Scott Stapp on Embracing a Higher Power and Turning His Life Around

The post Scott Stapp on Embracing a Higher Power and Turning His Life Around appeared first on Consequence .

Scott Stapp is gearing up for a massive reunion tour with Creed , but this year has also been a big one for his solo career. The singer released his fourth solo album, Higher Power , back in March, touching on very personal topics throughout the LP.

Heavy Consequence published the first part of our interview with Stapp focusing on all things Creed as part of our recent “Post-Grunge Week.” In this second part of the interview, Stapp dives deep into his solo album, talking about a harrowing experience that inspired the hit title track, which reached the Top 10 of the Mainstream Rock chart.

The singer also discusses his collaborations with Yiannis Papadopoulos, a guitarist who reached out to him through the Creed Facebook page, as well as the singer Dorothy, who duets with Stapp on the ballad “If These Walls Could Talk.”

Stapp has a couple more solo dates (June 28th in Albertville, Alabama, and June 29th in Warner Robins, Georgia) before embarking on that aforementioned Creed tour , which kicks off July 17th in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and spans two legs in the summer and fall (with tickets available via Ticketmaster or StubHub ).

Read part two of our interview with Scott Stapp below, as he discusses his recent solo album, Higher Power , which is available to order at this location .

In the title track to Higher Power , you sing, “Life had forsaken me/ Left me alone to bleed/ I was ready to meet my maker,” before you sing of redemption: “Now I’m alive, I walked through fire/ I survived, I’m burning brighter.” Does the song have anything to do with your very public struggles that happened a decade ago?

Well, that lyric in particular refers to an accident that happened on November 18th, 2006. I talked about it in my book where I had a fall off the penthouse of the Delano in South Beach, messing around, goofing around under the influence, off a balcony. And fell 40 feet and landed on my head and broke my hip. According to doctors, had I landed a millimeter to the left or the millimeter to the right, my neck should have snapped and I shouldn’t be here. And so as I was talking to my maker, I was bleeding out. I couldn’t move. It was quite a heavy experience.

That particular lyric is referring to that. That was one of my nine lives. And I think I’m on 11, but, that was one of my nine. I was fortunate to survive that. And I was found by the rapper T.I., and my life was saved. And the journey began there to try to start changing my life.

And it’s been a long road, and that incident you’re referring to, 10 years ago, that was a drug-fueled experience. People act nuts under the influence of drugs and alcohol. And if there’s other things going on in their life that they’re using drugs and alcohol to cope with, you can get pretty far out on the limb. And anyone who deals with alcoholism or addiction could relate. I think me being a public figure, and kind of going public with that, which I don’t really kind of want to harken on because it was 10 years ago and it’s not representative of anything that I am today.

It’s not been a straight line. There’s been five steps forward, two steps back, and that’s part of my story. I think, coming to the place that I am now, being where I am now, discovering the importance of my spiritual condition and my relationship with God as it pertains to my maintaining sobriety and everything else kind of falling into place — as long as I maintain that connection with my higher power, with God, good things happen in my life.

So, those are all just key points in my journey that led me to the place I am today, to this album, and really kicking off the album with how I wanted to represent myself with this record first. As a statement of where I am, where I’ve been, what I believe, and where I want to be moving forward. So, there was no other song that I thought would be more appropriate to lead off with as the title track.

And the song is really resonating with fans, having reached the Top 10 of the Mainstream Rock radio chart…

It’s my highest charting solo rock song to date, so I was very grateful … to just appreciate the journey to get here. And the gratitude that I have that it’s connecting with people sonically and lyrically, just enjoying this ride, man, there’s so much going on. There was so much work, blood, sweat, and tears put into this record, and for the that song to be received as it’s been received, it’s just a gift. And trust me, I don’t take a minute of it for granted.

The album features a great guitarist, Yiannis Papadopoulos, on a number of tracks. Can you talk about how he came aboard for this project?

Yiannis reached out through the Creed Facebook page, ironically, when I was putting together a solo band, and management, at the time, brought it to my attention: “Hey, this guitar player reached out. What do you think? I think he’s good. Come look at some of his videos.”

And so I watched his videos and I knew immediately the guy was extremely talented. But there’s a difference between being able to sit home and play and performing and being on tour. And I didn’t know much about him. So, we began to exchange videos back and forth. And then just got into a position where it was like, you know what, I’m either going to pull the trigger on this and fly this guy over from Athens, Greece, and just take a chance, or we’re going to keep trading videos.

I decided to pull the trigger on it, and flew him over and what a great decision because not only is he probably one of the most talented guitar players I’ve ever played with outside of [Creed’s] Mark Tremonti, but he’s an incredible performer, and really just brings a whole new dimension to my stage performance that I’ve never really had before.

He’s dynamic, he’s charismatic, he can play anything. And one thing about him is … there are guitar players that can shred, play super fast, but they have no soul, they have no passion. It’s either one or the other. But with Yiannis, he’s got it all. … I’m just so fortunate to have had a career where I’ve gotten to play with Mark Tremonti, one of the greatest guitar players of our generation. And now Yiannis Papadopoulos, who I believe one day will be in that same conversation.

And you have the powerhouse singer Dorothy duetting with you on the ballad “If These Walls Could Talk.” What led you to reach out to her for that song?

Yeah, she is a real powerhouse vocalist … what she’s capable of doing vocally just blows my mind. She has such a big, soulful voice, and it’s so dynamic. She can do so much, from rock to just incredible soulful gospel-esque melodies, all the way to having opera training. I mean, she’s just a powerhouse.

I was searching for a female vocalist for that song because I knew after I laid down the vocal that it was a duet. It just didn’t feel right or complete after I laid down the vocal. I knew it was missing something and then it came to me that this is a duet. I needed to add a female vocalist, and being in Nashville seven years, and kind of being in the country music scene, I thought it was going to be my entry point into country music. And so I began looking for country female vocalists.

I began to speak with management. They brought up Lainey Wilson. And I did some research on her, and she had just done a duet with Hardy and Jelly Roll, so I was, like, she’s done a couple duets, let me keep looking. And so, I was doing a show with Daughtry in Montana, and when I got there, they said there’s this artist named Dorothy opening.

I wasn’t familiar with her music, and we went out and I watched a few songs in her set and I knew probably the second or third song that that’s the voice that needs to be on the song. And with the small rock community that we have, it just so happened that she was working with Scott Stevens, who’s a co-producer on my record.

I had reached out to Scott Stevens about something to do with my record, and he said, “I have to get back with you later, man. I’m in the studio with Dorothy right now.” And I said, “With Dorothy? Play her the song, play her ‘If These Walls Could Talk’ and see if she’s into doing it.” And he did. And I got an email or a text back sometime within the next 24, 48 hours that said she loved it, she’s in tears, and she’s in. And so then I just sat back and waited to get the demo, and when I got it back and I played it, it was just an instant goosebump moment. Eyes watered, and I knew I made the right decision.

And I wanted to ask about the final song on the album, “Weight of the World.” What made you want to make that track the closing statement on Higher Power ?

Well, I started the album out with God, and I wanted to end the record with God. And that’s what that song’s about. That song is, to me, my higher power, God, speaking to me. And then, as a father, it ended up kind of having a double meaning, of how I feel about my children. So it came to me as a message from my higher power. And then I transferred that as a message to my children.

So it’s got like that heavenly father to father and then father to children, so it’s kind of got a double message there. But I just felt it appropriate to end the record with where I want to be. I’m not there yet. I haven’t reached the feeling and the peace of where that song is. A lot of times in my career, many times I’ve written about where I want to be, not where I’m at, how I hope to feel, not how I feel. And this one fits right into that characterization.

This album was a labor of love. It was very difficult. I was going through a lot in my personal life and in other areas in my life. And it’s a journal of that. ‘Dancing in the Rain’ and ‘Weight of the World’ are two songs that I haven’t gotten to in my personal life, in this narrative and in this story. It’s kind of like manifestation of speaking things into existence.

Scott Stapp on Embracing a Higher Power and Turning His Life Around
Spencer Kaufman