would like to make it clear that we are not giving Sweet flack for his post.
Stryper play at the Rock Imperium Festival in Cartagena, Spain, on June 27, and at Rock Fest Barcelona two days later. Tickets are on sale now.
