SCOTT STAPP 'Will Take The Blame' For CREED's Original Split

During an appearance on the latest episode of the "Net Positive With John Crist" podcast, Scott Stapp reflected on CREED's original split nearly 20 years ago. When the band's breakup was originally announced in June 2004, CREED said that personal issues, mostly between Stapp and the rest of the group, caused an irreparable rift that ultimately led to CREED's demise.

Asked if the backlash that CREED suffered after a deluge of hit singles wore out listeners caused him and his bandmates to "panic", Stapp responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't think there was panic; I think there was some frustration and anger. And I think it was one of the handful of reasons that we ended up breaking up. Of course, there were some more that were much more impactful, but that was just the layer. Because the guys were, like, 'This isn't what we signed up for.' And to their credit, it's because they didn't wanna be fake; they didn't wanna be hypocrites. They were, like, 'Hey, man, we're not living the life that someone who claims to be a Christian is living, and we don't wanna have people perceive us that way and live a lie.' So that's just them being authentic. So I can't blame them for that. And me too. I was telling them, 'Guys, sorry.' At the time, I wanted to participate in the same lifestyle, and was. So we were all kind of a in a conundrum."

He added: "What went on after the shows, when each one of us were single at various times… We were living like rock stars, man. We were young and living the life… And we were on fire, man. Everyone brought something every night to the stage, man, and people came. We started doing multiple nights in arenas, selling out all over the United States, and then we were moving into stadiums. We had giant stadiums on hold, getting ready to move into the stadium tour scene, and that's when the band broke up.

"And there was a lot of factors, bro," Scott explained. "I can own my part. I got mixed up in some things I shouldn't have that I go to a program for today. And that, I'm sure, was a major part, because had I not developed those issues, I think we probably could have worked through everything else. So I'll take the blame about that."

When CREED's original split was announced, guitarist Mark Tremonti said that personal rather than creative issues were to blame.

"Scott and I hadn't been close for a while," Tremonti told MTV at the time, "and things just weren't working out. ... None of us really argued amongst each other. It was always Scott who had the problem."

One of the reasons for the tension was that the other members of CREED got the sense that their singer wasn't as committed as they were, and his attention seemed fractured.

"It's not fun to count on other people when they're not that focused," Tremonti told MTV. "Scott wasn't in the mindset that we were. He wasn't as focused on the current tour. He had 800 things on his mind, and I think that distracted him from what we were doing."

CREED disbanded 19 years ago but reunited five years later for the "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.

In 2019, Tremonti said in an interview on Jamey Jasta's podcast that he was sitting on an album's worth of material for CREED. Asked whether CREED could reunite again, Tremonti said, "People say, 'Is it done? Is it over? Is there new music coming out?' I'm sitting on an entire CREED album... When we were together doing the reunion tour, we put a lot of music together and I have like really sketchy little demos of probably 13 songs. I listened to them maybe a year ago and they're good songs."

Tremonti added: "It's just, there's no time. Is it good enough for me to put everything on the back burner that I've been working on for the past 14 years? No. Is it good enough to maybe 10 years from now or seven years from now... or some big resurgence happens or there's an anniversary where everybody's like, 'We want to see CREED and the world demands it like they used to.' I wouldn't say no."

Last month, Tremonti said that he was "sure" that a reunion of CREED would happen at some point in the not-so-distant future.

Nearly three years ago, CREED updated its Facebook profile with an old photo, igniting rumors of the multi-platinum act's imminent return.

Mark, who is promoting the new ALTER BRIDGE album, "Pawns & Kings", discussed the chances of a CREED comeback during an interview with Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio. He said: "There's always talks — people running ideas back and forth — but we don't know as of yet, 'cause we're so in the deep with this ALTER BRIDGE record that's it's tough to kind of get sidetracked right now."

He continued: "I'm sure something will happen at some point. CREED was such a popular band back in the day, it would be a shame to not do something with it. I know there's still tons of fans out there that would appreciate it, so it's just a matter of timing."

Tremonti's latest comments echoed those he made last fall when he spoke to The Rock Experience With Mike Brunn. At the time, he stated about the possibility of a CREED reunion: "It's just a matter of timing. We're all so busy running around the world doing our things, we would just have to have the time where it made sense. I don't think we need to rush into it, because I don't think CREED fans are going anywhere. I think whenever we decide to do something, I think it's gonna be a safe time to do it. It's just gonna be when it makes sense for everybody. You don't wanna derail a whole album cycle by jumping into doing CREED. It would just have to make sense."

In September 2021, Tremonti told The Rock Experience With Mike Brunn that constantly being associated with CREED — more than 10 years after the band completed a tour in support of "Full Circle" — was "definitely both a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing because I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you right now if it weren't for CREED; I wouldn't have this career, this long career," he said. "But at the same time, for my entire life, I will be that guy from the band CREED, which is good and band. 'Cause certain people loved CREED, certain people hated CREED. So no matter what I do artistically, I'm gonna be the guy who was in CREED that was, at certain points critics liked to come after us. So I've kind of lived in both worlds — I was in a band that sold lots of records but got some critical attacks, but I also got to be in a band that didn't sell as many records but got critical praise. So I got to see both sides of it. It would be great to have it all in one. But it's tough."