TIMOTHY HAGELGANZ
Arcadia High has not one, but two, well known bass playing
rock stars among our alumni. Tim Hagelganz is more commonly
known as Timothy Gaines, the bass player of the popular 80’s
Christian metal band, Stryper. Tim is a member of the AHS Class
of 1981.
Tim was born December 15, 1962 in Portland, Oregon and when
he was 5 his family moved to Arcadia. Many of you may recall
his Dad, the Rev. James Hagelganz as the pastor of Arcadia Presbyterian
Church for many years. His family is very musical, hence Tim
began playing numerous instruments at a very young age, including
piano, clarinet and guitar. He took up the electric bass at
the age of 14.
Tim played in several bands throughout and after AHS including
White Lace, Afton Kid and Stormer. He joined up with Michael
Sweet, Robert Sweet and Oz Fox in 1983 to form Roxx Regime.
Soon thereafter, the name was changed to Stryper, which stands
for Salvation Through Redemption Yielding Peace Encouragement
and Righteousness.
In 1984 they recorded “Yellow and Black Attack”,
a 6 track EP. That was followed in 1985 by their first full-blown
album, “Soldiers Under Command.” This album not
only cracked the Billboard charts, but also created such a buzz
that their first effort was re-released with two added tracks.
In 1986, Stryper enjoyed platinum selling success with the
release of “To Hell With The Devil.” The album yielded
the hit singles “Honestly” and “Calling On
You”, both of which received heavy video rotation play
on MTV. During this period, the band became known not only for
their infectious music, but also for throwing mini Bibles to
the audience during live concerts.
In the late 80’s and on into the early 90’s, more
stripped down and raw acts such as Metallica, Guns and Roses
and Nirvana ate away at the bands success and fan base leading
to Stryper’s break up in 1992. Tim and Oz formed another
group, Sin Dizzy and released a rock opera entitled “He’s
Not Dead”, dealing with the crucifixion and resurrection
of Jesus.
The past few years have been busy ones for Tim. Stryper reunited
in the early 2000’s for the annual Stryper Expo. A greatest
hits package was released in 2003 and a tour is planned for
2004.
On the personal front, in the late 90’s Tim began producing
and playing bass for songwriter Irene Kelly. In 2002, Tim and
Irene were married.
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