Creed Behind The Scenes

Hit Parader May 1999

You see a great rock and roll band--one that actually moves you--every once in a while. Creed is one of those bands. We were privileged enough to catch vocalist Scott Stapp, guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall, and drummer Scott Phillips at the House Of Blues in Orlando, FL one crisp Saturday evening. Florida's a great place to see Creed because it's their home state. "Florida's been pumping out music for years and years and years and years," notes Stapp. "A lot of the '80s glam bands are from Florida, a lot of the Death Metal scene originated in Tampa. Florida's had a pretty thriving music scene for a long, long time."

Actually... we shared more than a crisp Saturday evening with Creed. We first caught up with them over cocktails in their suite at the Marriott hotel. Their record company was there as were members of the foreign press. It was a dual celebration--both for Creed's debut album, My Own Prison, going double platinum and honoring their first incursion of Europe. Creed's worldwide strategy is to be subtle, yet come on strong. "Creed is a grass-roots movement," observes Wind-Up Records Alan Meltzer. "We're not going to push singles at radio, they need to come to us."

Meantime, various members of Creed and opening act Finger Eleven are hanging out in the Sony suite, surrounded by plenty of beer, shrimp and happy promotion people. We're cornered at the bar by Creed bassman Brian Marshall and Finger Eleven's Sean Anderson, we hang out discussing music and style. "Do you like my tattoo?" Brian asks, lifting his left sleeve to reveal Creed's logo on his biceps. He got it in his hotel room in L.A. from a San Diego-based tattoo artist. Sean's looking particularly stylish because his black and red hair matches his red-trimmed black shirt. He jokes to Brian, "Hey haven't I seen you in that shirt before?" "I like to travel light," Brian smiles.

Creed are four very cool guys with a vision. Their songs are certainly not light-hearted. Scott scribbles lyrics of self-examination and social scrutiny--and never has all the answers. Creed are all about thinking for yourself. "If I could tell you why we were successful, I'd write a book and sell 2 million copies," admits Scott. "The only answer I have for our success is sincerity. Maybe we filled a void that was missing in the music scene--we offer honesty and sincerity and are dealing with things that people aren't really talking about. We're not the band you put on when you have your friends over to dance and drink beer. We're much more intellectual."

Live, Creed are a force to be reckoned with. Scott has a presence, working the stage with masterful gestures, and heavy audience interaction, "Join in, let me see your hands." A wave of hands go in the air. A wave of bodies passes across the palms of their upraised hands. "We thought success like ours happened to every band that got a record deal," Scott admitted offstage. "We were very naive. We thought when you got a record deal and got on the radio that all of life's problems were solved and you lived happily ever after. We soon found out that that's when it all begins. Just because you get on the radio doesn't mean you're going to sell any records. You could get played 50 times a week on a radio station and no one is going to buy your records. That opened our eyes really fast and made us realize that there was going to be a lot of hard work involved. To pay our dues we had to tour and tour and tour."

Scott takes a seat on the speakers and delivers a heartfelt rendition of "Pity for a Dime". The audience sways back and forth in time with the music and sings along. "At the gigs, we find that about half the audience knows the record really well. The other half have heard of us, but they seem to want to hear more. So we play even harder." Touring has paid off. Tonight's performance is being carried on radio stations throughout the world, and Creed are thankful that it is all happening for them. "I love you," Scott says to the audience at the start of the encore. "Without you, none of this would be possible." Then Creed launches into a unique rendition of the Doors "Riders on the Storm" followed by Creed's contemplative radio staple "My Own Prison".

"I wrote "My Own Prison" at about 4.00 in the morning," Scott reveals, "I realized I was building up reasons to blame people. I was getting bitter. Writing the song was a turning point. I realized that I'm responsible, we're all responsible for our own lives." Creed put on an overwhelming performance. The audience, heavy with newly purchased Creed T-shirts, is obviously satisfied. Creed go back to the suite at the hotel and dutifully entertain all of the guests who had pink passes declaring "Loge Access." There's a lot of activity going on around them because of all the bands on tonight's bill- Creed, Finger Eleven and Jimmy's Chicken Shack, are all rightfully proud of tonight's performance. "It's nice when the audience responds," offers Finger Eleven's Anderson. "But what's most important is how we feel we performed. Tonight we put on a good show."

Creed's bassist Brian is proud of the show. "A good one," he says positively while his girlfriend takes pictures for the band's scrapbook. It's a very family-like scene. "We get along extremely well in this band," Scott concludes. "We're more like a family than just a band." Like band, like audience. Those who've adapted the Creed are an enlightened group.

.Jodi Summers