When Creed last headlined New York’s Madison Square Garden in 2000, the rockers were on a headlining tour after releasing their 1999 blockbuster “Human Clay.”
But playing the role of the big father of all the Akharas, Frontman Scott Stapp There was a different kind of fatherly feeling.
“I brought my son Jagger out, and I’ll never forget bringing him on stage as a little boy,” Stapp, 51, told The Post. “And you know the whole thing, ‘If you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere’… I got to share that memory with my little boy.
Twenty-four years after that father-son bonding moment, Stapp and Creed are finally returning to the Garden. “Are you ready?” reunion tour Which collided with MSG on Friday night.
And this time the singer is making waves by becoming a grandfather. “Now [Jagger is] “I’m 26 years old and married and I have a grandson, Cash, and another grandson, Colt, about to be born,” Stapp said. “And so it’s crazy how time flies.”
No doubt, a lot has changed for Stapp and Creed since then. But this tour celebrates the 25th anniversary of “Human Clay” — a monster album that went diamond with 11.5 million U.S. sales on the back of the hit singles “Higher” and the No. 1 smash. “with arms wide open” – The band is back on the biggest stage.
“It’s a full circle moment, you know?” Stapp said. “And so it’s definitely a surreal experience. And it’s going to be a night to remember.”
Following the success of Creed’s 1997 debut film “My own prison” – which went six-times platinum – the band was not worried about suffering a sophomore slump with “Human Clay”.
“We didn’t have time to think about it,” Stapp shared. “Success came so fast with ‘My Own Prison’ [that] We went from clubs to arenas in literally 18 months. And during that period, we didn’t have enough material to play headline sets, and so we were enthusiastically just writing songs on tour.
“Human Clay” was created out of the frustration of having to write on the street or die. “We were writing songs at sound checks and in hotel rooms,” Stapp said of his songwriting with Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti.
“I have distinct memories of being inspired and writing and then running into Mark’s room and going, ‘Hey man, let’s do this.’ And then literally debuting them in front of a big audience for the first time, just because we needed to schedule a longer period of time.
one of those songs was “higher” – the lead single of “Human Clay” – which became Creed’s first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Stapp’s discovery of lucid dreaming while freestyle one night turned into real-life inspiration.
“I kind of put the band together on the spot,” he said, “but Mark came over with me and started playing something, and the chorus for ‘Higher’ came live on stage.”
grammy winner “With Arms Wide Open” was born while Stapp was processing the news about becoming a new father. “I found out just before a club show in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in early 1998 that I was going to be a father for the first time,” he recalled. “I went in to tell the band, and I heard Mark doodling with his guitar.
“And I said, ‘Dude, keep playing it over and over again.’ And that was the guitar-picking intro to ‘With Arms Wide Open.’ And I walked up to the mic during sound check and started singing whatever was in my heart.”
But after scoring another multiplatinum album with 2001’s “Weathered” – which included the hit “My Sacrifice” – Creed broke up in 2004. Stapp pursued a solo career, beginning with 2005’s “The Great Divide”, but also struggled with mental health. while problems struggling with alcohol addiction,
“Addiction and alcoholism can have some side effects, which can manifest as depression, if you will,” Stapp said. “And we were all so young, we didn’t really understand the factors that were creating this scenario.
“It’s very easy for young artists, when you’re playing every night, when you’re growing at such a fast pace, and every night is a party for the audience… It can also turn into That’s how you are offstage. “When it persists and becomes something that is consistent, it can have serious consequences.”
Stapp was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder suffer from a mental breakdown And has been sober for 10 years now.
He said, “It seems like we live in a society and world today where artists are given much more grace, understanding and compassion than they were 25 years ago.” “I’m glad that today artists are seen, cared for and understood a little more deeply than before, and the stigma around these issues has gone away.”
Stapp – who also released a new solo album, “Higher Power,” Earlier this year – Creed is bringing his healthy attitude and perspective to a reunion tour.
“It doesn’t sound very sexy in the context of being in rock ‘n’ roll, but I’m here working, and I have a job to do,” said the singer, who has three other children with his second wife. Former Miss New York USA Jacqueline Neshiwat. (he announced his planning a divorce Earlier this year after 18 years of marriage.)
“My job is to deliver these fans the music and performances that they expect and that meets my standards. And I can’t do that if I’m partying and attending all the appearances associated with the entertainment business.
In fact, Stapp has a new, wiser appreciation for the fans – old and young – that he will continue to embrace with open arms. The reunion tour affected MSG,
“The beautiful thing about what’s happening with Creed today is that, you know, we’re experiencing it again at the same level that we ended up with when the band folded in 2004. – But how special and fortunate it is to have all this knowledge and experience and understanding that we had in the late 90s and early 2000s,” he said.
“It’s incredible to be able to experience this appreciation and gratitude now with a depth and humility that we didn’t have 25 years ago.”
