Creed's Stapp talks spirituality

San Antonio Express-News August 25 2004

As he embarks on a solo career, former Creed lead singer Scott Stapp is more reflective about the question that would never go away than he was when his band ruled the rock roost.

"It's ironic when I look back on it now," Stapp said in a recent phone interview from his parents' Florida home, "because of all the times we were asked if we were a Christian band, only once did anyone ever ask me if I was a Christian."

For Stapp, that's where the real controversy was.

When the question finally was asked, it didn't come from a member of the so-called Christian media, which more often than not criticized Creed for not completely coming out as true believers. Rather, it happened on the set of "Politically Incorrect," the former ABC late-night talk show hosted by self-professed lapsed Catholic Bill Maher.

"I was really nervous when I went on that show, and when Bill asked me if I was a Christian, it sort of caught me off guard," he said.

And what was his answer? "I'm not sure."

"That's where I was at the time; that was as honest an answer as I could give," Stapp said. "Over the past two years, I've come full circle, spiritually. Unfortunately, because of my hard-headedness, I had to go through a lot of heartache to get to that point.

"When you're in a band and you're constantly either in the studio or on the road, it's easy to put things off emotionally and spiritually. But after our last tour ended and everything finally slowed down, I found myself confronted by things like the pain of my divorce. It had been a few years since my marriage had ended, but for the first time things had slowed down enough for me to actually understand how lonely, devastated and hurt I was by everything that had happened."

But that pain and emptiness served a higher purpose. It was during that time that Stapp began to sort out his spiritual commitments.

"I had to finally get to the place where I wasn't being influenced by how I was raised," he said. "I had this image of God that I had rejected but not replaced. When you grow up in church, especially the kind of church I did, it's sort of like 'Your name is Scott and your faith is Christianity.' I didn't get to choose my faith any more than I did my name, so it was time to come to terms with where I stood, what my commitment would be."

Stapp seemed to be expressing those same sorts of sentiments seven years ago in the lyrics to "My Own Prison." So what makes this time so different?

"My dad used to always say it's a matter of 12 inches. There's 12 inches between your head and your heart," he said. "There have been plenty of times when I've cried out to God in the past, but it was almost always when I was in a jam, when I wanted to make a deal with God.

"In my head I knew it was right to pray, to call on the Lord in a time of need, but I wasn't ready to give him my whole heart, to recommit my entire life to him. That's what's different this time around. I've stepped back into the arena of faith, of faith in Christ. I'm not just looking at God as a way out of a jam, I've embraced being a Christian as what shapes my values, my worldview, my morals. My commitment to Christ is what establishes my priorities, how I will raise my son, my whole person."

Creed's 1997 debut, "My Own Prison," was followed in 1999 by "Human Clay." "Weathered" in 2001 completed the short but incredibly popular Creed catalog, which has registered more than 30 million albums sold to date.

The other three original members of Creed — guitarist Mark Tremonti, drummer Scott Phillips and bassist Brian Marshall — have joined with former Mayfield Four front man Myles Kennedy to form the new band, Alter Bridge. Their debut album, "One Day Remains," was released Aug. 10 and has garnered strong sales and reviews. All the former members of Creed agree the breakup was amicable, but, still, where does that leave Stapp?

"I'm working on a solo album right now that should be released later this year, but 'Relearn Love' is my first single since Creed broke up," he said.

The song was inspired by the Mel Gibson blockbuster "The Passion of the Christ." It will be the first single released from a new compilation album, "The Passion of the Christ: Songs," slated for release Tuesday to coincide with the release of "Passion" on DVD.

Stapp said the invitation to make a contribution to the album was confirmation that he was moving in the right direction.

"When I was a kid, and even as a young adult, I was always asking God to prove himself to me," he said. "After seeing 'The Passion,' it was kind of like God saying to me, 'I'm here, what further proof do you need?' I finally got to that place where I looked up to God and said, 'You can have me, you can have everything I've got, if you'll just take me back.'"

He had been afraid to make that leap of faith before.

"I didn't want to be a hypocrite because I knew there were things in my life, according to the church I was raised in, that weren't of God," he said. "I didn't want to be a stumbling block to anyone. I knew in my heart that I was a believer and that I loved God, but I was leery of making some sort of public profession because of what, as I understood it at the time, it would entail. But those were all really only excuses."

Does that mean that Stapp's future recordings will only be for the Christian market?

"What I've learned as an artist is that I can be a Christian human being and have a relationship with God through Christ, but I don't have to be a full-blown evangelical Christian artist," he said. "I'm a three-dimensional human being. Yes, I'll talk about my faith, and I'm sure that'll come out in my music, because I've always had a tendency to wear my heart on my sleeve."

.Tim Adams