Get Well Oz Fox
Monday, August 13, 2018 at 07:09AM This caught my eye when I opened my inbox this morning. I hope Oz Fox is feeling better soon. Well wishes to everyone in Stryper and all their fans, too.
Sunday, August 12, 2018 — News began circulating this morning that Stryper's Oz Fox suffered a medical emergency on stage in Las Vegas overnight. In order to provide accurate information and dispel any rumors, the band has issued an official statement:
Our dear friend and lead-guitarist Oz Fox fell ill Saturday night while performing in Las Vegas with a side project that he sometimes plays in when not touring with Stryper. Oz suffered a seizure causing a fall on stage. After performing an MRI, doctors discovered an area of concern near his brain which they are now running a biopsy on. The doctors have instructed him not to drive or fly for 90 days. No additional information is available at this time. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers and we will communicate additional information as it becomes available.
The logistics and options for current tour dates are being discussed with the respective promoters. U.S. tour dates will play as scheduled and in anticipation of a full recovery will include Oz Fox. The upcoming Australian tour will be performed as a trio (with the blessing of Oz), and will include Michael Sweet, Robert Sweet, and Perry Richardson. For our fans in Japan, please await an announcement from the concert promoter there as to the plans for the Japan tour.
New information will first be communicated via Stryper.com and Stryper's official Facebook page.
Rocking since 1984, STRYPER is responsible for such classic '80s metal albums as Soldiers Under Command, To Hell with the Devil and In God We Trust. In fact, STRYPER is the first band to ever have two songs in MTV’s Top 10 simultaneously with their hits “Free” and “Honestly.” After a sabbatical for much of the 1990's, STRYPER returned strong in the early 21st century. Their latest album, God Damn Evil (Frontiers Music srl), was released in April. To date, the Dove Award-winning and GRAMMY-nominated band has sold over 10 million records worldwide.
For more information, visit www.Stryper.com.
Reader Comments (7)
I wonder if Oper8n can provide any insights as to what might ail Oz and his chance for recovery. I realize it’s not much info to go on but maybe our resident doctor may know something we don’t.
Prayers to Oz, his family, bandmates, friends and fans.
I’ve told this story before ... My ex-lead guitarist and I got off the boat when The Monsters of Rock Cruise stopped at whatever the h*ll port it was in Jamaica.
We headed over to the Hard Rock Cafe to finally eat something other than Cruise food which always seems a bit weird to me.
We were waiting on our burgers and recounting the musical savagery we bore witness to over the last couple of days including Stryper, who absolutely killed it the night before, when low and behold Oz and Michael Sweet came in and sat right next to us.
I told them we were just discussing how killer they were the night before and they were so humbled, gracious and kind. I lamented to them I had caught one of their bibles only to have it snatched from my hand seconds later.
We wound up talkin’ and making jokes with them the whole time we were in the restaurant and even walked back with them to the cruise ship. They were totally cool and not pulling any of that “Rockstar” crap on us. We told ‘em we were going to see them again, as they were performing later that afternoon.
Before we got separated while going through security, seemingly out of the blue, Oz remembered my story about having the Bible snatched from my hand at the end of their previous show and said to come up after their performance that afternoon and he would give us autographed bibles.
I told a member of the crew at the edge of the stage when they were packing up and he told me to wait a minute. Low and behold, within 3 minutes, he came back with the two beautifully autographed official Stryper bibles we each cherish to this day.
SO, so much for Eddie Chump’s bullsh*t about Rockstars not wanting to meet the fans. Again, I must remind him, the only reason they want to talk to him is because of his Radio and TV shows.
Oz Fox is living proof that some Rockstars actually do care about people and not just Rock Royalty like Chump. Of course, being a man of faith, Oz would probably ask me to chill out on my hate for Chump. God Bless and Godspeed, Oz! Feel better soon!
Sadly, it sounds as if Oz is in for some serious surgery. Again, I hope he gets better and can rejoin the band.
One last note: Tim Gaines made some comments yesterday that make me want to issue a correction to something I wrote months ago about how they treated his dismissal from the band. I won't recount what he said here. Suffice to say, even if he is still smarting from all of that, he showed really poor form as regards a band he toured with for years.
The diagnosis sounds grim - I hope all goes well, the man is truly a great guitarist and by all accounts a wonderful person - wish him the best.