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Bridge of Clay · 10-05-2004, 12:25 PM

http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/31141.htm
NY POST

ALTERED STATE

By DAN AQUILANTE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

October 3, 2004 -- THE decision to crash Creed, a band that sold more than 30 million albums, had to be a hard one. Or perhaps not.
As former Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti told The Post from his Orlando, Fla., home, "When you break up a million- dollar band and people congratulate you, you realize you made the right choice."

Differences in work ethics, clashing egos, and a lack of focus by frontman Scott Stapp have all been blamed for the break-up.

When it went down earlier this year, Tremonti, along with bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips - all Creed alumni - knew they wanted to start a new band, without Stapp.

Tremonti said Stapp and the band had no choice. "We didn't see things eye-to-eye anymore."

With Stapp out of the picture, the trio hired Myles Kennedy as their voice, wrote new songs for the album "One Day Remains," and Alter Bridge was born.

"We're not the same struggling artists we were in the early Creed days," Tremonti says of his new outfit, "but on the road we're trying to live lean, and really earn it all again."

So on Thursday, when Tremonti brings Alter Bridge to Irving Plaza, don't look for the luxury buses outside the club. The boys are riding in cramped vans, staying at Holiday Inns, and earning respect the old-fashioned way - with the music.

What made Creed good?

At the core it's our songs. Making good songs meant a lot to us.

And you were the guy who wrote most of those Creed songs.

That's what I do. I write songs.

So what went sour?

When you're writing music in a band, it's like a marriage. You all have to agree. When you don't have that, the writing relationship becomes hard. We wanted to make music and Scott [Stapp] didn't.

Can you and Stapp ever be friends again?

We haven't talked since February. It's like an ex-wife situation. Time may make us friends again, but there'll never be a Creed reunion.

Do you put all the blame on him?

I'm not going to point a finger.

Do you blame yourself?

The only way I'd blame myself is that I'm a workaholic and I'm not satisfied if I'm not making music.Scott didn't love touring as much as the rest of the band did.

You're rich from Creed. How does that wealth affect this fledgling outfit?

The difference between touring as Creed and as Alter Bridge is we now stay at cheap hotels. We're trying to get back to basics. Alter Bridge has to stand on it's own in every way - especially financially.

How about the fans? Some of them must hate you for breaking up Creed.

We've had a positive reaction from most of the fans. Some Scott Stapp fans curse our every move, but we're after those who are in it for the music - not for the personalities.

Did you question any of the new songs for sounding a lot like Creed?

I wrote most of the music for Creed. We used these songs to bridge the gap between the two bands. It was really for the fans. We didn't want to alienate everyone. (***so the second album will be completely different???***)

If a new band asked you how to stay together, what would you say?

Everybody has to want to work. When one member is pushing hard and another member is getting lazy, there's lots of room for resentment.

10-05-2004, 12:25 PM	#1
Bridge of Clay USER INFO » Status: Tree of Wisdom Posts: 8,025 Joined: Sep 2002 Currently: Offline	Altered State (NY Post article). http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/31141.htm NY POST ALTERED STATE By DAN AQUILANTE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- October 3, 2004 -- THE decision to crash Creed, a band that sold more than 30 million albums, had to be a hard one. Or perhaps not. As former Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti told The Post from his Orlando, Fla., home, "When you break up a million- dollar band and people congratulate you, you realize you made the right choice." Differences in work ethics, clashing egos, and a lack of focus by frontman Scott Stapp have all been blamed for the break-up. When it went down earlier this year, Tremonti, along with bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips - all Creed alumni - knew they wanted to start a new band, without Stapp. Tremonti said Stapp and the band had no choice. "We didn't see things eye-to-eye anymore." With Stapp out of the picture, the trio hired Myles Kennedy as their voice, wrote new songs for the album "One Day Remains," and Alter Bridge was born. "We're not the same struggling artists we were in the early Creed days," Tremonti says of his new outfit, "but on the road we're trying to live lean, and really earn it all again." So on Thursday, when Tremonti brings Alter Bridge to Irving Plaza, don't look for the luxury buses outside the club. The boys are riding in cramped vans, staying at Holiday Inns, and earning respect the old-fashioned way - with the music. What made Creed good? At the core it's our songs. Making good songs meant a lot to us. And you were the guy who wrote most of those Creed songs. That's what I do. I write songs. So what went sour? When you're writing music in a band, it's like a marriage. You all have to agree. When you don't have that, the writing relationship becomes hard. We wanted to make music and Scott [Stapp] didn't. Can you and Stapp ever be friends again? We haven't talked since February. It's like an ex-wife situation. Time may make us friends again, but there'll never be a Creed reunion. Do you put all the blame on him? I'm not going to point a finger. Do you blame yourself? The only way I'd blame myself is that I'm a workaholic and I'm not satisfied if I'm not making music.Scott didn't love touring as much as the rest of the band did. You're rich from Creed. How does that wealth affect this fledgling outfit? The difference between touring as Creed and as Alter Bridge is we now stay at cheap hotels. We're trying to get back to basics. Alter Bridge has to stand on it's own in every way - especially financially. How about the fans? Some of them must hate you for breaking up Creed. We've had a positive reaction from most of the fans. Some Scott Stapp fans curse our every move, but we're after those who are in it for the music - not for the personalities. Did you question any of the new songs for sounding a lot like Creed? I wrote most of the music for Creed. We used these songs to bridge the gap between the two bands. It was really for the fans. We didn't want to alienate everyone. (so the second album will be completely different???) If a new band asked you how to stay together, what would you say? Everybody has to want to work. When one member is pushing hard and another member is getting lazy, there's lots of room for resentment. __________________ .:: "If people don't like guitar solos... then they're frikkin' stupid!" - Mark Tremonti ::.