We want to hear from you! Passion Breeds Followers is a site by the fans, for the fans. If you have a comment, suggestion, or request, drop us a note!
Press Conference
January 25 2006
How is that rehearsal coming right now?
Rehearsal is going good. It’s going good. We are doing kind of two days right now. Practicing between 11 and 1 and then taking some time -- couple hours off and relaxing and eating and practicing again. And I am feeling really excited about it, and especially my voice is hanging in there really well, and it’s coming along, and the tightness of the band has really come a long way. Work side; we're ready to do an amazing rock show -- full of just passion in heart and energy. And, you know, it’s going to be a collection of definitely my new album, but, if I could give you some examples like "What If" – "Higher", "With Arms Wide Open", "My Sacrifice", "One Last Breath", songs like that -- from my passion and songs that I still connect with, at least right now, may change by another show and mix it up here and there. But it’s going to be a collaboration of the old with the new. But, the new being what I am focusing on.
Hi. I was wondering what do you make of, the fact that Mark Tremonti would go on about not wanting to make music like Creed, but then go and form Alter Bridge... and make it sound just like Creed.
You know, man you may not believe this. I have never listened to the Alter Bridge record. So, I can’t comment to your opinion that you just gave. Could you ask the question again?
What do you make of the fact that, you know, there is such an antagonistic relationship perhaps. And, it could be an…
I’m so hurt. I’m so betrayed. I’m so lied about. A picture was painted especially in Rolling Stone, and in Mark’s comments of events that were not as they were. You know, I only did what I did during the Weathered tour by using prednisone and the medications that I used. Because, those guys were so adamant and my management was so adamant that if I didn’t do this tour it would ruin my career. And, I thought I was taking one for the team. That’s the honest to God truth and you know, whether you believe it or not that’s what I did. On the Human Clay tour - towards the end, I had to take a couple of prednisone shots and, it’s like Decadron or something like that, I forget what it is called, but it was a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory and I would be not be able to speak at all. But, in six hours it was all gone, I could sing. And, you know, a long-term use of that you know, made me retain a lot of water. It changed my personality, it caused depression, isolation and all of this was going on...... we were drifting apart, you know, we are getting just patted with, you know, Christian this, Christian that, and all those guys -- every one wanted tobe in a rock band. And, I think they will resent me a little bit for that. I didn’t even know that was going to come out that way. I didn’t plan on that. That was never my agenda. All I know is how to write songs from my heart. You know, my songs are a diary of my life, and the feelings that I feel at that moment dealing with an issue -- I am a sensitive person. We wanted respect from our peers and because, we thought we were really doing something that was different and that, you know, really had credability lyrically and musically. And, you know, and then, there was a lack of communication and one thing that hurts me the most is how Mark handled this situation by constantly trying to bash me -- we not only had agreement that we signed about certain things..... that just as a friend. I – it just – it hurts and so my hurt has continued. There was a mis-conception in Rolling Stone that my clean sober days are like up to the present, no, no, no, no that’s all wrong. The only time I started drinking alcohol in a regular basis was during the last month of the Weathered tour, because the medicine, one of its side effects is mass anxiety, if used at that dosage that I was taking over that period of time. And so, I was freaking out all the time and mixed with the other medicines they would give me to try to balance me out, this doctor that was doing this has since lost his license, he is out of Bayle, I don’t know if I can give his name, if its public knowledge, its public knowledge, but it was Dr. David Tipper at Bayle. And the bottom-line is the only reason I did that was for those guys and those were the side effects and, you know, the fact that they didn’t have my back hurt then and then the way things have been handled hurt later, they all should have known that I never even should have been out on tour in the first place. I had three or four doctors tell me, I am lucky to be alive right now.. I am telling you the fact, you can back this up, you can call Dr. Sugarman in LA. That's that’s the only one I can give right now. But, the bottom-line is that’s what it became and then, I was also misrepresented in Rolling Stone that I’ve been in this big just druggie junking, since the end of 2000 – since January 2003 that’s not the truth and after the last show, I got all that stuff out of my system and, yeah I've made a couple of bone head mistakes and I’ll admit to it man, I mean, I have – even that you haven’t been in public eye that you guys don’t even know about, you know, six, or seven, eight times that I have drunk too much over the last three years have not been – there has been more bad times than good times. And, you know, the 311 thing was an innocent a bone head mistake, you know, my friends knew, I have told my buddies (Alison Gage) and I am friends with some guys with (David Wells) some baseball player friends up there, (David Cone) in New York and some other guys and they were at the hotel waiting for me, when I got back I had some drinks, stupid mistake, stupid.... I'm just a human being, and there is no guide book on how to do this. There is no guide book on how to do this, how to be liked by the Rock and Roll press and the press and then how to be liked by your peers. I'm getting married on the 10th - that's a great thing and that's another part of the transition in my life. I would have done the same thing that I did if I were sober. But, I think because we had – all had too much too drink that -- one thing led to another and the guy who broke his hand on the back of my head, who hit me from behind and started the fight, which is noted by the security in the press if you look at our statement that we put out, the hotel security camera has caught it as well as the security guy and staff there. But had that happened when I was sober, I would have done the same thing. But I've got to defend myself. But, the point is maybe I would have not done that and what I need to go into is -- maybe I should just try to avoid that whole circumstances from even happening. And alcohol led to that, you know, the times that I drink, I – when I drink too much --- watching the Spike thing made me end it all – combined with the 311 thing and then just reflecting on sometimes where I didn’t feel real happy the next day when I woke up that morning. And I think a lot of people who drink, that may had one – at least one of those mornings and you know, the deal is, I am here today because of everything that has happened in my past and thank God in my mind I am alive, I have a beautiful son, I have a beautiful fiancee in heart and in mind and I am marrying on February 10th, I have also some group of positive guys around me in the band, they want to rock and they love my old music. We will try to rock, and get out there and have fun again and make this fun. And you know, it’s going to be cooler to get down there and see – you look people in the eyes and also I think I am going to explain some of the songs, you know, I think there was on this conception or misperception about me in where these songs came from.... I write about a lot of times, what I want to be. How I want to handle the situations, a way I know might be the right way in my opinion. But I don’t always do it. I mean, do we always make the right choices? Do we always make the right decisions? We may be equipped with the knowledge but do we have the tools at that moment to make the right decision. And so, I think, the perception is that I’ve written about the way I lived my life. But look at the songs, man, it’s going back to the beginning. My Own Prison -- I created my own prison. I mean, obviously, I mean prison, you know, they are going back to the last records "hold me now I am 6 feet from the edge and I'm thinking maybe six feet ain’t so far down". That’s some dark stuff man. And, you know, that’s some honest stuff from the heart but that’s not the stuff, you know, I mean, "I am rusted and weathered barely holding together I am covered with skin that peals and it just don’t heal". That's talking about true feelings - it’s a song about trying to survive, man. And trying the best way that a boy from parts of a Florida suburb right outside Orlando, raised by a single mom ----- getting free lunch at the lunch line government cheese and food stamps. You know, and to where I am now, trying to do the best that I can and live the life that I feel is right. But I am going to make some mistakes along the way, and I have. But all I can do now is realize that a lot of my prayers had been answered, I found a woman who is my stability, my rock. I wanted to take a chance like everybody else did. I believe a lot of people want a family and children and his own dog, and a home and a yard and just living normal life. And this has got to be balanced in my life in the future. And, I think those guys now that they have kids and have married, they might agree with me on that one, if we were still together. But it’s just - there is a lot of good things, I just don’t want the world how just misperception and I recorded the entire Rolling Stone interview and have it on video tape and may be putting it on the website. Just to show that even though there might have been a couple of things towards the end in the middle that you know - they didn’t even paint the picture clearly right. You know, they didn’t let me tell my side of the story. And I recorded it strictly for that reason. And so, I may be posting that on my website. Just so people, you know, whoever they want to believe, I can back it up, and that’s the same thing I said on this video, I can back it up with doctors and all the things that I was going through. But coming from a sports background, I thought I was taking one for the team and it backfired in my face but, you know, even if I didn’t do that... the band wouldn’t be together. But -- we will go to the next question.
Hi, Scott, how are you?
I am doing good. I got worked up there man..
The band that you are touring with - are they the same people that are on the album?
Yeah, they are. They are bunch of Houston boys, bunch of Texas boys and we get along because most of my family is from Alabama and North Florida, which is Southern Georgia. So, We get along good and we all like the same things. We are a band - this has my name on the front, but I don’t know how to work any other way. I am excited about this, and I am excited about going out and just jamming with my new band.
How did you meet these guys?
They opened for Creed. And they were called Gone Blind and you will notice, if you go back and ever hear their songs, you will notice they complete... I mean they play in my songs, but they love the change that they are doing now.
Now, What is the difference this time as far as your approach onstage and how will you approach this upcoming tour?
Well, I think the approach onstage is one of -- I've got to be healthy to perform. If I am not healthy to perform, I am not going to risk long-term injury or long-term hurt. I am going to do this at my pace. But, as far as the energy and the passion and the will, and the emotion -- that's never going to go away, that’s just true to who I am, and how I lead my life. I am a very passionate person. And passion can lead to mistakes. But there are just some changes that I have made in terms of no longer drinking in my life, it's going to be a dry tour. If somebody wants to drink on their days off -- go ahead... but around me, there will be no alcohol. Not because I feel like I am going to go to it, I just don't need it in my life. Not because I want to drink it every day, I never did that. You know, except I took a shot before the shows, and couple shots during the day, the last months of the Weathered Tour. Because I knew I can always put alcohol down. But as I have made some mistakes on that, and that's something that I don't even want anymore, you know, I am a human being. And, even it's just beer, next scene I have a 12 pack of beer in me, next thing you know -- boom, I'm drunk. And then, you never know what can happen, and I never want to be in a place even if it's only 5 or 6 times a year, and I have some responsible people watching my son, I never want to be in a place where I cannot be called upon 24 hours a day to get out of bed and be there for my wife and my son.
Why not just pack it in and stop making music?
You know, I make jokes about that all the time and me and my fiancé -- and I tell you...... I can’t live without creating music, it's just part of who I am. If we – if I wasn’t in the public eye and I wasn’t – was not making a record I would still try to find a band and jam. And, so its just part of what I do, it’s like also working out in the mornings. Also playing some golf and playing basketball on the weekend. That’s part of my personality.
One thing that you pointed out in one of your emphasis during the 311 situation mentioned earlier - you said you would have done the same thing and the article says that same thing includes details like being robbed and not just making disrespectful comments throughout....... So, what do you mean by you would have done the same thing with 311 this sounds like..
They are taking what happened on my end, and make it happen it sound like it happen on their end. A disrespectful comment was made to my fiancee. I stood up in front of Nick and I said 'listen man I don't want to start anything here but you want to come out -- how dare you to say that'. How do you think he broke his hand -- I didn't have a scratch on my face -- I was on TV two days later -- he broke his hand by hitting the back of my head. And so, then I was on the ground defending myself and getting hit not only by the whole band and whatever crew members are in there but their wives are even hitting me - they are drunk, we were drunk.
Well, I guess no matter how that story did play out then because honestly we're only reading an article and talking - you can never actually know without being there..
Well, it's on video tape so, someone buy the video tape and go watch it - the hotel's got it
But you are saying you would have done the same thing it's kind of any kind of…
Well, let me say this, if I would have gotten hit in the back of the head I would have reacted the same way because I landed on my back and had to defend myself. Now, have that comment been made to me when I'm sober... I would have been more like "I can’t believe each of you said that" and gotten up and walked away.
Scott, it sounds like a lot of the problems were brought on by the physical trend of touring…
You are right.
How do you plan to handle this... since you are going back on tour again?
Well, we are taking a long time off -- you know, my voice had a long time to heal. And what we are trying to do with everything - and what I am trying to do is find balance in everything. Find what my body can handle and enjoy. And so, we are going to give this run a try and see if that works right to take two to three weeks off and then on the next run, what we are going to do, we will play like Tuesday, Wednesday take off Thursday, play Friday, Saturday. We are going to play around a little bit, and just figure out what's best for my voice and my body for me be able to be able to do what I like to do. That costs more money to do it that way -- I don't make as much money, but I don't care. One thing, I think that not a lot of people know about this tour is the - I have a foundation that was the With Arms Wide Open Foundation; I currently changed the name. I founded it in 1998. And basically, what we are doing is in every city we are trying and take a dollar from each ticket price and then we're matching it at the end of the tour and we will have generated over 700,000 meals for kids -- there are 100,000 kids in Orlando that do not eat a single bite of food everyday. And, so, one of the things with this tour is -- I believe there is a harvest food bank in every city that we are playing in. And you can check up at scottstappfoundation.com in order to see the history of what we've been doing. I just didn't talk about it because I didn't want people to think I did it just because I want some positive press, because that's how people would have taken it. I did it because I was raised and brought up with a low income background -- coming from a low income background before my mother remarried when I was 11. I have a heart for kids and children. And because I have a heart doesn't mean that you are a perfect example, but you know, I do what I can. With hurricane Katrina... We ended up housing between, I think 8 to 10 or 18 to 15 families and provided them with their first month water bills and we re-located them.... we also gave 10 to 20 scholarships to kids that fulfill requirements laid out by the Executive Director. You know we have done a lot of things. And, we just want people who want to get involved and want to see what’s going on to know there’s something there. So if people want to get involved in this they can.
Emotionaly, what did you have to put yourself through to complete your new CD? What's your inspiration?
It kind of tells a story, but at the end of the day I'm still trying to make it through that great divide, brother, and if I do make it through that divide I still have to remind myself that I'm broken. And that can mean a lot of things - that can mean that I can't go back there - I have to keep these steps moving forward... to live this life that I want to live... and happiness with my wife and having children and my son.