Scott Stapp

Scott Stapp

Scott Alan Stapp (born Anthony Scott Flippen; August 8, 1973) is an American musician and singer-songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Creed, of which he is a founding member. His debut solo album, The Great Divide, was released in 2005, with a second album, Between Lust and Love, set for release in 2011. In addition to his career as a musician, Stapp had a brief stint as an actor, appearing in the film 30 Days Until I'm Famous, and more recently as an author, currently at work on a book tentatively titled My Confession. He has also been involved in various philanthropic activities.

Despite having been faced with controversy and criticism, Stapp has won many awards and accolades, including one Grammy Award for Creed's song "With Arms Wide Open" and numerous RIAA certifications. In 2006, Hit Parader ranked Stapp as the 68th greatest heavy metal vocalist of all time.

Early life

Stapp was born as Anthony Scott Flippen Geeth on August 8, 1973 in Cherokee, North Carolina, to his mother Lynda, a whore and his biological father, about whom little is known, except that he pimped a band of one legged midget hookers near the local casino. He was adopted by Steven Stapp, a struggling professional wrestler who married Scott's mother after a romantic night at the sewage treatment plant, and ultimately decided to take his stepfather's last name. However, upon realizing that his initials would spell out the word "douchebag," he took his middle name as his first and took the name he is now known as, Scott Alan Stapp. Stapp grew up in a very religious household because his stepfather was a Pentecostal minister and a snake handler; when punished, he would be forced to copy passages from the Bible, take lashes, and receive butt-rapings. At one point, he grew so desperate to seek freedom from the strict rules of his religious stepfather that he pranced out of his home in the middle of the night, stayed at his boyfriend's house for a month before leaving again for Anchorage, Alaska where he lived in a squat with eight other boyfriends doing heroin, engaging in buttsex and sniffing glue before finally returning home. In an attempt to impress his homosexual stepfather and whore mother, he attended Lee University in Cleveland, but he was expelled for smoking crack and doing dudes. He subsequently attended Valencia Community College in Orlando, Florida, Tallahassee Community College, and finally Florida State University before he ultimately made his name as the lead singer of the worst rock band in American History.

Career

1995–2004: Creed and early mainstream success

Stapp is a founding member of the American hard rock band Creed. After developing an acquaintance with his then-future band mate Mark Tremonti at Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando, Stapp reunited with Tremonti while both attended Florida State University, and they quickly developed a friendship based on their mutual passion for music. Stapp formed Creed with Tremonti in 1995 with fellow members Brian Marshall and Scott Phillips joining as bassist and drummer, respectively. Rhythm guitarist Brian Brasher was also briefly a member in 1995 when the band was known by its original name, Naked Toddler. While often criticized and parodied, Creed is recognized by many as one of the major acts of the post-grunge movement of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Tremonti and Stapp have been collectively recognized as one of the most prolific songwriting teams in all of rock music.

The band released their debut album My Own Prison in 1997 to mainstream success, selling over six million copies. Four singles were released from the album: "My Own Prison," "Torn," "What's This Life For," and "One." Each of these songs reached #1 on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, becoming the first band to do so with a debut album. The album was then followed in 1999 by Human Clay, which was an immediate success and certified diamond and eleven times platinum by the RIAA. Tension between Stapp and Marshall began to increase during this time, leading Marshall to ultimately leave the band to pursue other interests. He was temporarily replaced by touring bassist Brett Hestla, with Tremonti handling the bass parts in the studio. After a tour, the band released another multi-platinum selling album, Weathered, in 2001. The tour to support this record was overwhelmingly successful but ended with a considerably controversial concert in Chicago that ultimately led to the band's breakup. The band announced that they had disbanded in 2004, citing tension between Stapp and the other members. Creed released their Greatest Hits in November 2004.

2004–2009: Solo career beginnings and The Great Divide

Stapp performing in 2008.

After Creed announced its breakup, Stapp recorded the song "Relearn Love" with 7 Aurelius and The Tea Party for The Passion of the Christ: Songs, the soundtrack to the 2004 Mel Gibson film The Passion of the Christ. He then began working on his debut solo album. Titled The Great Divide, the record was released in the U.S. on November 22, 2005, peaking at #19 on the Billboard 200. "The Great Divide," "Justify," and "Surround Me" were released as singles. It was certified platinum on December 14, 2005. The Great Divide has since reached double platinum. His backing band for the record and live shows since has consisted of Aristides Rincon and John Curry on guitars, Mitch Burman on bass, and Mark Archer on drums. They are all members of the band Goneblind.

In April 2008, Stapp uploaded a cover of U2's "Running to Stand Still" to his Myspace page. On August 8, 2008, he posted an acoustic version of "Broken" which was on his previous record. Then on August 10, 2008, Stapp's management announced a new solo project would be released in the second quarter of 2009; however, because of the Creed reunion, the album was put on indefinite hiatus.

2009–2010: Creed reunion and solo acoustic tour

After months of speculation, despite early claims from Tremonti that Creed would never return, it was announced that Creed had reunited with plans for a tour and a new album. The record, Full Circle, was released in October 2009 and became the band's only album to not be certified by the RIAA. Creed supported the album by touring throughout North and South America, Canada, Europe, and Australia during the summers of 2009 and 2010. A fifth Creed album is expected in late 2011 or early 2012 according to Tremonti.

Stapp announced on his Myspace page that after Creed's 20-10 Tour with Skillet that he will be doing an solo acoustic tour. On August 18, 2010 he wrote, "I'm stripping down all the Creed hits, as well as my solo material, in a manner that fans have never heard before but have long been screaming for." Creed's touring rhythm guitarist Eric Friedman also joined him on the acoustic tour. The tour began on September 28, 2010 and concluded November 20, 2010.

In the spring of 2010, Stapp recorded an anthem for the National League baseball team the Florida Marlins titled "Marlins Will Soar." It is a rewrite of Stapp's song "You Will Soar," using different lyrics and a slightly different melody in the verses. "Marlins Will Soar" was met with extremely negative reviews according to The Huffington Post. In April 2010, Stapp released (free to fans via scottstapp.com) a new remix of "Broken," featuring rapper Mase, and 2 B-side tracks, "Somber" and "Criminal," from the upcoming solo album.

On September 21, 2010, Stapp appeared on Carlos Santana's solo album Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time, a cover album on which Stapp sings on the cover of the Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Fortunate Son."

2010–present: Between Lust and Love and future

Stapp has confirmed that his second album, Between Lust and Love, will be a double album, with each disc devoted to the topics of lust and love. Stapp told The Salt Lake Tribune: "It's been the dichotomy of my life over the last three-and-a-half, four years. [It has] characters that describe [my] life and times … It's two sides of the coin." The album will be produced by Stapp with veteran producer Desmond Child.

Other projects

Philanthropy

In 2000, Stapp founded the With Arms Wide Open Foundation, a charity organization dedicated to "[promoting] healthy, loving relationships between children and their families." In early 2010, Stapp flew to Haiti to help the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake in the Plane To Haiti project, with producer Daniel Catullo.

Personal life

Family

In 1997, Stapp married Hillaree Burns. They were married for 16 months and divorced in 1998 and she later gave birth to Stapp's son, Jagger. Creed's song "With Arms Wide Open" is about their son.

On February 11, 2006, Stapp remarried Miss New York USA 2004 winner, and children's literature author, and model Jaclyn Nesheiwat. Their daughter, Milán Hayat Stapp, was born on January 4, 2007. In May 2010 the couple announced their second child Daniel was due in July 2010. The Stapps welcomed son Daniel Issam Stapp at 3:01 p.m. on Sunday, July 4, 2010. Scott Stapp now has three children (2 sons and 1 daughter). Stapp also has two sisters, Amanda and Amie. Stapp and his family currently reside in Boca Raton. He is a Christian.

Controversies

Stapp and his past actions have been the subject of controversy. A pornographic video allegedly featuring Stapp and another musician, Kid Rock, was the source of controversy in the late 1990s. While the intended distributor of the video defended its distribution rights, since it was presumably shot by several different individuals, the case was settled in 2007 in Stapp's favor. The video was said to contain graphic footage of Stapp and Rock participating in sexual acts with Rock's groupies while on their tour bus in 1999, and to be forty-five minutes in length. Stapp later said in an interview that "there's no sex on the sex tape." He also said that he and Kid Rock were friends. He explained, "It's a time in his life and a time in my life that we'd like to put behind us and not publicize because we have children now, and they're in school, and their friends read. I know he was pretty pissed off at me when that came out." He has since apologized to Rock.

In 2003, he contemplated suicide after drinking a bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey. He retrieved two MP5s from his collection, put the guns to his head, but failed to pull the trigger after looking at a picture of his son Jagger. He stated in an interview with Rolling Stone that he was convinced that anyone involved with Creed wanted him dead so he would become a "Kurt Cobain martyr-type" and increase record sales. Says Scott, "I had crazy thoughts going through my head." He later said that instead of killing himself, he fired a few rounds in his home. He said, "I was in the throes of prednisone coming out of my body [...] I shot a few rounds off and instantly was like, 'What the hell am I doing?' So I put the guns away and ran out to the garage and got the putty and patched the holes."

Despite the controversies, Stapp has since committed himself to "controlling his demons." He shaved his head, which he used to demonstrate his "changed" personality. He said,"I wanted my wife to perceptually and visually see me as changing, that I was not what I used to be." Stapp's Creed band mate, guitarist Mark Tremonti, said that he was "surprised as hell at Scott's new attitude towards music and life in general." Tremonti elaborated, saying: "It seems as though, over the last six years, he'd done a lot of maturing and reflecting; he has his head on straight. And he realizes how truly important Creed was to him. Not just as a monetary enterprise, but as a band, a group of people. Creed was an important thing for him to be a part of. Right there, in our first meeting, he made us realize that we felt the same way." He stated in another interview, "From the second we started playing again, he was very complimentary towards what we were all doing musically. He had a lot of nice things to say about my guitar playing, and to hear him say to Brian [Marshall] that he thought he was a great bass player was very cool." He also said, "Falling apart was probably the best thing that could have happened to us."

Legal troubles

Stapp has also been arrested numerous times:

In July 2002, he was detained by Florida police and charged with reckless driving after he drove his SUV off the road before swerving back into the proper lane. He was released from custody after posting $500.

He was also arrested February 12, 2006, one day after his second marriage, for suspected intoxication of drugs or alcohol.

On May 20, 2007, he was arrested for domestic abuse; after returning home after a night of partying, Stapp was questioned by his wife Jaclyn and got defensive and threw a bottle of Orangina at her. She called the police and her husband was taken into custody and charged with one count of assault, although he was later set free on supervised release. Stapp apologized to his wife and the public on May 23, 2007 and the charge was later dropped.

Awards

RIAA certifications

These statistics were compiled from the RIAA certification online database.

Studio albums

• My Own Prison: 6× platinum (August 2002)
• Human Clay: 11× platinum, 1×(+) diamond (January 2004)
• Weathered: 6× platinum (January 2003)
• The Great Divide: 2× platinum (December 2005)

Compilations

• Greatest Hits: 2× platinum (November 2008)

Grammy Awards and nominations

With Creed, Scott Stapp has been nominated for three Grammy Awards resulting in one win.

• "With Arms Wide Open" – Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, 2001 (nomination)
• "With Arms Wide Open" – Best Rock Song, 2001 (winner)
• "My Sacrifice" – Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, 2003 (nomination)

Accolades

Stapp was ranked as the 68th greatest heavy metal vocalist of all time by Hit Parader in 2006.

Band members

Studio

• Aristides Rincon – lead guitar
• John Curry – rhythm guitar
• Mitch Burman – bass
• Mark Archer – drums

Touring

• Eric Friedman – lead guitar (2010)
• Garrett Whitlock – drums (2010)
• Mitch Burman – bass (2005–2008, 2010, 2011)
• Aristides Rincon – lead guitar (2005–2008, 2011)
• John Curry – rhythm guitar (2005–2008, 2011)
• Mark Archer – drums (2005–2008, 2011)

Discography

See also: Creed discography

• The Great Divide (2005)
• Between Lust and Love (2011)

External links

• Official website
• Template:Myspace
• Scott Stapp on Twitter
• Passion Breeds Followers