SCOTT STAPP On New CREED Music: 'We Haven't Really Had Any Serious Discussions Or Made Any Commitments'

In a new interview with Rob Rush of Long Island's 94.3 The Shark radio station, CREED frontman Scott Stapp was asked about the possibility of new music from the reunited band to coincide with the group's upcoming U.S. tour. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, we haven't really had any serious discussions or made any commitments. There's been some offhand comments that, 'Hey, you never know.' But that's all I can really say, is I don't really know what's in store. I know that right now we're just focused on the cruises and the shed tour, but who knows what happens, if everything stays as it is with the positivity and the good vibes and everything that's going on with the fans and their showing the love and their demand of CREED. So the sky's the limit on that."

CREED's first shows together in 12 years will take place as headliners of the "Summer Of '99" cruise, setting sail from April 18-22, 2024 (the band added a second cruise the following weekend).

Last month, Stapp told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" about the possibility of new music from CREED: "Well, yeah, Mark [Tremonti, CREED guitarist] and I were together a couple days ago doing some secret, secret thing I can't share, but we were hanging out for a couple days. And as we were hanging out, we just began talking about how we wrote [1999's] 'Human Clay' [album]. And we wrote 'Human Clay' while on the road touring [CREED's debut album, 1997's] 'My Own Prison'. And we wrote it during soundchecks — 80, 90 percent of that record was written on stage during soundcheck. And you know what we'd do? We'd write a song and we'd get it tight and play it within three or four days of writing it because we didn't have enough material with just that one record to be a headliner, but we were headlining shows. So we didn't wanna fill our set with covers, so we were writing on the fly and just playing new songs as we as we wrote them. And so we were talking, like, 'You know what? That was a really good experience.' Those were good times and both of us connected. And I could see in his eye, and I was feeling it too, that I think there's gonna be some writing happening, and it's gonna be organic. And I think it's gonna be beautiful, man. If we get back to that place and that chemistry, which I think we're gonna fall right back into once we start playing these songs together and we reconnect, through our relationships, through the songs that we created together, I think it's only natural for us that during soundchecks, sometimes in the dressing room, wherever and whenever we're together, that songs are gonna be born. I mean, it happened on the 'Full Circle' tour. We wrote a bunch of songs during soundcheck during that tour, and so we're sitting on those. But I think we're all in a fresh space and I definitely think the creative juices are gonna flow. And so I definitely think there's hope for some new music."

Pressed about whether he wants CREED to be an ongoing thing or if it's just a reunion to reconnect after 10 years, Scott said: "Well, it's evolved. I'll be honest with you — initially I was taking it, like, 'All right, let's do the cruises and then let's kind of see what happens from there.' But the reception was so incredible, and, like I explained before, everything that was going on viral, the tour just got presented to us and we couldn't say no, especially with the positive interaction that was happening with the band behind the scenes."

He continued: "I really am hoping that all this positive energy and positive mindset and just collective mindset that this is something that we finally need to really cherish and nurture and really give our fans what they want, and that it actually benefits everything else we're doing as well. There's definitely been some dialogue and some conversations about this being something that continues. But again, there's still a little bit of that 'let's see how it goes' kind of deal. So I think part of us are in the moment, the excitement of this, 'Let's make this something we do all the time,' and then the other half of us is, 'All right. Well, let's see how it goes.' So with both of those head spaces kind of living together, I think that's a positive recipe. So if everyone just shows up with that right attitude, I think — not to sound cliché, but it is cliché — I think the best is yet to come for CREED."

CREED's 2024 "Summer Of '99" tour, produced by Live Nation, will kick off on July 17, 2024, and will run through September 28, 2024. 3 DOORS DOWN will be direct support on the majority of the tour, with DAUGHTRY, SWITCHFOOT, TONIC and BIG WRECK appearing on select dates, and FINGER ELEVEN opening all shows.

On August 31, 2024, CREED will headline the inaugural "Summer Of '99 And Beyond Festival" at Glen Helen Amphitheatre in San Bernardino, California, with support from 3 DOORS DOWN, DAUGHTRY, FINGER ELEVEN, FUEL, VERTICAL HORIZON and THE VERVE PIPE.

CREED's enormous success is largely due to the prolific writing team of Stapp and Tremonti, who founded the band together in 1993. Their winning combination of driving guitar riffs, rousing hooks and introspective lyrics earned them legions of loyal fans around the world. Following the release of their first two albums, the four-piece — which also included bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips — became the first band ever to have seven consecutive No. 1 singles on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. CREED's third album, "Weathered" (2001),also debuted at No. 1, and produced several popular singles, including Top Ten hits "My Sacrifice" and "One Last Breath". Though CREED announced its breakup in 2004, the band briefly reunited in 2009 to release "Full Circle". Heavier than their previous albums, "Full Circle" debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, proving the incredible staying power of the band.

CREED disbanded in 2004 but reunited five years later for the aforementioned "Full Circle" LP and an extensive tour. Stapp has since toured and recorded as a solo artist, although he suffered a drug-related mental breakdown in 2014 and spent several years recovering from that.

Photo credit: Chuck Brueckmann