I was not much of a rock music fan growing up...I pretty much listened to Top 40 radio stations. And knowing that fact makes me chuckle when I consider there was a brief time when I was kinda obsessed with the band STRYPER.

I don't remember how I was introduced to Stryper's music - perhaps it happened at some sort of church function. You see, Stryper was (and still is) a Christian rock group, and I was very involved with my church youth group back in the day, so perhaps that's where I first learned about those guys.

Here's what I do remember...I was instantly hooked! I remember riding the bus to school with Stryper cranked up in my Walkman. And here's what my 11-12 year old brain was thinking at the time..."This is some serious rock music...but it's okay for me to listen to because they're singing about God and stuff!"..."How cool is this? These guys are saying 'hell' but it's okay because they're a Christian group. Nobody can yell at me for listening!"

I remember going to see Stryper in concert in Clowes Hall at Butler University. I remember having a sweet Stryper shirt - it was a white t-shirt with 3/4 length black sleeves. Awesome! I remember that my buddy and I (he was a Stryper fan too) actually took a couple drum lessons from a dude at our church because we wanted to play like Robert Sweet.

And that's where my memories of Stryper end. Looking back on it now, they were there and then gone just like that.

If you've read this far then maybe you're asking what in the world made me think about Stryper. Well, our digital queen, Ashley, noticed that Stryper had recently played a couple shows in Kentucky. She asked if anyone knew of the band. And just that quick mentioned sparked all these awesome TBT memories.

 

More From WGBF-FM