Blabbermouth — In a new interview with Bringin’ it Backwards, Michael Sweet of openly Christian rockers STRYPER was asked what piece of advice he would give to young artists looking to make it in the music business. He responded (see video below): “My advice is always to tell artists, and sometimes this gets me in trouble, ’cause it gets them in trouble, but to tell artists to be themselves. Follow your dreams, follow your heart, not what someone else tells you your dreams and your heart should be. Now, that’s not to say that you shouldn’t take direction, but you need to really stick to your guns on what you feel convicted about and what you feel led to do, musically speaking, because you know you better than anybody else. So that’s something that I live by, and I’ve always stuck to my guns. I’ve said ‘no’ to labels before, ’cause they wanted me to do something that wasn’t me, and I said, ‘Sorry. I’ve gotta pass.’ And that’s a tough decision to make, but one you have to make sometimes. So just really stay true to who you are.”

Sweet credited his fierce determination with pushing him and his bandmates to make a place for themselves in the music world.

“I’ve always been a rebel, and I’ll always be a rebel,” he said. “If 10 people are going that way [points in one direction], I’m going that way [points in opposite direction]. It’s how I’m built. And that applies to my style, my music — everything that I do. I like to do the opposite of what everyone else is doing.”

Read the Full story at Blabbermouth