Scott Stapp is feeling inspired

Calgary Sun, May 28 2006

Sometimes things aren't quite what they seem.

With all the bad press former Creed frontman Scott Stapp has received this year -- getting arrested for public drunkenness, having a 10-year-old sex tape of him and Kid Rock with some unidentified females surface -- it was easy for the Sun to go in thinking the worst.

Imagine our surprise as it quickly becomes clear the man on the other end of the phone line is polite, accommodating and eager to tell his fans just how much he appreciates them always being there for him.

"I'm just looking forward to getting out there and giving a shout out to the fans ... I'm just trying to connect the dots ... let people know I have a new album and new songs," says Stapp.

And if you're looking for a reason to trust Stapp's sincerity, you just need to hear him speak about his son.

Stapp has had custody of his son Jagger, now eight years old, since the boy was six months old. And even with the bad press Stapp's been a part of lately, he says when his son is grown up and people ask him about his dad, he plans to make sure he gets a good review.

"I'd like him to say, 'You would have liked my dad. He was honest, and when he fell, the most important thing for him to do was to get back up and keep fighting. He didn't try to run from his problems. He was a good man and a good father,' " says Stapp.

And he says to get this good review in the future, leaving Creed was a must.

But that doesn't mean it was easy to do.

"I needed to move on ... you don't want to be in a situation where you can't trust the people around you, it becomes a dysfunctional relationship," he says.

"But I talked about leaving all over my last (Creed) record ... every song on that record, except for maybe one, had to do with me not being comfortable. I say that to people and they go back and listen to it and they're like, 'Oh my God, he was trying to tell us something.' "

But speaking calmly and confidentially from Winnipeg, where he is currently on tour with INXS (a tour that brings them to the Saddledome tomorrow night) Stapp seems anything but uncomfortable.

He is quick to add, however, that Creed, and the journey being in that band took him on, is not something he regrets.

"It was the greatest thing that ever happened," he says.

And now, with new songs and a new attitude, Stapp says he's feeling much like he did in 1996/97, when Creed first broke onto the scene.

"Justify (his new single) brought me full circle to how I felt when My Own Prison came out," he says. "I just wanted to see if I wasn't alone in the world. I wanted to know if there were other people out there like me."

The difference between Stapp of years past and the Stapp Calgarians can expect to see, he says, is he's learned he can't just let his music speak for him anymore.

"I'm a bit more open now ... I realize I am kind of obligated to share with the media and the fans what I'm feeling and what I'm doing ... and it's helping ... the music is starting to connect again."

Though Stapp says he often gets tired from drawing on such extreme highs and lows in his life to inspire his music, he still wouldn't trade it all in. "I think it's only human to think that way. When you're in your lows you don't want to be there, but that's just part of learning and being human," he says.

.Rob Honzell