CREED Vocalist SCOTT STAPP On Choosing Sobriety: 'I Wanted To Live'

Former CREED vocalist Scott Stapp recently spoke with Suzi of the Des Moines, Iowa radio station Lazer 103.3. The full conversation can be streamed below. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On his current single, "Purpose For Pain":

Scott: "Something I think that really helped me when I was going through difficult times in my life was [to] try to find a purpose as I was going through it, and that purpose for me was coming to the point where I realized, 'You know what? If I can make it through this and get to the other side, then I'll have the experience and the strength to be able to help someone else, maybe, down the road who maybe experiencing the same thing.' That's really the inspiration behind the song and where it came from in my life."

On what he hopes fans will get out of his new music:

Scott: "I really hope they just feel it, it connects with them and they just feel the passion, the honesty, the authenticity that is poured into the music in sharing my observations, my stories and my life experiences and my journey through music. I started this with my first record in 1997 just wanting to connect with people through song, and I still feel that way today."

On overcoming negativity:

Scott: "An easy way to protect yourself and keep you in a bubble is [to] not really read anything [and] try to stay away from comments or reading articles, good or bad. Even if someone says, 'Hey man, there was this amazing article someone wrote about you,' I tend to shy away from that. I just made a blanket [to] protect my heart and my soul, because I'm a sensitive person. I'm human, and negativity hurt. No matter how long I've been in the public eye or been in this business, I still feel, and I just can't allow that in, so I've made a rule in my life that I just stay away from that and focus on what's in front of me, take one day at a time and focus on the positive."

On his songwriting process:

Scott: "I have a manner and a way that I approach it that I think brings the best out of me and makes me feel the most comfortable, and I've been consistent with it my entire career, from CREED to now. I really approach it organically, sitting down with acoustic guitars. It begins with me freestyling to a riff I like, or conversation about something's that going on in my head, or some lyrics that I've written ahead of time, and just kind of freestyling until the song is born —// just wood-shopping and chipping away and trying to really dig deep and get into that stream of consciousness place. One famous artist said that the best way to write good music and good songs is just be honest, and I think being honest and being vulnerable is something that I took from that and applied to myself, and I hope that the fans can hear it in the music."

On how he was helped by the non-profit organization MusiCares:

Scott: "It's an organization that's there for everyone in the music business, from the artist to the merch guy. They're there to help from getting a tooth filled to helping someone who's in crisis. They reached out, when I was going through a difficult time, to my wife, and really, they teamed up to really help get through to me and help me realize that this is something I couldn't continue fighting on my own. I thought I could, [but] I kept falling. I finally got the help that I needed and surrendered. I just did whatever they said, because I wanted to live. By the grace of God and the help of my wife and MusiCares, we're five years later [with] a new record and new tour. Things are looking good... I feel really blessed to be here. I take one day at a time and try to live in the now and appreciate the moments we have in life, and just continue to move forward."

Stapp's third solo album, "The Space Between The Shadows" will be released on July 19 via Napalm Records.

Stapp is best known as the front man for CREED. As a solo artist, he has released the platinum-certified "The Great Divide" (2005) and "Proof Of Life" (2013),which featured his first solo Billboard No. 1 active rock single, "Slow Suicide".