SCOTT STAPP: Getting Sober 'Really Changed My Life'

"Robb's Metalworks" conducted an interview with CREED frontman Scott Stapp prior to his July 10 concert at Aztec Theater in San Antonio, Texas. You can watch the entire chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On why he waited six years to release the follow up to "Proof Of Life" with "The Space Between The Shadows":

Scott: "I think that was just in the cards. I had a lot of things that were going on in my personal life in making a transformation in my life. I think I just kind of waited until it organically started to come and felt like it was time. But I don't plan on waiting ever again that long."

On how being diagnosed as bipolar helped him overcome some of his personal issues:

Scott: "I think the most important thing was getting the depression taken care of, finally. And then getting sober. I mean, that was the key. Self-medication and depression don't go well together, as everyone knows, that played out in public for me. Going on five years strong now and it's really changed my life. Healthy lifestyle, exercise and just committed to living life one day at a time has been good for me, and I'm really excited on how the newfound clarity and passion and drive has affected the music."

On what the overall sentiment is for "The Space Between The Shadows":

Scott: "I think three songs on the record that I think are really going to stand out, or four, that are going to stand out to fans once they get the whole album, are 'World I Used To Know', which is the first track on the record. A song called 'Red Clouds'. I think that really epitomizes where my soul was when I began the writing process for the record. Then a song called 'Wake Up Call'. Those three songs along with the early releases, I think, really will define the sound and where I'm at and the theme. The theme on this record is really just going through life and struggles. But, not giving up, pressing on. But also getting to a place where you've gotten to the other side and you've began to see life with clarity. So, there's definite social commentary, there's definite observation about the world that we live in, and not just a sole focus on my internal stuff and my struggle. Because at some point in time, you have to move beyond that, and I definitely did on this record."

On the new song "Face Of The Sun", which addresses the current information saturation of the world:

Scott: "The song was addressing all the different voices that come into our lives, wherever they come from, whether it be TV, the news, social media, the Internet, wherever it may be, it can even be personal, at our workplace. The theme of that song was, rise above it. Think for yourself. Follow your own path, your own dream. Make your own decisions. It was another teaching moment. I think because I find myself a lot in my songs thinking about my kids listening to them years from now, or at another time in their life. That's one of those songs that not only was it, for me, to tell myself and then also to share with the public, but also for my children."

On dealing with the pressures of the music industry and how he's matured:

Scott: "I've been doing it for so long, and for so many years that I've felt the pain and the hurt of exposing myself and reading the haters and the negativity. Then, I've also felt the other side of the false sense of reality and the lack of being in touch by reading all the praise and all the other. So, I try to live my life just navigating in the middle and not letting either side have an effect on who I am or how I feel. I wouldn't be human if, at various times, both the negative and the positive had an impact on me that I wish that they didn't. You feel. I'm human. When I was younger and in my 20s, you may read the one negative thing out of the million positives. I would get angry and have a chip on my shoulder. I think I carried that for a long time, not really realizing, that 'Hey man. That's one news outlet, but you're playing three nights in a row sold-out at arenas. And you're having all this success with your album sales and your songs and your band. That's the reality of the perception. Not this. I think it's maturity. It's good to be in a place where I've kind of come to the other side of that and have found a place of peace through the storm."

"The Space Between The Shadows" was released July 19 via Napalm Records. The album was co-produced by Scott Stevens and Marti Frederiksen, with additional production on "Purpose For Pain" by Kevin "Thrasher" Gruft. The album was recorded at Sienna Studios and Poppy Studios in Nashville, Tennessee and The Cabin in Los Angeles. It was mixed by Chris Baseford and mastered by Howie Weinberg and features ten original songs and two original bonus tracks.