Faithsedge was started in 2011 in Southern California by singer / songwriter Giancarlo Floridia. Giancarlo has worked with multi platinum artist / producers as Juan Croucier (Ratt), Mike Talanca (David Bowie/Foreigner), Fabrizio Grossi (Steve Vai /Alice Cooper) and now has released back to back Faithsedge albums with praise among the melodic rock /metal fanbase. Giancarlo has been featured in multiple online interviews around the world and magazines promoting the past few years for the Faithsedge debut (2011) and follow up to that “The Answer of Insanity” (2014). With the return of the band, Giancarlo has recruited some serious hard rock powerhouses to take his vision of melodic rock / metal music to the next level with Faithsedge – Restoration.
Taking over production and full time keyboards on the new album is Alessandro Del Vecchio who has become one of the hottest producers in the hard rock genre not only in Europe but also worldwide. Alessandro is also the mastermind of producing, writing and playing keyboards for Hardline, Revolution Saints, Rated X (Joe Lynn Turner) and songwriting for other artist. The new album is presented with Alessandro’s production as an up to date feel but still keeping the large booming arena rock sound of the past. The results can be heard on the new album.
Returning on lead guitar is former Dokken guitarist Alex De Rosso who has toured the world with Dokken sharing the stage and touring with The Scorpions, Whitesnake, Ratt, and many others. Alex De Rosso also has multiple studio works recording guitars for artist like Joseph Williams (Toto), Kelly Hansen (Foreigner) and Pamela Moore also known as Sister Mary from Queensryche’s opus concept album Operation: Mindcrime. Alex continues to write and perform in Italy and also does production and songwriting at his studio “The Cube”.
New to the Faithsedge line up is Stryper bass player Tim Gaines. Tim has multiple gold and platinum credits under his belt and the success of Stryper continuing for over 30 years. The Stryper fan base is strong as ever, releasing recent Billboard charting albums as “No More Hell To Pay” and the newly released “Fallen”. Tim’s punch and arena rock style fits in perfectly to the Faithsedge style as can be heard on the record. Tim has played bass live for artists such as Richard Marx, Bryan Duncan’s Nehosoul and his own band with Stryper guitarist Oz Fox called Sin Dizzy.
Also new to the Faithsedge lineup is drummer Matt Starr. Matt has done numerous tours and recordings for KISS guitar legend Ace Frehley and performed on Ace Frehley’s billboard charting at # 9 album “Space Invader” album which Matt also contributed to the vocal work alongside his drumming skills. Matt plays with the melodic rock giants Mr.Big which he has toured the world with over the past few years. He also plays with his band Burning Rain with former Whitesnake guitarist Doug Aldrich. Matt’s thunderous drumming aligned with Tim Gaines bass playing is taking the Faithsedge sound to the next level.
Faithsedge – Restoration keeps an old school melodic approach mixed with a hard edge that can also be competitive with today’s market of metal bands. The band also plans on doing a follow up album within the next few years to keep the name and sound going strong.
Long before settling into his bass playing (and part time keyboard playing) role in the original Stryper line-up, Timothy Gaines was nothing short of a musical prodigy, starting out on piano at a mere four-years-old, playing clarinet and singing in a church choir during his elementary school years, taking up classical guitar at 12 and electric bass a mere year later. The Portland-born player was raised in the Los Angeles area where his father was a minister, which helped give Timothy a foundation of faith, though as he settled into his teen years, rock n’ roll became the primary focus.
“In high school, I joined a band called Stormer, who were fairly popular throughout the Hollywood club scene,” explains Timothy. “In fact, the first show Motley Crue ever played was when they opened up for Stormer in 1981 and we also played with bands like Ratt and Quiet Riot.”
Even with all the mounting success of the mainstream-seeking Stormer, Gaines recommitted his life to Christ in 1983 and quickly linked up with like-minded drummer Robert Sweet, singer/guitarist Michael Sweet and guitarist Oz Fox in the just as musically potent Roxx Regime. After quickly establishing themselves throughout the same hard rock/metal scene, the guys signed with Enigma Records, changed their name to Stryper and spent the rest of the 1980s on a rocket ride to success. Classic albums such as Soldiers Under Command, To Hell With The Devil and In God We Trust helped propel the band to selling upwards of 10 million records around the world, while other milestones include a Grammy nomination, scoring multiple Dove Awards and becoming the first band to simultaneously have two songs (“Free” and “Honestly”) in MTV’s Top 10.
“I can’t really explain why or how, it just kind of happened,” suggests Timothy. “Obviously we had a look- the yellow and black stripes- and we were known for something different as far as our Christian beliefs went. A lot of people were looking for something musically similar to the other bands of the time, but with a different message. We went from playing 300-500 seat clubs to selling out 15,000 seat arenas. We took the good news with us wherever we went, and while we took a lot of heat, it also opened a lot of doors. By the late ’80s, we were on top of the world.”
However, Stryper soon found themselves in the midst of a record label transition once the ’90s rolled around, alongside the ever-increasing influence of the grunge sound emerging out of Seattle. Though the group soldiered on through the more experimental (and in hindsight, quite extraordinary) Against The Law album and tour, members went their separate ways shortly thereafter.
“The first thing I had to do was figure out how to make a living, so I got a job at a musical retail store selling instruments, which is what I always did in high school. I eventually got into management and worked there for ten years while doing music on the side. I auditioned for Great White, Quiet Riot and Hardline, but a lot of these bands were in the same position as Stryper in terms of reforming at a time of changing trends. I joined No Stranger with Tom Hardy, the lead singer of Stormer, which was a really good band, but it just wasn’t the right time.”
Timing proved more fortuitous when Timothy reconnected with Robert in the studio to record the debut King James album alongside Rex Carroll (Whitecross) and Jimi Bennett (Sacred Fire) in 1994. Though he never toured with the band, the following year was far from idle as he reunited with Oz to co-write and produce their SinDizzy partnership He’s Not Dead.
“We did a little bit of touring, nothing big time, but I started to get a foot back in the door here and there,” he remembers. “We were doing a show in Puerto Rico, which also had Michael and his solo band on the bill, but the promoter billed it as a Stryper reunion. So Michael did his thing, SinDizzy did our thing, and at the end of the night, we all did some Stryper songs. Everybody was there except for Robert, but it was the very start of getting Stryper back together.”
Before the band was officially reunited, Gaines also recorded on Tourniquet’s Crawl To China album, along with recording, co-writing and producing on his future wife Irene Kelly Gaines’ If You Were Here (followed by a collective move from L.A. to Nashville). Though a few more one-offs popped up on the calendar featuring all four members (including some Stryper expos and the mammoth Cornerstone Festival), the group finally got back together for good to celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2003, marked by the Hollywood Records compilation 7: The Best of Stryper, a full-fledged tour, the 7 Weeks: Live in America, 2003 CD and the Greatest Hits: Live in Puerto Rico DVD.
While “The Yellow and Black Attack” was revving right back up where it left off, it would be a few more years before Gaines resumed his role in the band full time. From 2004 to 2009, he wore the hats of a record company executive, songwriter, session player and touring sideman, including countless road miles logged alongside Richard Marx, Ashley Cleveland, Kim Hill, Bryan Duncan, and Tourniquet. He even released the solo bass instrumental album Breakfast At Timothy’s, produced by Chris Eddy (son of guitar great Duane Eddy).