Brent Jeffers Interview (Keyboard player for Stryper)
By: Brett
Date: February 2002

In the movie Rock Star that has just been released on DVD, a singer of a cover band gets the chance of a lifetime to front the actual band he emulated. It's a great plot for a movie and closer to fact than fiction. It's based on the real life story of Ripper Owens who went from covering
Judas Priest songs to fronting the band itself. But long before the Judas Priest situation (not the biblical one!), a similar situation happened within the band Stryper.

Brent Jeffers, currently well known in the music field for his expertise in concert production in many different aspects of the industry, got his first big music break with Stryper. He recalls the first time he heard of them: "I was playing keyboards for Guardian, who back then was called Fusion. We were rehearsing and getting ready to gig, but we needed a sound engineer. So we put an ad in the paper for a sound engineer. This guy answered the ad, came down and we jammed. After we finished he said 'You guys are good, but there's this other Christian band out that going to take the world by storm. They're called Stryper.' He had their demo, and played
it for us. We just looked at eachother and were like 'We're not worthy!' It blew me away how good they were. They reminded me of Styx, but with killer attitude. About a week later they were playing at the Santa Monica Civic Center, so we all went to see the show. When we showed up, the line of people was wrapped around the venue! I stood in the back of the room, in the last row. Stryper came on stage, and they were great. This was the first time I saw them, and they became my favorite band. They rock, they're not ashamed of their witness for Christ, they threw bibles out, they're on fire for God, they write great songs, Michael can sing incredible, and the harmonies are killer! I remember telling myself that this is the type of band that I want to be in!"

Brent had seen the future, and it was painted yellow and black! He caught their shows whenever he could: "At a different show through Eric Blair's persistent personality, I was fortunate to go aboard Stryper's tour bus. That first experience on your favorite band's tour bus is indescribable. As I sat down next to their keyboard player, Kenny Metcalf, I remember telling him how lucky he was, and if he ever decided to quit that I would love to be his replacement. I don't remember his exact wording, but I took it as though he didn't plan on leaving. But almost a year to that day, I was on tour with them as their keyboard player."

So how did this Stryper fan go from watching them on stage to being up on stage with them? "I was recording a demo for a singer friend and Michael Sweet was gracious enough to come in and play guitar. I do have to say that it was Eric Blair that that set this all up, all the credit goes to him. It was at this time that Stryper was looking for a keyboard player. Then one day while working out in a warehouse I get a call from Eric Blair, it was prolific and short. I remember him saying, 'Dude, God is going to change your life!' I came back with a confused 'What?' He said again 'God is going to change your life.' I said 'How?' He responded with a short 'Dude! Just pray about it.' Then hung up on me. God had used Eric to hook me with up the guys and next thing I knew I got an audition. After I auditioned, I didn't hear back from them for months. I remember afterwards, I was so excited because I really wanted to do this. But I just said 'God, I want this to be of you. If they're not real and this is just a phasode and they're just using you as a gimmick... then I don't want any part of this. But if this is real and they have a ministry that's bringing kids to Christ, it would be a dream to work with a band like this.' But I kind of blew it off thinking I didn't get the job. I started working in a warehouse packing casters into boxes for UPS. I get this page over the intercom saying that I had a call from Janice Sweet! I went into the office, and that was the call saying that they wanted to talk to me. After work I went to their house, and interviewed with Janice. I left the house in tears. A month later Janice Sweet called me saying I got the job. Next thing you know, I'M getting on that tour bus. It was unbelievable."

Brent's next big step was learning all of the Stryper songs inside and out. "When I came on board, Kenny (Metcalf) was great! He said 'God's called me out, and God has called you in.' So we spent the day together in his garage, and he showed me all of his parts on the keyboard." Then it came time to learn the new songs off of To Hell With The Devil, but he wasn't the only one who didn't know the songs. Matt Hurich, who briefly replaced Tim Gaines, also had the task of learning the new tunes. "I remember that day like it was yesterday. We were in rehearsal at SIR, and something just didn't sound right. So Mike called Oz and Robert into a meeting, and Matt and I are just looking at eachother. I thought I was on my way out of the band, but then they called Matt into the meeting. All of a sudden, Tim pulls up in his Jeep with his gear! I let out a big sigh of relief."

Brent joined Stryper on tour right when things started to happen nationally for the band. Tim was back in the band, and everybody wanted to know about this hard rock band that stood out from the rest. His first show with the band was September 5th, 1986 at Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida. From there it was one exciting event after another. Stryper was making a name for themselves, and touching lives wherever they went. "We were out on the road, and we pulled into a truck stop in the middle of the night. We went in to get a bite to eat, and our waitress seemed very sad. You could tell she didn't want to be there in early morning hours like that. We didn't order much, just dessert between 5 guys. I think the total came to like fifteen dollars. So Michael came up with the idea for each guy to leave a twenty-dollar tip. So she ended up getting a hundred-dollar tip for fifteen-dollar tap! We walk out the door, and were looking through the
window as she started to clear the table. She started crying when she found her tip, and she ran up and showed another waitress. She was so moved she was crying and hugging her friend. There were so many things that happened like that."

When asking Brent if he remembered any more touching moments like that, he didn't hesitate as he recalled another one: "We did a show in Texas, and there was a mother waiting by the door. Her son was dying of Leukemia, and she said he would really like to meet the band. They got him backstage, had him meet the band, and get autographs. Anyways, we came back to Texas about a year later, and he was still alive. The mother showed up again, and told us that her son went into a coma awhile back. They didn't think he was going to make it, but he pulled through. When he came out, the first thing he said is that he dreamed that he saw Jesus, and that Jesus was singing Honestly. And that gave him hope to stay alive. So he came to the show again that night. He couldn't go out in the audience because of his wheelchair, so they put him on the side of the stage by me at the keyboards. It got to the part where we played Honestly, and he was watching me play the intro to the song. I remember as I was playing the song, I was bawling my eyes out. He said it was the happiest moment of his life. We again went through Texas a few months after that, but he had already passed away."

Some of Brent's memories seem to blur together, due to the fact of some situations seemed to happen on a constant basis: "We'd constantly meet kids backstage who were going through spiritual hell. Some might have been abused by their parents, or others dealing with demons in their lives. I remember Oz and Michael would stay after the show and pray with these kids. They would be in their dressing room sometimes for hours praying. The tour manager would come back and say 'Guys, we have to get going. We have a schedule to keep.' But they would always say 'No, God called us here to pray for these kids, and we're going to pray for them.' One kid might be saying 'My girlfriend broke up with me, and I don't have a ride home.' So Oz would pull money from his wallet so this kid could catch a bus and go home. They really went the extra mile when it came to ministering to their fans. They were for real."

But Brent made it known that there were more than just serious times with Stryper, that there were also many funny times as well: "The guys were always doing crazy things like throwing things in the shower. I'd be taking a shower, Mike would come running in with food and just throw it everywhere!"

Brent's biggest challege was in 1988: "When In God We Trust came out, they were trying to figure out how to get that huge vocal sound live. Tim, Oz and Mike can sing. They have great harmonies, and they definitely can pull it off live. But they just wanted to beef it up. So we upgraded to the Emulator 3. But they're real sensitive to voltage changes, and they would sometimes lock up. One show I started playing the vocal intro to Keep The Fire Burning, and it went down! It sounded like 'Gotta Beee Stttrrrrrroonnnngg..', and the band just stood there. Everybody's head turned to stage right and they just looked at me! So after that we got a backup."

When asked what his favorite song he played live, he had a hard time narrowing it down. "Both Calling On You and Honestly. It's weird how some things won't leave your mind. You can recite something you learned in third grade, but you forgot where you put your keys five minutes ago!"

When Stryper broke up, Brent continued touring in the music business. He's worked with Faith Hill, Tim Mcgraw, Debbie Gibson, Natalie Cole, Sheena Easton, Donna Summer, Natalie Merchant, George Benson, Linda Ronstant, Christopher Cross, James Ingram, Michael McDonald, and Peabo Bryson, just to name a few!

Brent was with Stryper for 3 tours, yet most fans didn't even know he existed. While some might want to have shared the limelight, Brent is OK with the role he played. "Stryper is Robert, Michael, Tim and Oz. I was just a side guy, but I was totally happy with that. God blessed me to be with them, and I was happy to get the gig. I think that was my calling and where I was supposed to be."

Brett Christensen
www.Stryper.com
Keeping The Fire Burning!