Stapp on Live with Regis and Kelly

[Braddsn]

Greetings! This is just my take..Let me say this,and argue it if you want, but by researching, you will find this is true: Creed was one of, if not THE most successful rock band in the world for an nearly a decade. Case closed. Some will try and dispute this im sure, but before you do, check out the facts first. (Record sales, sold out shows, #1 hits, etc.) Now, I know Stapp can be a tool... I have seen it. He is an alcoholic no doubt.. and alcoholism causes 'some' people to morph into complete assholes, etc. I have family members who are struggling with it, and they are the nicest people you could ever meet until they "have a few".. Now that does not make it ok. So yes, he has some problems that he needs to deal with. BUT, in his defense.... many of you are quick to judge, but probably have NO idea what its like to be the frontman for the biggest rock band on the planet. Now to make matters worse, you are right in the middle of taking this band to the top, touring your f'ing ass off, and you find out you have nodules on your vocal cords. Think that is no big deal??? Think again. It is very serious. However, with the kind of contracts and money rolling in to the record company/producers, do you think they are going to let him take a break? HAHAHA... a break means millions lost... so inject him with whatever it takes to keep him on stage, regardless of consequenses. Well, some of the stuff that his so called "doc" had him on (prednizone and many other things) had severe consequences when stopped cold turkey. I.E. withdrawals, other addiction, depression, weight gain, etc etc. It is medically documented that many people have died as a result of coming off Prednisone too quickly. Yes this took its toll on Scott and caused problems with the band. So instead of taking a break after the tour and helping him when he needed it most, they left him high and dry. Because of M O N E Y... Good friends they were. They actually left him in a hotel after a show WHILE he was having severe withdrawal symptoms.. (fever, shaking, vomiting, passing out.. etc). Good friends they were. Good band mates. I am sure they were fed up with his shit, but COME ON.. leave your friend to possibly die?
Also on another note, and I am sure you will argue this too... but Stapp was Creed. Period. Tremonti, Phillips, good musicians no doubt. But Stapp... he was the voice, and the reason Creed rose to the top. And he is an incredible songwriter. His new solo project, "The Great Divide" is proof of it. Ok now I know I am going to get flamed by some... thats cool. But I just wanted to reveal another angle to all of this. Remember this too... rock LEGENDS, like Jim Morrison for example.. Morrison was a complete idiot also when he was high/drunk (which was most of his life).. and he even drank himself to death in his 20's... but he never got the negative publicity Stapp is getting, because back then, media was scarce. Nowadays, the media is so intense, that every single aspect of a celebrity's personal life is revealed. Especially the negative stuff. Ok so I am done. :-)

[Dogstar]

You ought to check your research a little further. The band was in trouble during the Human Clay tour, so to say they left Stapp high and dry for money is just ill-informed. There were many factors, I'm sure, that led to the breakup. Musically, it's apparent they are going in different directions, and that was one of the factors. We really don't have all of the facts regarding Stapp's condition/problems, only what has been said in the magazines and by the members themselves. In any event, yes, I take issue with people who say Stapp was Creed. It was a BAND...four people who happened to gel quite nicely for a nice little run.

[Braddsn]

I did not say that they left him high and dry for MONEY.. sorry if it was taken that way. All former members of Creed had all money problems licked after the first album. These boys will never have to worry about money again. And, when I say Stapp was Creed, this is why..: I am a semi-professional drummer in a successful band, and I have been in the music biz for 15 years. I have seen literally hundreds of awesome, tight, professional bands that would blow your mind. Just hit music row in Nashville on a saturday night and you will see what I mean. You will hear 50 guitarists that are on the same level as Tremonti.. trust me. Tremonti, Phillips, they are great musicians no doubt. But great musicians and great bands that gel together are a dime a dozen. It takes something more to rise to the status that Creed did. And in my experience, you need 2 things that *most* bands lack. 1-An awesome songwriter. These are VERY rare. Stapp wrote most of the songs that Creed ever did if I am not mistaken. (I am sure Tremonti helped but Stapp was the main force behind the writing)
2-A lead vocalist that sets your band aside from others. I know this because I have met many producers over the years, and they all say the same thing. Stapp was lucky enough to be born with that voice. So there you go.
In the same breath, I give credit to Tremonti and Phillips. They fit the style perfectly, and Tremonti (I am a Tremonti fan btw) turned out some incredible and unforgettable licks in each Creed song. Yes it took the whole band to do what they did, but I believe if Tremonti and Phillips were replaced during the middle of Creed's flight at the top, the majority of the general listening public may not have even noticed. But if Stapp would have been replaced.............

[Dogstar]

Well, I'm just your average fan, and for me, it was Tremonti who drew me to Creed. Stapp wrote a lot of the lyrics, but the music was mostly Tremonti. Shitty music will not help great lyrics. And I heartily disagree that Stapp's solo effort is anything that comes close to Creed. His CD is not exactly flying off the shelves, not that sales have anything to do with quality. If there are so many great musicians who gel, why don't their bands make it as big as Creed did? Because, as you say, it takes more than a band gelling to make it huge. It's not just the talent. Sometimes, it's timing, too. Stapp and Tremonti were each other's muse; they caught lightning in a bottle, and I don't think for a minute that had Tremonti been replaced that Creed would have been as big as they were. I do not deny that Stapp was a great frontman. I saw Creed several times on the Weathered tour and he did not disappoint. I'm saying one was not bigger than the other in terms of contribution to the band.

[evyllsummer]

I'm sure Stapp wrote most of the LYRICS. Music? Mm...not so much...same thing with Morrison, by the way...

[Braddsn]

Point well taken. I guess what I am thinking about is this.... Take any big band... Journey for example.. The general public might possibly be able to name Steve Perry as the lead vocalist, but probably cannot name the rest of the band. If you replaced the drummer for Journey, with a drummer that could maintain the Journey style of drumming, I don't think anyone would notice (excluding the musicians that are into that stuff). Replace the bass guitarist, same deal. Lead guitarist, majority of the time, same deal. But you replace Steve Perry????? Then Journey is gone. This happened with Skid Row. They went through many musicians over the years, nobody noticed. Then one day Sebastian left. Skid Row was over. And I leave you with this.. Yes I agree with you, The Great Divide is no Creed album. The reason I believe is because Stapp has taken a new direction with most of the songs. He can do that if he wants because he is a multi-millionare now. But listen closely to the song "The Great Divide". This song is the exception. I have listened to it about 100 times now. It is right on par with creed. I am willing to bet that if I had the CD before it was released, and walked around telling people that this song was the new Creed song, nobody would dispute it. The lead guitarist did a great job at his version of Tremonti's style. Now if you are a musician (which I am) and you are really into each instrument and style (which I am), then yes, you may be able to tell its not Tremonti. But the majority of the listeners are not in this category. When you listen to AB, ANYONE can immediately tell its not Stapp on vocals. Oh and for the record, I will never jump on the AB vs. Stapp bandwagon, because I also think AB kicks A$$. They should not be compared in my opinion. I am writing long posts like this because I am bored and am killing time before I go to work

[evyllsummer]

Quote:

Let me say this,and argue it if you want, but by researching, you will find this is true: Creed was one of, if not THE most successful rock band in the world for an nearly a decade.

well, research will show that, strictly speaking, it was about 6 years...still a remarkable achievement...

Quote:

Now to make matters worse, you are right in the middle of taking this band to the top, touring your f'ing ass off, and you find out you have nodules on your vocal cords. Think that is no big deal???

David Coverdale had surgery to remove a nodule, and he did some amazing vocals afterwards for the self-titled Whitesnake album...

Quote:

So instead of taking a break after the tour and helping him when he needed it most, they left him high and dry. Because of M O N E Y... Good friends they were.

I could argue with this, but I'm not going to, simply because that just comes down to whose side of the story you believe...however, I will point out that Stapp has changed and/or modified his story a lot over the last year, and the story from Brian, Mark, Flip, and Brett has been VERY consistant...

Quote:

Take any big band... Journey for example.. The general public might possibly be able to name Steve Perry as the lead vocalist, but probably cannot name the rest of the band. If you replaced the drummer for Journey, with a drummer that could maintain the Journey style of drumming, I don't think anyone would notice (excluding the musicians that are into that stuff). Replace the bass guitarist, same deal. Lead guitarist, majority of the time, same deal. But you replace Steve Perry????? Then Journey is gone. This happened with Skid Row. They went through many musicians over the years, nobody noticed. Then one day Sebastian left. Skid Row was over.

well, I think that time and place have a lot to do with popularity as well...when Journey reunited back in '96, they weren't selling out stadiums like they did in, say, '86...besides, it was Schon's band BEFORE Perry arrived, and it's STILL Schon's band...they enjoyed more success with Perry, though...Skid Row, well, their popularity was waning long before Bas left, as Subhuman Race was met with underwhelming numbers, and their lineup didn't change at all from the first album UNTIL Bas left (as Subhuman Race was the last album on which Bas performed)...and the fact that Windup has been putting quite a bit of effort into associating Creed with Stapp (something that Mark resisted quite a bit, to WU's dismay) only to find the results FAR less than rewarding MAY be an indicator that Creed's popularity might have been waning as well...not that it should matter...Creed was very successful, and they enjoyed their time...and, popularity shouldn't be an indicator of what is good and what isn't...

I do agree with your posit that the average (or casual) listener won't be able to distinguish between Stapp's band and Creed...I can say this because I wasn't a Creed fan, and TGD sounds like Creed to me...

Also, the Journey fanbase has actually been fairly consistant from the last Perry album to the current lineup with Augeri on vocals...doesn't hurt that Augeri sounds just like Perry...now that I think about it, Schon's other side project Soul Sirkus has Jeff Scott Soto on vocals, who ALSO can sound a lot like Perry when he wants to...

as for Skid Row, they were marginalized as "hair metal" or "cheese metal", so they were on their way out once the Seattle sound reset the norm...love the album Slave To The Grind, though...Bas was incredible on that album, and Subhuman Race was quite good as well...

I agree with the big point that you're trying to make, though, Brad...as MOST of the audience aren't going to be musicians, it's the singer's job to connect to the crowd...those who aren't musicians and aren't there to pay attention to the guitar, drums, or whatever, are going to be listening and/or watching the lead singer...if the singer's words don't connect, the band will have a rough time making it...

[Braddsn]

Evyll, I agree with all of your points. Well said. Oh and, Slave to the Grind has to be one of my favorite albums of ALL TIME. Incredible. Seems like after that album, they disappeared.

[evyllsummer]

Quote: (Originally Posted by Braddsn)

Evyll, I agree with all of your points. Well said. Oh and, Slave to the Grind has to be one of my favorite albums of ALL TIME. Incredible. Seems like after that album, they disappeared.

LOL...yeah, you were naming some of my favorite singers up there...yeah, Slave To The Grind was an incredible follow-up to a pretty good debut, and, again, Subhuman Race (produced by Bob Rock) was probably better than the debut as well, but, at that time, it could have been BRILLIANT and it probably wouldn't have mattered because the musical environment was changing...I haven't heard any of Bas' stuff after Skid Row...this conversation has piqued my curiosity, though...

[IamFilthy]

Braddsn has got to be the most intelligent member on the board,.,..FINALLY,someone who appreciates Stapp. Agree with every point,...............except that AB kicks A$$,of course....

[titan9]

I'll give credit where credit is due: Braddsn has made some great points. Both him and evyllsummer are very intelligent posters.

[Ana4Stapp]

^
Oh My God! Im definitely missing certain member here...because of his 'incredible' posts concernig to Stapp...

[Sentinel69]

Where can I watch it???

[Ana4Stapp]

Quote: (Originally Posted by IamFilthy)

Braddsn has got to be the most intelligent member on the board,.,..FINALLY,someone who appreciates Stapp. Agree with every point,...............except that AB kicks A$$,of course....

?????????

[Mrprophetman]

Quote: (Originally Posted by evyllsummer)

David Coverdale had surgery to remove a nodule, and he did some amazing vocals afterwards for the self-titled Whitesnake album...

Julie Andrews had the same surgery and NEVER SANG AGAIN. Interesting post Braddsn, considering the fact that in many interviews his bandmates stated they had no clue what was going on with Stapp. That they had no idea what he did with his time....claimed to be clueless about prednisone. Yeah.....right.