Stryper guitarist Oz Fox has spoken out about the “personal issues” that have resulted in the band taking a hiatus and possibly considering a future without bassist Tim Gaines.

Asked by The Vinyl Mishappenings what the reason is that Stryper is planning to take some time off, Fox said: “Well, it’s a number of things. A lot of it is Michael [Sweet, guitar/vocals] has a lot projects coming up that he wants to take time off to do, which is fine by me, because I’ve got a lot of stuff going on here in town, and, as I get older in age, I kind of want to set myself up so that I’ll have more opportunities here in [Las] Vegas so that someday if I ever stop touring with Stryper, I can maybe stay here and work as a musician. He [Michael] definitely is going to be doing a second album with George Lynch and he also just released a solo album and he wants to go out and tour that album a little bit and we [Stryper] are going to be playing on the Monsters of Rock cruise the first week of February.”

Pressed on whether this means that Stryper‘s original lineup — including Gaines — will appear on the Monsters Of Rock cruise, Fox said: “As far as I know, yes, but Tim, our bass player, is going through some personal issues and we’re trying to let him work all of that stuff out. It’s no secret anymore, but he’s going through a divorce, so we’re giving him time to work those things out. As far as I know, he’s looking like he’s on his way to making all of that stuff in his life correct and fixed, and then we’ll see where he stands after he’s all done with that, and I know he wants to keep touring. It’s a very difficult thing to go through a divorce; it’s difficult for everybody. We’re very close to him and his wife, so it hurts us as much as it hurts them. Continue reading »