Scott Stapp Changes His Tune

New Man Magazine January/February 2005

The former Creed lead singer talks about how fatherhood, and a certain film by Mel Gibson helped him to reconcile with his faith.

Scott Stapp likens the last two years to a "40 days" experience-a trying time that brought turmoil, tumult and a turnaround.

"I think it was another part of my journey and my relationship with God." Stapp explains. "It brought me to a crossroads in my life where I had no other way to look but up. I was broken down. There was no one else but me and God, and I finally had to let go."

Stapp is best-known as the lead singer and lyricist for the defunct rock band Creed, which sold more than 30 million copies of its three albums. His pathway to rock 'n roll stardom was paved by two pivotal points in his childhood.

Scott's biological father left the family when Scott was just 5 years old. Then, about five years later, his mother remarried a man from church, a dentist named Steven Stapp.

The mainstream press made much ado about Scott's strict, religious upbringing and eagerly took swipes at the way his stepfather made Scott write down and memorize scriptures. It was only when Scott became a father in 1998 that he began to appreciate his past.

"I know now that [my stepfather] was just doing everything he knew to do to make me into a good man and to try to keep me from falling into pitfalls that he had been involved in when he was a young man. And that's all you can do as a parent. Looking back on that, my stepfather loved me like a real son," he explains.

"I think my becoming a father finally helped me understand why my mother and father did the things they did, whether I disagreed with them or not. I don't think you can go wrong by teaching your children the Bible, and what it means."

But before Stapp could come full circle back to his spiritual roots, he first went through a rebellious stage that landed him in a rock band. The band quickly rose to fame with the albums My Own Prison and Human Clay. Both albums contained numerous traces of Stapp's religious leanings, and had journalists and fans wondering if Creed was a Christian band.

Eventually, the limelight dimmed and cracks in Stapp's armor became evident. In February of 2001, he got into a fight with a tattoo parlor operator, and two months later he became involved in a barroom brawl.

A car accident, a bad case of pneumonia, harmful vocal nodules, two growths behind his sternum and a bizarre incident at a concert in Chicago on December 29, 2002, took his life to a new low. He had been taking the steroid prednisone that helped reduce severe inflammation to his vocal chords and allowed him to sing. In Chicago, the drug's powerful effects incapacitated him, and the show was cut short.

Some concertgoers sued the band and the promoter, although the class action suit was later dismissed. Stapp was also growing weary of the jealousy and gossip surrounding the band. Ultimately, it was Stapp's waning desire to travel that caused Creed to take an extended break and eventually call it quits in June 2004.

"I'm a father, and I basically only wanted to tour in the summers," Stapp says.

"Bottom line is I want to be a daddy. I'm a single father. My son's mother has no involvement in his life. We don't know where she is, and I've got to be there for my boy. I felt comfortable with my life and didn't feel like I need to be gone traveling 250 days a year."

For years, Stapp says he was running from God. But during his down time, Stapp found himself running to God. While he was still searching for direction, he received a call from executive producers of The Passion of the Christ: Songs who were looking for Stapp to contribute to the project.

They flew him to Los Angeles for a preview screening of the movie. The heart-wrenching experience helped him to complete a song he had already started called "Relearn Love", and more importantly, Stapp found himself coming full circle in his spiritual journey.

"That was the first sign I ever had in my entire life," Stapp concludes. "I can look back and see God's hand in my life. But that was the first time where I really felt almost as if I heard a booming voice saying, 'See, I've got a plan for you, and here's where it's going to be, and here's how we're going to start it.' And wouldn't you know it, my solo career gets launched on the heels of The Passion of the Christ movie."

.Chad Bonham