Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti sat with Rick Beato for a new interview and discussed the band’s early days. He shared his thoughts on the early challenges Creed faced and highlighted the pressure that followed them throughout their career.
“The bad thing about the early part of our career is that everybody was doubting us the entire time,” the guitarist admitted. “I felt like I was fighting survival my entire career, up until our third Alter Bridge record [2010’s ‘ABIII’]. I felt like every record I put out, every single I put out, my career could be over, somebody else is going to take my job, right?”
‘So, with ‘My Own Prison,’ we came out with that single, and they’re like, ‘Oh, you’re going to be a one-hit-wonder.’ And we came out with, I think, ‘Torn’ next, and that went number one. We’re like, ‘All right, we’re not a one-hit wonder.’ Then they’re like, ‘You’re going to have a sophomore slump on the next record.’ Well, thanks,” he added.
Creed’s popularity surged with their second album, ‘Human Clay‘ with hit songs like ‘With Arms Wide Open’ and ‘Higher.’ However, even with the band’s momentum, critics voiced their doubts.
At their peak, Creed shared a fate similar to Nickelback’s. Many people who considered themselves to have good taste felt they had to dislike Creed. “I’ve always said that Creed was cool with the fans,” Scott Stapp said in another interview. “The critics and the media painted this narrative that didn’t reflect 95 percent of the population. You don’t sell millions of records and sell out multiple nights in arenas if you’re uncool. The media put this idea out there because we were so big, and it wasn’t the story they wanted moving forward. But it’s the people that matter, not the press.”
Creed recently extended their ‘Summer of ’99 Tour.’ The new leg of the tour will feature arena and amphitheater performances across the U.S. and Canada. 3 Doors Down, Daughtry, Mammoth WVH, and Big Wreck will support the band on select dates.
