Creed was a popular rock band from Tallahassee, Florida. They recorded 4 studio albums before dissolving for what we assumed was for good in 2013. However, fans were overjoyed last month to hear that the group will be reuniting next year for the Summer of '99 cruise.
The band was created by guitarist Mark Tremonti and singer Scott Stapp in 1994. The two were school classmates and had some of the same music tastes. The original lineup was a quintet, including rhythm guitarist Brian Brasher, drummer Scott Phillips, and bass guitarist Brian Marshall. They performed their first gig under the moniker Naked Toddler. came up with the group name Creed, which stuck. Brasher departed a year later and Creed continued on as a quartet.
Their first album, My Own Prison, was self-produced in 1997 with an initial run of 6,000 copies through Blue Collar Records. It soon got the attention of Wind-Up Records executive Diana Meltzer. She and a few of her co-workers flew to Florida to see the group perform before deciding to offer them a recording contract. Wind-Up re-released their debut effort that August, which became a big hit.
Creed used the proceeds from that album to craft their sophomore album, Human Clay. It would go on to sell more than 10 million copies. Marshall's alcohol issues led to his temporary dismissal from the group in 2000. Brett Hestla would take his place on bass guitar. Hestla would tour with Creed, but Tremonti played bass on their third album, Weathered.
The band continued to tour until Stapp needed to take some time off in 2002 because of injuries that he sustained in a car crash. Stapp's pain medication and addiction issues also contributed to Creed's first breakup. 4 concertgoers filed a lawsuit against the band that year, stating that Stapp was unable to complete the lyrics to a Creed song in concert because of chemical influence. The lawsuit was eventually dismissed and the band issued a public apology, but the damage to their reputation had already been done.
Their first disbandment was in June 2004. Tremonti and Phillips joined forces with Marshall and former Mayfield Four frontman Myles Kennedy to form the band Alter Bridge, while Stapp pursued a solo career. Wind-Up issued a Creed greatest hits album in November 2004 and no new Creed tunes would be heard for another 5 years.
The classic Creed lineup (Stapp, Tremonti, Marshall, and Phillips) returned in June 2009, and their fourth studio album, Full Circle, was released that October. Eric Friedman joined the group as a touring guitarist and they toured regularly from 2009 through 2012, even though their shows weren't all as well attended this time around as they were when the band was supporting their first three albums.
Creed has been inactive since 2013. Stapp still continues to perform as a solo act and was involved in the group Art of Anarchy. Tremonti has been busy with both Alter Bridge and his solo group. Phillips has been involved in Alter Bridge and Projected, a group that also includes Friedman and Sevendust rhythm guitarist John Connolly and bassist Vince Hornsby.
The group announced on July 19th of this year that they would be part of the April 2024 Summer of '99 Cruise. The cruise sold out in a matter of hours. It remains to be seen whether or not they will add more tour dates. In all likelihood, any tour dates would probably be in 2024, because both Stapp and Alter Bridge are currently touring as separate acts.
I haven't seen Creed play live in concert yet, but this latest reunion has definitely intrigued me. I've seen Stapp and Tremonti's solo acts along with Alter Bridge. In fact, I'm going to see Alter Bridge with Sevendust again on Tuesday. Based on how well the cruise performance announcement was received by loyal fans, I'm fairly confident that any future Creed concerts will be well attended.
Well, that's all for now. This is the last article in this series that I'll be writing for now. Future blog posts will be on different topics. I may resume this series sometime in the future. If there are certain rock bands that you'd like to see covered, please let me know. Until next time, have a great weekend, everyone!
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