Creed Man Goes Solo
Former Creed frontman Scott Stapp will release his first solo album, The Great Divide, on November 22nd. Stapp’s debut comes more than a year after the members of the multi-platinum-selling, Florida-based Christian band — Stapp, guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brett Hestla and drummer Scott Phillips — parted ways. In spite of the Grammy-winning outfit’s success, for some time Stapp had been struggling with depression, divorce and a loss of faith.
“Over the last three years, I basically got to a point where I was on my back and had no other way but up,” Stapp told Rolling Stone. “I was depressed and isolated and aloof because I was finally dealing with the fact that I was a single father and my ex-wife was a crazy psycho. You find out who your real friends are when you aren’t doing so well in your life.”
Stapp cites his car accident in April 2002 as the beginning of a downward spiral. Creed’s third album, Weathered, which eventually sold more than six million copies, had been at Number One for weeks, and their tour had sold out in minutes — but the accident seemed to put an end to that good fortune. With Stapp suffering from back and neck pain, the tour was called off. “It all came crashing to an end,” he said. “I get hit, and instead of my circle of people actually giving a damn about my health, they turned on me like it was my fault. I was doing everything I could, in spite of my physical limitations, to make everyone happy — and that meant more [of the anti-inflammatory drug] Prednisone.” His dependence on the drug nearly ruined his vocal cords.
With the eventual dissolution of his band as well as his marriage, Stapp also began doubting his spiritual beliefs. “I basically ran and did what a lot of kids who had a real strict and sheltered upbringing do,” he said. “I wanted to experiment and try everything I possibly could.”
But a return to the music seemed inevitable, and Stapp re-entered the studio to begin work on The Great Divide. “It’s just good to be back to enjoying what I do, and enjoying the people around me and having time to spend with my son,” he said. “I’m doing this because I love it, and not because it’s a job. I finally got comfortable in my own skin, and with my life. Maybe that comes with experience.”
The first single off The Great Divide, the title track, hits radio September 27th.