The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn

February 6, 2004

Craig: As a singer for the band Creed, our next guest has sold tens of millions of cds and packed stadiums around the world. His first solo cd comes out later this year. Please welcome Scott Stapp.

Scott enters holding up a guitar, gives the rock-on sign to the audience and takes his seat.

Scott: I know Elvis brought his out, but mine's bigger.

Craig: It's a gift?

Scott: It's a gift for you.

Craig: How awfully nice of you. You know our producer over there is a big fan and actually wants this. And I'm saying, No it was give to me. But maybe we can give him a guitar pic.

Scott: You know, I may have one.

Craig: How you doing man?

Scott: I'm doing wonderful.

Craig: So is Creed Breaking up?

Scott: No, no, no, no. We've been together ten years. I think January 15th was ten years and we all committed to 10 years together and we're kind of taking a little hiatus and doing our own little thing. Scott's like a plus two handicap, he wants to be a golfer. Mark's producing and going to put out a solo album himself I think. So things are good.

Craig: So you've been doing it ten years. You've packed stadiums. Do you remember the smallest little club you played in?

Scott: Yes, gosh I played in so many small clubs.

Craig: That's gotta be tough playing in small clubs.

Scott: It's more intimate, but I was so driven I didn't care. We played in clubs where there was like three people there.

Craig: That's where the hard part is.

Scott: The thing is my mentality was no different than twenty thousand.

Craig: Give those three people the best show.

Scott: The best show I can give them and they tell somebody else, who tells somebody else, who tells somebody else and that's kind of how it grew. It grew from there.

Craig: Are you surprised at how well the band did?

Scott: Yeah it blew my mind. I mean the label, Wind-Up records and Alan Meltzer, who owns the label, we were their first band, first signing and they just put the whole staff behind us and we went out on the road and played five hundred shows in six years... five hundred fifty shows in six years.

Craig: That's a lot of work man. First cd cost five thousand dollars and sold seven million?

Scott: Yes, we had to borrow that. Well see I.actually this is a funny story. I was trying to raise money for the cd so we could get it done and I thought that I would join this multi-level marketing company and so I used the original, we had saved up like two grand, so I bought all this stuff and spent all the band's money, so we ended up having to borrow five grand from somebody else. I was trying to be an entrepreneur.

Craig: There's a newspaper story that there was a fight at a club?

Scott: You know, Mark's been seen places. A guy got arrested for impersonating Mark one time.

Craig: What do you mean impersonating?

Scott: Actually impersonating him, picking up a female and that kind of thing. So I think that's one of those stories... didn't happen... didn't happen... wasn't me... wasn't me.

Craig: Another fun one... here's a quote, this is your quote.

Scott: Noooo... ah... alright... go ahead, go ahead, go ahead.

Craig: I see a lot of breasts when I'm singing, but that's not what I'm into.

Scott: I didn't say that. You want me to expand on that?

Craig: Yeah

Scott: I do see a lot and sometimes I forget lyrics.

Craig: Why can't they do that during the monologue?

Scott: Sometimes they want to be signed... off limits there, makes me feel uncomfortable, but I'm definitely into that.

Craig: Is Creed a Christian band?

Scott: That was a misconception that started off back in '97 when My Own Prison came out. I dealt in probably three or four songs with my upbringing and coming to grips with what my beliefs were, my spiritual beliefs were and when I was a kid my dad made me write the Bible for punishment.real strong Christian family. Not only did I have to write it, I had to write a commentary and then he'd check it for spelling and grammar.

Craig: So he was strict?

Scott: Strict, yes.yes and I think with all that church and writing the Bible and stuff... I think when I make analogies sometimes when I'm writing sometimes that comes out. It's not intentional, there's no agenda. And the other guys come from different backgrounds and they didn't even know.I mean, at first when we got that people were saying their a Christian band... those other guys got made at me. Mark and Scott and Brian, they were like we didn't join a Christian band... we wanna be rock stars. You know what I mean?

Craig: As long as the girls are flashing the breasts, we're ok. You're doing something right.

Scott: I guess

Craig: So the cd comes out later this year?

Scott: Later this year, a solo album.thank you.thank you. I'm working with Seven Aurelius. He did Ashanti's record, he did Ja Rule, Jay Z, J. Lo and I'm trying to re-invent the wheel a little bit.

Craig: So you gonna do a little rap?

Scott: NO, no, no, no... I'm not a rapper. It's more like Led Zeppelin meets the Doors with something that makes your 15's kick in the back

Craig: Will you come back and perform when it comes out?

Scott: Definitely... definitely.

Craig: Nice meeting you man

Scott: Thank you so much