105.1 The Buzz, Portland

October 12, 2004

Sheryl: Alright and I'm Sheryl, we have with us in the studio, somebody we've been very excited to, in fact we've been talking about this for a couple of weeks. Please welcome to The Buzz

Applause

Scott: What's up?

Sheryl: Scott Stapp. Hello. I had to turn your mike on. See, that's how excited I am, last night. Okay, I'm going to expose myself as a complete geek now (Scott laughs). I've been such a fan for so long that last night I could barely sleep and I actually had a dream about this

Scott: Really?

Sheryl: And I was totally that Chris Farley skit on Saturday Night Live. (Scott laughs) Have you seen it? When he's the super fan and he's all like yeah remember that movie you did and blah blah blah in 1998."

Scott: (Laughs) Yeah

Sheryl: Yeah, that was awesome". So, anyway, so

Scott: Well, thank you.

Sheryl: Forgive me any Chris Farley moments

Scott: And we are fans of you so good to be here.

Sheryl: Right on. Welcome, welcome to Portland

Scott: Thank you

Sheryl: How long has it been since you've been in Portland?

Scott: Oh my gosh, maybe 2 1/2 years.

Sheryl: Wow

Scott: It's been a while, you know

Sheryl: Yeah

Scott: Took a little hiatus and got healthy, you know, I was kinda crashed and burned you know, from working so hard, needed to rest my voice and

Sheryl: We should provably definitely hit that up because I know folks in Portland were disappointed, you had to, you were forced to cancel a couple of shows here in Portland, not just the shows, but the make-up show. Tell everybody what was going on with that.

Scott: Well I had developed some callouses on my vocal chords and a really was told not to sing or I could potentially damage my future and also, believe or not, I had the early stages at that time of pneumonia

Sheryl: Oh my gosh

Scott: And then I went into having full blown pneumonia, so it was a rough time. You know my body just got wore out after all those years of pounding on the road and stuff like that but a, you know a much need break was cool

Sheryl: Yeah

Scott: And now I'm back and ready to have a good time and ready to reconnect with all the people that I've come to know and love when I toured before so it's awesome.

Sheryl: You were also kinda going through some emotional stuff too at the time.

Scott: Yeah

Sheryl: Weren't you? I mean on top of your physical problems

Scott: Yeah, you know, I had a lot of, you know the business is wonderful, what I do for a living I wouldn't change for the world, but it effects your life in a lot of different ways when you're gone all the time. You know, I went through a divorce and, gosh it's been almost six years now.

Sheryl: Wow

Scott: And you know that was constantly stuff was coming up for that and then just some other personal things that were going on, you know

Sheryl: I think what people don't realize too, is when you're going through emotional drama

Scott: Kinda got depressed, you know

Sheryl: Yeah, just don't wanna get out of bed and got to work, unfortunately your job is, you know getting up in front of thousands. It must have been tough to have to get out there and be on when it's the last thing you feel like doing.

Scott: Yeah, it was, well it was tough and what I ended up doing was I kinda isolated myself all day so I could have just enough to give a the shows. And, you know ,rumors circulate and things go around and you just, you just gotta do what you gotta do to take care of yourself and for a while there I was trying so hard to make so many different people happy and be there for the people that changed my life, you know the fans, and it finally caught up with me and so I had some time to get all that stuff together and you know now it's looking great and I'm really looking forward to the solo stuff and the next chapter.

Sheryl: Yeah, definitely wanna talk about that. You mentioned off the air you moved to Maui. Is that where you leave full time now? Lucky.

Scott: No, not full time. Got a place over there and I actually stayed there for a little over a year and it was awesome, it was awesome, the weather and the people and the culture and the beach everyday, you know and it was amazing.

Sheryl: You grew up near the beach.

Scott: Yeah

Sheryl: In Florida

Scott: I grew up in Florida, yeah

Sheryl: See, I can totally relate to that growing up in California. Once a beach person, always a beach person. It calls you back.

Scott: It does, you gotta be by the water man, you know it's just something that calls to ya.

Sheryl: Do you surf?

Scott: Yeah I surf.

Sheryl: Right on. We got Switchfoot coming in a little bit later, they're big surfer guys too.

Scott: Yeah, their cool, love those guys.

Sheryl: All those years growing up in California though I never learned to surf. (Scott laughs) I'm so embarrassed everyone always asks. Never learned. I gotta ask you this we've had people calling, ever since we announced you were coming in. We had people showing up early today, like hoping to catch a glance . The last time this happened and don't be offended was Hansen

Scott: Yeah, no problem.

Sheryl: Do you have any kind of a normal life at all or is your life forever changed by that rocket ship you were on?

Scott: You know, your life is forever changed but I like to look at it like it's forever changed for the good because people are so cool and the people that enjoy my music, they just give so much and when your batteries are drained they just put a smile on your face and make you appreciate why you do what you do and so you definitely have to do certain things differently, but I wouldn't have any complaints man, I love it.

Sheryl: Do you do normal guy stuff?

Scott: Yeah

Sheryl: Do you do normal dad stuff?

Scott: I do normal dad stuff and normal guy stuff.

Sheryl: Do you go out to little league games and stuff like that?

Scott: I'm missing flag football this Thursday, 'cause I'm out here, he's a little guy.

Sheryl: You're not that dad are you? The guy that's yelling at the referees and stuff?

Scott: I'm actually Mr. Mom dad. I'm a single dad and

Sheryl: Are you the tailgate dad? The dad that has the big party?

Scott: Yeah, I'm that guy (Scott laughs)

Sheryl: okay. That's the cool dad. That's the cool flag football dad.

Scott: I'm a young dad and so I was thinking, when I'm 42, my son is gonna be like 18, 19. So, maybe I'll hold off on getting married until then. Meet his friends.

Sheryl: You've got time

Scott laughs

Scott: That was a joke. That was bad

Sheryl: See that totally threw me, I had a question all prepared

Laughs

Scott: No, he's my life and you know I can completely relate with a lot of single moms out there and you know moms that have and kids that have fathers that aren't active in the life because it was just the opposite with me and so a lot of times when I was on tour when my son was young, um people wouldn't see me walking around backstage and doing stuff and I got this little tag that oh he thinks he's too cool to come out of the backstage". Well, I was changing diapers and playing with the little guy and trying to keep his life as normal as possible.

Sheryl: Which had to be have been tough

Scott: It was tough, but you know

Sheryl: Most people don't even try, they hire a nanny and call it good.

Scott: I just didn't feel, I don't know maybe 'cause I didn't have a father until I was ten, I really felt like I really wanted to be a good father and put a lot into it and I had a little dressing room that was in a little nursery that went to every arena and so I don't even think he realized that we were in different cities because the room was the same every where he went. He's a little rocker now, he's a little drummer and you know

Sheryl: How cute

Scott: I'll show you some pictures, you know he's got his own band.

Sheryl: How old is he now?

Scott: He'll be six October 21st.

Sheryl: How cute. What's he gonna be for Halloween?

Scott: Oh man, probably some Yu-Gi-Oh character. He's really big into Yu-Gi- Oh cards right now.

Laughs

Sheryl: Do you dress up with him and take him around trick or treating?

Scott: Yeah, I dress up and take him around and

Sheryl: What do you dress up as? Now tell you don't like put on the leather pants and be like I'm a rock star" for Halloween.

Scott: No, no, no that was just for the stage for a while.

Sheryl: That'd be too easy.

Scott: Last year I think I dressed up, I wore like jeans and chaps and a cowboy hat and like I was like a sheriff from the wild west or something. That's what he wanted me to be so

Sheryl: That's a nice mental image.

Laughs

Sheryl: Now I want to talk to you about, you're working on the solo project right now.

Scott: Yes, yes

Sheryl: But that's not done yet.

Scott: No

Sheryl: Tell us where your at with that and what's going on with you right now.

Scott: I'm about 80-90% done with the song writing, um just got to track it, record it, play it you know get all that stuff done. Right now I'm going around promoting Relearn Love, which is my first solo single, a song I wrote for The Passion of the Christ soundtrack, which you guys are playing, that's awesome. So hopefully by mid-March, late March, could be even as early as end of February next year, I'll be promoting and on tour with an album and you know, playing all my songs that I wrote in Creed. Creed's Greatest Hits is coming out the end of the month, so you know, my show will be a combination of the all songs I wrote with Creed and then all the new stuff going forward.

Sheryl: Right on. My headphones keep feeding back. It's very distracting. Sorry about that.

Scott: (Laughs) That's okay

Sheryl: We definitely want to play that song here in just a second. I want to talk to you to how you got involved in with that project. Everybody wants to know, what happened with Creed?

Scott: Well, you know, I think it was pretty normal I know a lot of people want to make a lot of drama and think about stuff. You know there was some tension over things, over the years, which I think any family, any brother type thing is gonna have. You know Mark really wanted to sprout and he wanted to be the singer of his own band and write all the music and he really grew as an artist and we talked about it at the end of Human Clay and I was, at the time, getting involved in acting, and stuff, which I'm still involved in and so we had both planned to do this, we just didn't know what time it would happen. You know when I had those health issues I think it kinda and I had to take some time off, I think it kinda pushed the schedule forward a little bit. You know, Mark didn't end up singing on his record, the label thought that you know, he needed to focus on guitars. It's kinda new thing when you're not use to singing and playing and so maybe on his next record he'll do that. 'Cause I think with him getting another singer rumors would flare like oh man, you know they just replaced him" and you know it's hard to replace the band you started. You know so, it's kinda weird but you know I wish him the best and you know he's a talented guy and I wish him the best and I know he feels the same for me and you know the doors always open you know, you never know what'll happen down the road, another Creed project you know.

Sheryl: You never know. So, Passion of the Christ, the soundtrack I'm curious as to how you got involved with this. Seems to me, you came from a Christian background right?

Scott: Yeah

Sheryl: Was you dad was preacher? Did I read that right?

Scott: Yeah you probably did read that but he's a dentist.

Sheryl: He's a Christian Dentist/Pastor

Scott: No, no see, that's the thing you can't hardly believe anything you read and half of what you see.

Sheryl: See, there are so many rumors about you.

Scott: Yeah, yeah I think it's because I was so nervous and young when this all started. I didn't know how to handle you know the success and the questions and I think one thing I did that was probably a mistake, in looking back, was I stayed quiet and kinda hid there for a while and didn't really respond to a lot of things which, you know wasn't to good at the time but he's a dentist, he is a Christian, and he was like, he did preach every once in a while and he was board member or whatever, Deacon at the church, and so I was raised in a strict Christian home and you know I dealt with that on two or three songs on every Creed record, the spiritual aspect of my life and you know a lot of people assumed that Creed was a Christian band, and we weren't, it was more along the lines of a guy who raised in that environment who ran from it and really didn't know if that was what he wanted to follow or believe and so I was dealing with my struggles and you know and even now, I am a Christian, and I'm sure that in my music going forward that there will be songs inspired by the spiritual aspect of my life, but you know I like to make the separation, I'm, you know, we never had an agenda with Creed to proselytize or try to make people believe what I believe, even the band, early on was kinda mad at me when we got these Christian tags because they were like why is this happening? What are you doing? What are you writing?" and it even shocked me 'cause I didn't realize that it was coming through 'cause a lot of my analogies were based on the, you know, Bible and things that I had grown up reading and writing. My dad used to punish me and make me write proverbs and psalms, copy it out of the Bible, and a so, I definitely understand where it came from and you know, so you can be, I think, a person of faith and spirituality and then also be an artist, but not be a Christian or religious artist, you know I like to say my dad's a Christian, he's a dentist, but he doesn't put in Christian fillings. (Laughs) You see what I mean?

Sheryl: Yeah

Scott: So, um, you know that aspect of my life is always going to be there and I've struggled with it just like anybody else and I go through my good times, my bad times and you know that in turn sparks creativity in songs, but you know I just feel The Passion of the Christ thing, I was at a point in my life where I was kinda coming back to my faith and finally starting to feel like I was beginning to believe in this because I chose to, not because it was how I was brought up and how I was raised. Ironically around the same time I began writing this song called Relearn Love because I really felt like I, with all the drama and a lot of the stuff that happened with Creed I was hurt inside, I think I was jaded a little bit and even scared of people, you know I was trying to make everybody happy and you just can't do that, you can try, but you can't live your life trying to do that, it'll kill ya, you know. So I was watching my son play one day and just the way he interacted with other kids and with me and his heart was so pure and he gave and you know, as a father, I was just like gosh I wish I could protect that little heart" you know and it really started making me kinda think I wish I could get my heart back to that and in doing that the title Relearn Love came to me and so I had written the music and had the song together, but I didn't have any real direction with the verses and with the bridge and the whole, the song as a whole and then I got a call, out of the blue, as I'm going through this personal, spiritual deal in my life and it was from Mel Gibson and his people and they flew me out to L.A. to see a private screening of the film and then asked me to do a, if I would be interested in doing a song for the film. It was funny, I was in Mel's office and he was like you know I was talking to my kids about who would be best to write the lead single for the soundtrack and promote it and they said they loved Creed and P.O.D and they want you to do it" and I was like okay, so you want me just to go home now and write a hit single"

Laughs

Sheryl: No pressure

Scott: Yeah, no pressure. So I was kinda commissioned, you know. But it was cool and I had the song there and you know the song changed from how I, the version that you guys have now is the version that I was gonna put on my album and then after seeing the movie and how it impacted me, I changed the music and did real heavier, edgier, harder rock type, real tense version, which is on The Passion of the Christ right now. What they're doing now is they're stripping in, on all the new pressings of The Passion of the Christ, this version as well and I think it's really cool to see the version that you're playing and then the version, the harder rock version of the same song to see how the movie did impact my creativity and my artistic approach to the song and so we did it and it's out and you know I really feel like it was like confirmation in my life that I was moving in the right direction and that heart transplant, so to speak, was happening. I just feel so much inspiration from my son and it's changed my life so dramatically and how I think and how I feel and he you know inspires so much of my music since he has been born, even before he was born with Arms Wide Open and other various songs and you know, it's just that constant struggle to try to grow and become a better person and better in life.

Sheryl: Which is all of our struggle.

Scott: Yeah, yeah

Sheryl: Or should be

Scott laughs

Sheryl: Let's hear it

Scott: Alright man

Sheryl: Scott Stapp and Relearn Love on today's best music, it's 105.1 The Buzz.

Plays Relearn Love

Sheryl: That's Scott Stapp and Relearn Love on today's best music, 105.1, The Buzz. Scott's with us in the studio. That's really beautiful, that's really beautiful.

Scott: Thank you.

Sheryl: We were talking about how you came to write that. Can you hang for a few more minutes?

Scott: Yeah, yeah definitely.

Sheryl: 'Cause we gotta take a quick break and then, um we gotta have you play something for us. Do like a Creed song?

Scott: I'd love to, I'd love to play.

Sheryl: Okay, very cool, that's coming up next.

Back from break:

Sheryl: It's today's best music 105.1, The Buzz, I'm Sheryl and with us in the studio - Scott Stapp. Thank you so much sticking around

Scott: Oh, this is awesome

Sheryl: This is so much from. I didn't want the commercial to end because we're having so much fun talking off the air about deep stuff.

Scott: I know (Scott laughs). It's cool.

Sheryl: Okay, we do this with everybody that comes in. Random questions.

Scott: Okay, gotcha

Sheryl: You ready?

Scott: Ready

Sheryl: Do you have any unusual nicknames?

Scott: (Laughs) I could think of a few names I've been called in my life.

Sheryl: Come on, you can tell us your nickname.

Scott: Unusual - my sisters call me Bubba.

Sheryl: Bubba? Is that a southern thing?

Scott: I guess it's a southern thing, yeah.

Sheryl: It must be. What's the biggest trouble you ever got into as a kid?

Scott: Oh my gosh, let me pick a story.

Sheryl: There's that many, right?

Scott: Yeah. I was headed straight for juvie until like the sixth grade. I was in pretty big trouble. Actually the biggest trouble I ever got into before I was ten was my grandad had a farm and I went out there and mixed a bunch of chemicals and

Sheryl: (Laughs) No good can come of this

Scott: Poured it in the pasture and then I wanted to see if it was flammable, so I threw a match on it and it was dead summer in Florida and like five acres went up in flames right by the highway and so they had to stop Interstate 4 in Florida and the worst thing about it was, is the fire chief told me I could never be a fireman and I cried and I was like eight years old or nine years old and I was like no I want to be a fireman".

Sheryl: (Laughs) That's very sad, you little pyro.

Scott: Oh, I did cut this girls ponytail off in fourth grade and I got a spanking in front of the whole class. She wouldn't be my girlfriend.

Sheryl: But that just meant you liked her right?

Scott: Yeah, exactly

Sheryl: That's what mom always said when a boy's being mean it just means they like you. Alright, What CD's in your car stereo right now at this very moment?

Scott: Right now at this very moment. Ah

Sheryl: And you have to tell us if it's an embarrassing one.

Scott: No, I'm trying to think, 'cause there's like four. Well I'll name a couple. Tim McGraw

Sheryl: See, that must be the one you listen to over and over again.

Scott: Yeah, I do I like his greatest hits and his new album. Actually, I'm a big country music fan, believe it or not.

Sheryl: Well, it's emotional music, it makes a connection.

Scott: Yeah. What else? The Tea Party, from Canada and Black Sabbath's Greatest Hits.

Sheryl: That's very eclectic , right on most people are. What's your favorite movie, ever?

Scott: Oh my gosh. I'm not gonna say (laughs)

Sheryl: Yeah, you can

Scott: Pretty Woman

Sheryl: (laughs) Now, what's wrong with that? That's a great movie

Scott: And Forrest Gump

Sheryl: Worst job you ever had, as a kid, teenager?

Scott: Oh, gosh, like every one.

Sheryl: Were you one of those slacker kids that was always getting fired?

Scott: No, no my dad just made me start working when I was like ten years old and like I was, I had to do roofing so, that was pretty tough in the Florida heat.

Sheryl: I bet that sucked.

Scott: Yeah, it did

Sheryl: Favorite song lyric ever written and you can't say one of yours.

Scott: I wouldn't do that.

Sheryl: No, you're too cool for that

Scott: It's probably by Bono, um, probably in Where The Streets Have No Name. I wanna run, I wanna hide, I wanna tear down the walls and all the lyrics to that song, pretty much every lyric on Joshua Tree is great to me.

Sheryl: Great album, one of the best ever. Do you have any strange hobbies? Like hobbies that other people tease you about and make you feel like a geek for having? Like collecting postage stamps or

Scott: Hmm. Oh, I collect Yugio cards with my son.

Sheryl: Do you really?

Scott: Really, we have a book and they're rated and all that stuff. That's something

Sheryl: Oh, but that's kinda a cute father / son thing

Scott: Yeah, and I collect baseball cards and football cards and sports memorabilia.

Sheryl: That's not too strange

Scott: It's not strange, it's not too strange.

Sheryl: The Yugio cards when you're as old as you are. It's for the kid right?

Scott: Yeah, yeah, well. Exactly

Sheryl: You're guiltiest TV pleasure?

Scott: My guiltiest TV pleasure. What do you mean?

Sheryl: Well like you're watching it and you're like I'm so glad none of my friends can see me watching this right now, 'cause I'd be so embarrassed".

Scott: Oh, let me think

Sheryl: For you it'd be something maybe like The Bachelor or something like that, those cheesy reality shows.

Scott: I'm trying to think 'cause I'm sure there's something really corny. Probably something on Lifetime I watch with my mom.

Sheryl: Do you get sucked into those Lifetime movies?

Scott: Yeah, I do, I do

Sheryl: Don't we all. What TV show from your childhood do you wish they'd remake into a movie? 'Cause like they're doing it with everything now, like Dukes of Hazzard.

Scott: They already did it.

Sheryl: What? Starsky & Hutch

Scott: Starsky & Hutch, yeah.

Sheryl: It was an okay movie

Scott: Yeah, I thought it was pretty funny

Sheryl: Did you?

Scott: I thought it was pretty funny, yeah

Sheryl: Finally, you're favorite junk food.

Scott: Oh, my favorite junk food. Oh, pâte, but not pâte, liverwurst

Sheryl: I was expecting Cheetos or something fun like that

Scott: Liverwurst, liverwurst on crackers, dude, I'd die for that, I'll eat it every day

Sheryl: Really?

Scott: I love it, I love it.

Sheryl: So the greatest hits of Creed, coming out here in a few months

Scott: The end of this month, actually

Sheryl: Is there gonna be anything, previously unreleased? Did you dig anything out of the valuts for this?

Scott: We're gonna do that, actually it's got all of our number one singles and top five singles and then its got, the flip side of it's like a DVD with all of our music videos, some of our live performances on TV, like a Red Rocks performance, various live performances and stuff like that, so, it's pretty cool.

Sheryl: Very cool

Scott: Yeah

Sheryl: Will you play something from it for us now?

Scott: Definitely, definitely

Sheryl: Okay, very cool. What are you gonna do for us.

Scott: I think we'll do, I'll think we'll do Higher.

Sheryl: Alright, take it away. Scott Stapp on The Buzz

Scott sings Higher

Applause

Sheryl: Wow, thank you. Live in the studio, Scott Stapp and Higher. That's from Creed's Greatest Hits coming out here the end of the month. Thank you so much for coming in.

Scott: Thank you for having me.

Sheryl: And I'm all excited for your solo project.

Scott: Thank you.

Sheryl: March you're saying?

Scott: Thank you. Probably late February or late March, it depends on all the promo stuff I've got going on right now.

Sheryl: And you're gonna tour again.

Scott: Yeah, I'm gonna be here on tour.

Sheryl: Promise me, you'll come back in

Scott: You know what, I'm gonna start on the West Coast this time.

Sheryl: Okay

Scott: And I may be doing a lot of free shows out here just because I feel so bad about having to cancel some stuff prior, so I kinda want to make it up to everyone who's supported me along the way.

Sheryl: Well, if you do one in Portland, promise you'll come back, hang out with us.

Scott: I promise, I promise I'll do one in Portland, that's a guarantee.

Sheryl: Okay, right on. Scott Stapp here in the studio on today's best music 105.1 The Buzz.

.Transcribed by Robyn