Creed frontman Scott Stapp shares his very personal battle about fighting his demons in his latest work.
The singer and songwriter, 50, released his new album, Higher Power, Friday. The Grammy winner, who is now sober after struggling with addiction, a psychotic break and a bipolar diagnosis details much of his journey back to health in the 10 songs on the new LP.
In an interview with People, the rocker comes clean about the inspiration for the new collection.
‘I’ve gone through a pretty difficult period in life over the last four years,’ he told the outlet. ‘I’m hanging in there — just one hour at a time, one thing at a time. Taking little bites of the elephant and then just waking up again and doing it all over the next day. A lot going on, but all good stuff.’
The new album release comes one month before he was scheduled to reunite with his bandmates from Creed for the first time in 12 years, as they prepare for a tour with 3 Doors Down and Daughtry beginning in July.
Creed frontman Scott Stapp, 50, shares his very personal battle about fighting his demons in his latest solo work (Pictured in Atlanta, GA in May 2000)
Stapp has already hit the road to support Higher Power. His first single, Deadman’s Trigger, debuted at number three on the Rock Album chart.
He collaborated with fellow artist Dorothy Martin on another single, If These Walls Could Talk.
‘I feel compelled to create. It’s who I am,’ he said.
‘So if I’m not doing it with Creed, there’s a void. I have to do it. There’s stuff in me as an artist and as a creative that I have to get out. Music is my method of doing that.’
His faith has helped him on his journey after first establishing a relationship with God at the age of nine. The singer grew up in very religious home in Florida, where he was raised by his single mother.
‘I didn’t have a dad, and I wanted one so bad. I was sad and just a little boy, alone with a single mom who didn’t come home until late,’ he said of his childhood.
‘And here we are today, with the highs and the lows and the journey that I’ve been on in my life. As long as I can keep centered in my faith and keep that as the center point in my life, things go right. Sometimes I kick myself and I say, “Man, why couldn’t I have figured this out earlier?”‘
Tough love was required to help the father of four get clean. His wife, Jaclyn, 43, filed for divorce after Stapp refused to seek treatment following his 2014 breakdown.
The singer and songwriter, 50, released his new album, Higher Power, Friday. He is already on tour supporting the album
He collaborated with fellow artist Dorothy Martin on another single, If These Walls Could Talk
It was a Christmas day text of with photos of his children that finally persuaded him to enter a treatment center in Malibu. At the time, the couple shared daughter Milan, 17, and son Daniel, 13. They welcome Anthony, six, in 2017. Stapp is also dad to 25-year-old son Jagger, whom he shares with his ex-wife Hillaree Burns.
‘I never had a family like this. They’ve really demonstrated to me what a family is all about, and having each other’s back and sticking together. I’ve got to see what a real family is in action, and hopefully we’ll be able to carry that forward no matter how the story unfolds,’ he stated.
The artist still finds it difficult to ask for help.
‘It’s still a challenge, because I think it goes against my nature — I was always alone as a child, and alone when I was going through things,’ he explained. ‘It seems a lot of men feel that they’ve got to be strong, they’ve got to keep it together no matter what, and they just suffer in silence.’
‘It’s hard to pick up that phone and reach out and say, “Hey, I am struggling. I need somebody right now.” That’s something that really, really hindered me when I first started trying to get sober in 2008,’ he revealed.
The release comes before he was scheduled to reunite with his bandmates from Creed for the first time in 12 years as they prepare for a summer tour (Pictured in Los Angeles in November 2009)
The band will hit the road with 3 Doors Down and Daughtry in July
‘I would never pick up the phone. I was white-knuckling it and just for some reason, the phone was 10,000 pounds.’
As he embarks on his new round of solo touring and prepares to go on the road with Creed, Stapp has tools to help him stay clean. He’s had ‘sober tours’ for more than a decade, and jokes that it’s like ‘Disney World backstage.’
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
