Stapp Stands Alone - Billboard Magazine
 

From PBF:

Billboard Magazine, November 26 2005

Former Creed Frontman Aims For Name Recognition With Solo Album Bow
The day after staying up until 3 a.m. to work on his solo debut, Scott Stapp listens to the raw recordings, laughs and says, "Wow, what was I thinking with that verse?"

The laughter should come as no surprise: Stapp has a sense of humor- about himself, his journey with Creed, his strict childhood and his religious beliefs.

Also, contrary to his bigger than life, rock star image, he is a goof-ball — he will get up in a karaoke bar and sing a Prince song, complete with falsetto, while people boo him. And he loves to share the spotlight -- with his new band and especially with his 7-year- old son, Jagger. "He's much cooler than me," Stapp says. "Jagger will come onstage and tear it up."

Stapp calls "The Great Divide," due Nov. 22 from Wind-up Records, a true expression of himself. But the problem he faces is that most people at radio and retail don't know who Stapp is; they just know Creed.

That is evident by radio's mixed reaction to the title track, which is No. 20 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and No. 35 on Adult Top 40 this issue.

"Listeners think it's the new Creed record," says JJ Morgan, PD at KFBZ Wichita, Kan. "They don't necessarily know the name [Scott Stapp], but they know he's the voice of Creed."

That's not surprising given that Creed sold more than 30 million albums between its start in 1995 and 2004, when the band officially called it quits.

Wind-up founder and chairman/CEO Alan Meltzer was prepared for fans who may know the voice but not the name. While Alter Bridge- formed by former Creed members mark Tremonti, Scott Phillips and Brian Marshall- did not use Creed's fame to promote it's 2004 debut, Meltzer is putting a sticker on "The Great Divide" that reads, "Scott Stapp: The Voice of Creed."

"Whenever an artist and a band separate for whatever reason, [the solo project] is an extension of people's stereotypes," Meltzer says. "So, automatically, a Scott Stapp record is going to be seen as a Creed record, which it's not."

"The Great Divide" will be part of Major League Baseball's "Best Record" campaign via its mlb.com Web site. Through Jan. 15, the site will feature an exclusive, two-song acoustic performance by Stapp. Additionally, fans who pre-order the album through the site have access to five song streams from the new set.

Meltzer plans an initial shipment of more than 1.5 million copies. In order for the album to sell, however, retailers say Stapp must have more radio exposure.

"If that happens," says Carl Mello of Brighton, Mass.-based Newbury Comics, "I'll predict it'll sell 8 billion copies of it; if not, then 10."

But, as the chart numbers indicate, the track is having some trouble, including in Fort Meyers, Fla. "People seem to have some sort of preconceived notion about Scott Stapp," WRQC PD Lance Hale says, "and it's not positive."

Maybe the fans have yet to forgive Stapp for mumbling lyrics and rolling on the ground during a Creed show in Chicago in December 2002. Some Creed fans were so disappointed that they filed a class-action lawsuit, which was dismissed in 2003.

Stapp remembers that show well. In 2002, he injured his back in a car crash. Around the same time he developed a nodule on his vocal chord. To keep touring, Stapp says, a "rock'n'roll" doctor prescribed him the anti-inflammatory steroid Prednisone.

"I thought they were trying to help me, " he says. "I was in a lot of pain. I didn't find out until months later, when I was bloated and losing my mind, that the Prednisone was killing me." (The doctor who prescribed the drug to Stapp has since lost his license.)

That was the Stapp who lay on the ground during that Chicago show. Perception is a funny thing, he says.

The audience thought they saw a man giving up on them. But Stapp says what he saw was the world giving up on him.

"I asked the band, 'Do you have my back?' I asked my business associates in the audience, 'Do you have my back?' I felt no one had my back. I sang the rest of the song with all my might, because I'd never let the fans down. I felt alone."

With "The Great Divide," Stapp says he has once again channeled his darkest moments into rock songs.

Stapp also invests his spirituality into his work. In fact, his first solo outing was "Relearn Love," a track he recorded for "The Passion of the Christ: Songs." A collection inspired by Mel Gibson's 2004 film.

"I am a Christian. But isn't all music, all art, spiritual?" he says. "I don't have an agenda in my music to make people believe what I believe. I'm just sharing my life experiences."

Hmm, shipping 1.5 million copies...It really aggravates me how much Meltzer and company are pushing Stapp's album in comparison to what they did with AB.

i'm not sure people don't know who Stapp is, by name. i've seen a lot of anti-Stapp sites out there, villifying him. i suppose the casual listener might not know him by name, but if they hear the voice they'll know who it is immediately.

exactly, if they were to use the same approach for AB it would probably sell as much as AB's record. Its not that they like stapp more, they like the cash and clearly they did not succeed with AB.

yes thats why he's usually introduced as the voice of creed before scott stapp.

I hate it too, but I can understand why they are pushing it so much. Stapp's music is much, much more radio friendly. And radio play=record sales in practically every case. Stapp is more marketable to the mainstream than AB is(because of AB's style of music). If anyone from Creed is going to sell a whole lot of records and garner constant radio airplay(on pop radio) it will be Stapp. WU knows this and so they are giving him a whole lot more promotion. I've seen commercials on VH1 and other channels, advertisements on Yahoo Entertainment, and he was on the frontpage of like three different sites on Friday(Nascar, VH1 and MLB). Not only that, but he is making appearances on Leno, Live with Regis and Kelly and I'd assume some other shows. I don't like that AB never got that kind of promotion, but I understand why Stapp is being pushed so heavily.

I still think it was so cool of AB to not try to glide on their Creed succsess, but to start over again. Something Stapp clearly hasn't.

I don't think all of this is Stapp's doing. WU wants him to be Creed version 2, and I don't think he really wants to. But he is listening to them, doing what they want, instead of perhaps branching out on his own. He knows Creed is dead, so why would he himself want to continue something that is dead? I doubt he would, which is why I blame WU and will continue to blame them until someone can prove that all of this is Stapp's doing.

I totally agree this will pass in time after he is established as a solo artist and
gets a second cd under his belt, this has wind up all over it.

artists rarely make decisions for themselves and their career unless theyre someone who record companies are fighting over. They get paid very little too comparing to the amount of money they generate.

Yeah, agreed. WU wants some 'part' that give them the gains Creed gave...so (because of the reasons you mentioned above) Stapp is the best bet... :smokin:

I understand all of their reasons. I just don't like it.
:D