The Triumph of Everyguy Rock

Rolling Stone September 16 1999

Creed, the best-selling-hard-rock band in America, mold their second CD, Human Clay

After selling a heap of records, touring the world and buying a few houses, a few trucks and a few lap dances, for Creed there was only one thing to do: rent a big place out in the sticks and rock like they'd never rocked before. The result is their second album, Human Clay, which is slated for a September release. The house was perfect for the Florida band: close enough to Tallahassee for singer Scott Stapp to spend time with this nine-month-old son, Jagger, and for the other members, guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips, to live at home. Plus, it was far enough into the boonies that they could play at full volume day or night and enjoy some unique R&R opportunities. I built a par-three golf hole," Stapp says. And Brian would ride his four-wheeler around the cow fields and pick mushrooms. He'd come back with big bushels of them. It was fun."

Four years ago, the members of Creed were flipping burgers, shucking oysters and washing dishes in Tallahassee, trying to sock away enough cash to record their first demo. For $6,000 they made My Own Prison, which went on to sell nearly 4 million copies, spawn four Number One singles on Billboard's Rock Radio chart (a Guinness-worthy feat for a debut) and earn them Billboard's Rock Artist of the Year award.

Creed are one of the few outfits, including Collective Soul and fellow Floridians Matchbox 20, that can be loosely defined as Everyguy rock. Their big-chorus anthems explore the confusing terrain of spiritual yearning, depression and broken hearts, which anyone can relate to. Creed's ordinariness, in fact, is the very key to their success. The bottom line," says Stapp, is that we're four dudes who live next door to you, and we got lucky."

Two of the lucky dudes have relocated to Orlando, where the band has been mixing the album. Creed gather around the control board with producer John Kurzweg to decide if Stapp's vocals and Marshall's bass on a power ballad called Wash Away Those Years" need tweaking. We're real happy with everything we've mixed so far, but we're worried about the mastering," Stapp says. Everyone we've sent it to keeps telling us they don't know what to do with it, that there's too much low end. But we want it that way." Stapp's concerns are valid. The new songs are lead-heavy: The drums are volcanic and the bass locomotive behind Tremonti's anthemic guitar and Stapp's strong growl.

The album's first single, Higher" is a hard-rocing' hymn that will do little to change the minds of those who compare Creed to Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots, although the single's dynamics are actually closer to Ozzy than Eddie.

Another perception that Human Clay may not change is that Creed are a Christian band. Though Stapp's father is a Pentecostal minister and he was raised in a strict religious environment (rock & roll was taboo), the dogma ends there. Much of the band's fan base in understandably confused; The band is named Creed, after all, and many of Stapp's lyrics deal with spiritual struggle, if you're looking for them, you'll even find a few religious references. The first Frequently Asked Question answered on the band's official Web site deals with Creed's creed. We believe in God," Stapp says. But we're not going to convert other people. I think people figured that out. Now we get letters asking us to give ourselves to Jesus."

The members of Creed are not giving themselves to Jesus, or the devil, for that matter-though a few years ago they came close. I think I spent $2,500 in the Friction Room, Stapp says of the VIP lounge at a Miami strip club. Each of us had gotten four grand, and we thought we were fucking rich." Now the checks go straight to the bank, and Creed have come back to earth. When all of this happened," Stapp says, we looked at our idols -people like Led Zeppelin and Van Halen-and we were nothing like that. We were like, 'Are we supposed to be here?' We're flip-flops-and T-shirts-wearing, tobacco-dipping Budweiser drinkers."

.Anthony Bozza