++ Alter Bridge - Fortress ++ PreOrder NOW!!  
Go Back   CreedFeed Community > The Bands & The Music > Scott Stapp Talk
Today's Posts «

Post Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 08-16-2004, 03:22 AM   #1
MrSeeker
MrSeeker's Avatar
USER INFO »
Status: INK'ed
Posts: 965
Joined: Jun 2003
Currently: Offline
Contact:  Send a message via AIM to MrSeeker
Scott Stapp Christian interview

I dont know if anyone has posted this, but here ya go.


First things first: Why did Creed break up?

Scott Stapp: Mark [Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti] and I had been working together for the last ten years. There comes a point with any collaboration like that where you start having other interests creatively. I was moving in one direction musically, and as a guitar player, Mark wanted to move in another direction. That was essentially the reason we broke up. Those feelings actually started happening right after Human Clay (1999), and we went ahead and made Weathered (2001) together. [Tremonti and Creed drummer Scott Phillips went on to form a new band, Alter Bridge, whose debut album releases on Wind-Up Records on August 10.]

Sounds like it was a friendly break-up.

Stapp: When something like that happens, people want to try to find some dirt and make it more of a soap opera. But I think we both walked away with the door still open, if we want to do something together again. So yeah, I would call it a friendly break-up.

How did you get involved in the Passion songs project?

Stapp: They flew me out to a private screening of the film last summer, and to meet Mel Gibson, to kind of get a vibe on what was going on.

So, the film moved you to the point where you felt like you had to write a song?

Stapp: Actually, there was already a song percolating inside of me, so to speak, concerning a renewal in my heart. Interestingly, my personal life and my spiritual walk were kind of coming full circle around the same time I was asked to be involved in the project. I had been shedding all the callousness and the weathered state that I had been in, personally and spiritually, even prior to seeing the film. Seeing the film just kind of closed the door and allowed that song to be born.

What had triggered those spiritual changes in your life?

Stapp: A lot of personal things. I was hurt and beaten down. Five years ago, I had a divorce that I didn't really want. I was so busy with Creed that I don't think I ever really dealt with that emotionally. She [his ex-wife] elected not to be involved in my son's life, leaving me as a single father, and I was really worried about my little boy [Jagger, who turns 6 in October]. And there were other things that came along in the trappings of fame, things that hurt some of my relationships. So when I finally had time to reflect on everything, I was broken down to the point where I had no other way but to look up. I couldn't handle it all. I was asking a lot of questions—of myself, of God—looking for answers.

My dad always said I was hard-headed, that it would take something like that to wake me up spiritually, and I guess it did. My heart had gotten so beat up that I didn't have anything left to give. I was emotionally and spiritually dried up, so I was just searching for God. I reached out to my pastor and my father for some guidance. I was really soul searching and, I guess, on my path to coming home spiritually. And once that process began—and I'm still going through that process, and probably will for the rest of my life—that's when things started changing in my life. I started making some proper decisions, getting things in order. It's kind of like cleaning up your house. I was looking for direction for what God wanted me to do—and that's when I got a call about The Passion.

Prior to this recent renewal, how would you have described your faith?

Stapp: I'd have called myself a struggling Christian who was trying to find holes in everything he had been raised to believe. I was a doubting Thomas. I was raised in a climate where I believed in God because I was afraid of going to hell—and I didn't think that was the right way to fall in love with somebody. I always believed in God and Christ, but I was in rebellion—trying to make my relationship with God fit into my life instead of making my life fit in with him. I was stubborn.

It just took all of that to come to a screeching halt, to get to the point of having nothing, for me to finally realize, Hey, what are you fighting with this for? Until then, I hadn't claimed my faith as my own; I had just grown up with it. But I finally got to that point after years and years of running from God. Christ stepped in when I asked him.

When you first saw The Passion of the Christ, how did it affect you?

Stapp: At first, I was saddened and disheartened. I couldn't believe this is what Christ had to go through. I knew the story, but I was seeing it through different eyes. It was not just a Bible story that I had heard since I was four years old. It made sense to my life as a man, and as a father and as a friend and as a son. I was shocked that someone loved me so much that they would do this for me. I also got angry at various times during the film.

Angry at what?

Stapp: At how Christ was being treated. But then that would turn into a humility about understanding the sacrifice. I had a whole gamut of emotions—love, peace, anger, humility, sadness. I left the film exhausted; I was drained. But also, I was happy, because it helped me get a visual picture of what I finally understood.

Did you meet Mel Gibson?

Stapp: Yes. He was excited that I was interested in the songs project. He said, "I don't know much about music, but my kids love your band." I had a little demo of "Relearn Love" and I played it for him, and he said, "Listen, man, I'll leave that stuff up to you." He was like, "This is your experience, and I want you to express it however you want."

So you were writing "Relearn Love" even before you saw The Passion.

Stapp: Yes, and The Passion came along and gave me focus. It was kind of God's final confirmation that I was moving in the right direction.

Can you give me a specific example of how that "relearned love" is manifesting itself in your life?

Stapp: It's simple for me: It's giving without expecting anything in return. Prior to this, the way that I loved people around me, I always expected something—even if that was just expecting them to treat me like I treated them. But now I understand that real love is just giving without expecting anything. That's what love is to me, and that's what I feel that Christ showed us.

On Creed's website, you had answered an FAQ in part by writing, "Who are we to say that being a Christian is the only way to heaven?"

Stapp: Well, I can honestly tell you, I didn't write that.

But your name was on it.

Stapp: [Turns to tell his manager sitting nearby to call his record label and "tell them there's something on the Creed website that I didn't write … again." Then he addresses Christian Music Today again.] I didn't write that. I would never answer a question that way. That sounds like something the owner of my record company [Wind-Up Records] would say.

[Stapp, clearly perturbed at this revelation, says something else to his manager, then addresses us again.] I would never say that, dude, because that's not what I believe. We'll be sure to make a note of that. That stuff happens all the time, because my label, you know, they're about making money. They don't want to disenfranchise people. Creed wasn't a Christian band, but I would never insinuate or say anything that would make that kind of a statement. I'm glad you told me about that.

So, where do you stand in regards to that statement?

Stapp: Oh, I'm a Christian. I was a Christian in Creed, but nobody ever asked me.

You've been really open in this interview. Is that because I'm with the Christian media? Or would you answer these questions similarly for the mainstream media?

Stapp: The nature of my answers are a lot different now that I'm no longer with Creed. I'm a solo artist now, and I don't have a band to hide behind. So when someone asks me if I'm a Christian, I have to say yes, because I am. But do you know I was never asked in 10 years if I was a Christian personally? We were only asked if Creed was a Christian band.

Well, you never got interviewed by us!

Stapp (laughs): But I'm glad nobody asked, because my life wasn't right with God. The Christian community latched onto a lot of my music, because there were a lot of things about my struggle they related to. But I didn't really want to come out and be identified as a Christian, because I didn't want to be a hypocrite, because my life wasn't right. I didn't want to make any kind of public profession until I felt like my heart was right.

I've since learned that my life's never gonna be right, and I'm always going to be scrutinized and looked at under a microscope. And it took me, since I was 17 and left home, running from God, to now, as a 30-year-old man, when I honestly feel like I've come full circle and my heart's finally in the right place. I'm still going to make mistakes, but I don't have any problems with publicly professing my faith now. It just took me a long time to get to the right place in my relationship with Christ.

It's just crazy how things have come full circle for me as a solo artist. I kind of look at everything that happened with Creed as a preparation—me going through things to get my life ready for God's plan. It's been a journey and a learning experience.

So, are you now a "Christian artist," or an artist who happens to be a Christian?

Stapp: I'm an artist who's a Christian, because I don't write music to be evangelical. Now, if that happens, it happens. My dad's a dentist, and he's a Christian. Now, does he put in Christian fillings? No, that's just part of his three-dimensional life. Now, there are people that are Christian artists, because they have a purpose to be evangelical for Christ. I don't feel I've been called to that yet. Now, that could change. There's no telling what kind of call God will put on my life.

source: http://www.christianitytoday.com/mus...tapp-0804.html
__________________
My Myspace page Visit and add me!

Favorite bands,
As I Lay Dying
Demon Hunter
August Burns Red
Becoming The Archetype

Voices are hidden
Giving shame to my name
Am I no better forgiven
If I leave this world the same.
Reply With Quote
Old 08-16-2004, 11:58 AM   #2
creedsister
creedsister's Avatar
USER INFO »
Status: Tree of Wisdom
Posts: 8,290
Joined: Oct 2003
Currently: Offline
thanks kev for posting the Article but i think its Already been posted here Like Twice Or So Already !!!! ROCK ON!!!!!
__________________
Hush child I,ll tell you why you have Loved Me when you were weak you have given me unselfishly Kept you From Falling Falling everywhere But Your Kness you set me free to live my life you become my Reason To Survive The Great Divide you Set Me Free Ooh Our Love Is Beautiful Ooh isn,t This Beautiful Child It Seems You Have Been My Everything
Reply With Quote
Old 08-16-2004, 02:54 PM   #3
MrSeeker
MrSeeker's Avatar
USER INFO »
Status: INK'ed
Posts: 965
Joined: Jun 2003
Currently: Offline
Contact:  Send a message via AIM to MrSeeker
oh,ok,darn...
__________________
My Myspace page Visit and add me!

Favorite bands,
As I Lay Dying
Demon Hunter
August Burns Red
Becoming The Archetype

Voices are hidden
Giving shame to my name
Am I no better forgiven
If I leave this world the same.
Reply With Quote
Old 08-17-2004, 01:45 PM   #4
creedsister
creedsister's Avatar
USER INFO »
Status: Tree of Wisdom
Posts: 8,290
Joined: Oct 2003
Currently: Offline
Hahahaha
__________________
Hush child I,ll tell you why you have Loved Me when you were weak you have given me unselfishly Kept you From Falling Falling everywhere But Your Kness you set me free to live my life you become my Reason To Survive The Great Divide you Set Me Free Ooh Our Love Is Beautiful Ooh isn,t This Beautiful Child It Seems You Have Been My Everything
Reply With Quote
Old 08-17-2004, 02:38 PM   #5
The Lithium
The Lithium's Avatar
USER INFO »
Status: Arms Wide Open
Posts: 5,298
Joined: Apr 2003
Currently: Offline
Contact:  Send a message via MSN to The Lithium
Yeah, Marcos posted it first.
__________________
//The Lithium - www.myspace.com/thelithium

"take care of yourselves.
take care of each other.
fuck gorge w. bush!
good night"
--corey taylor
Reply With Quote
Post Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Scott Interview.. Lucy Scott Stapp Talk 27 08-17-2007 02:58 PM
Stapp's version on the Creed break-up! Bridge of Clay Creed Talk 45 11-17-2005 06:33 PM
Scott Stapp interview... Aaron J Faith / Religion 18 08-28-2004 11:37 AM
Scott Breaks His Silence to MTV Shadow Scott Stapp Talk 76 08-19-2004 09:13 PM
New Wind-Up Imprint Launches With 'Passion' ~ Scott Stapp Shadow Creed Talk 14 08-09-2004 12:01 AM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:20 AM.

Powered by vBulletin Version 3.5.2
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright © 2004 Steve Caponetto. All Rights Reserved.