CREED

Creed was an American post-grunge rock band from Tallahassee, Florida that became popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The band won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song for the song "With Arms Wide Open" in 2001. The band broke up in 2004 after three multi-platinum albums, selling more than 30 million albums worldwide.

Creed was formed in 1995 under the name Naked Toddler when Scott Stapp and guitarist Mark Tremonti, college friends at Florida State University, got together and started collaborating and writing songs. They soon added bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips. Brian Marshall came up with the band name "Creed", taken from the name of his former band, Mattox Creed.[1]
Once the band was complete as a four-piece in late 1995, (Scott Stapp, Mark Tremonti, Brian Marshall and Scott Phillips) the band was soon dominating the Tallahassee local music scene and was one of the only local bands playing all original music in a town where club owners wanted local bands to play cover songs. The four members had already written and collaborated three of the songs that would go on to become tracks on their chart-topping debut album My Own Prison. The songs were "One", "Sister" and "What's This Life For".
They then found work at a live music bar, where they impressed promoters Jeff Hanson and Andy Levine enough to let them play at one of their bigger venues known as Floyd's Music Store on the Tennessee Street Strip in Tallahassee. Hanson and Levine liked the band so much that he convinced producer John Kurzweg to record the band.

In June 2004, Creed officially announced their break-up. Stapp began recording his debut solo album, The Great Divide with Roadrunner Records recording artist Goneblind. The other band members (including former bassist Brian Marshall) formed a new band, Alter Bridge, with Myles Kennedy. Touring bassist Brett Hestla has since joined the band Dark New Day. On November 22, 2004 Creed released a greatest hits album.
Since Creed's disbanding, many fans have been waiting for a reunion. The three members currently involved in Alter Bridge have stated that Creed is solely in their past, and will not reunite any time in the future. Tremonti even went as far to say that he would only agree to a Creed reunion if it was for "world peace." Originally, Stapp was optimistic about Creed reuniting someday, yet his recent claims reflect that he too feels that Creed is in the past, and claims that the band will reunite if "hell freezes over".
In 2008, Mark Tremonti, along with Alter Bridge singer Myles Kennedy appeared as guests on two separate tracks on Sevendust's album Chapter VII: Hope & Sorrow.

Despite the band's continual dismissals of the label, Creed is sometimes labeled a Christian rock band due to the fact that all three albums focus on questions of faith, Christianity, and eternity. The band was never signed to a contemporary Christian music label, nor did it perform in Christian music venues or get any widespread regular play on Christian radio. However, the band's namesake creed itself denotes a popular Christian theological concept, of absolute individual belief, usually monotheistic. Also, themes within their musical titles such as "Human Clay", "My Sacrifice", "My Own Prison", "With Arms Wide Open", and "One Last Breath" contain allusion to Christian theology, however it hasn't been confirmed that the songs were meant to be Christian songs.
Creed was sued in 2003 by four concert goers who claimed Scott Stapp "was so intoxicated and/or medicated that he was unable to sing the lyrics of a single Creed song" at a December 29, 2002 concert in Chicago. The lawsuit was later dismissed and the concert goers who filed the suit were mocked in a Daily Show segment conducted by Rob Corddry.
Scott Stap contemplated suicide sometime in 2003 after drinking a bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey. He retrieved two MP5's from his collection, put the guns to his head, but failed to pull the trigger after looking at a picture of his son, "Jagger". He stated in an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine that he was convinced that anyone involved with Creed wanted him dead so he would become a "Kurt Cobain martyr-type" and increase record sales. "I had crazy thoughts going through my head," he says.

For many years, Creed collaborated with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) by allowing many of their songs to be played for promotions (such as a song being the soundtrack for a pay per view). In 2001, when WWE began airing videos highlighting many different wrestlers' careers as well as video highlights of the rigors of the road for wrestlers, a Creed song was almost always the background music; "My Sacrifice" being the most-used song. Even following the breakup of Creed, Scott Stapp and Alter Bridge have both contributed music to WWE.

Band members

Former members

• Scott Stapp – lead vocals (1995–2004)
  
• Mark Tremonti – guitars, backing vocals (1995–2004); bass guitar on Weathered (2001 — all tracks)
  
• Scott Phillips – drums, percussion, keyboards (1995–2004)
  
• Brian Marshall – bass guitar (1995–2000)
  

Touring members

• Brett Hestla – bass guitar (2000–2004)
  
• Brian Brasher – guitars (1995)
  

Session members

• John Kurzweg – keyboards on My Own Prison (1997 — multiple tracks)
  
• Aimee Stapp – backing vocals on Weathered (2001 — track "Don't Stop Dancing")
  
• Robby Krieger – guitars on Stoned Immaculate: The Music of the Doors (2000 — track "Riders on the Storm")
  
• Jamie Muhoberac – keyboards on Stoned Immaculate: The Music of the Doors (2000 — track "Riders on the Storm")