Alternative Nation recently interviewed former Creed frontman Scott Stapp to discuss Art of Anarchy’s new album The Madness. This is a preview of that interview, which will be published in its entirety soon.
Even with the support of his new band and his fans, former Creed frontman Scott Stapp has been faced with adversity dating back to when his gig with Art of Anarchy was first teased. A miscommunication between Stapp and a radio host led many to believe Stapp was hinting at a position in Scott Weiland’s former outfit, Stone Temple Pilots, when he was actually alluding to the fact that he was joining Art of Anarchy.
“I think it all spawned from me insinuating that I was replacing Scott Weiland,” Stapp explained. “[The media] just made assumptions that it was for STP.”
STP members themselves took notice of the rumor, issuing a rather blunt statement shooting it down: “Despite recent comments, Scott Stapp is not, nor has he ever been considered as the singer for STP.”
Stapp said he wishes the situation was handled with more class.
“You know, it is what it is, man. I think they could have handled it with a little more class and dignity. But… it is what it is.”
Moments before this interview, I read a separate article that was published earlier that morning. It was a rather scathing piece that consisted of nothing but low shots at Stapp, basking in outdated Creed jokes and shots at his fashion.
During that conversation, Stapp insinuated that Scott Weiland “spoke” with him on the tour bus; the writer and most other outlets picked up on that statement as being a literal encounter with the specter of the deceased STP frontman. I read it as being more of a metaphorical warning to Stapp to not follow the same path.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Stapp agreed. “Scott Weiland didn’t literally speak to me. What I was referring to there was how being on this tour bus that he died in created an epiphany within me. The way I carried on my life at certain times could have put me in that same position. In no way, shape or form, as you interpreted, did Scott Weiland speak to me. Those were the writer’s words, not mine.”
“The writer for that article was, in my opinion, way out of line, and wrote an article just to assassinate me personally,” Stapp concluded. “He took any window of opportunity to take anything I said out of context.”
