News-Leader Springfield, MO Published January 14, 2005 Building a new bridge Former Creed members in a more laid-back groove as Alter Bridge. By Michael A. Brothers News-Leader Staff Alter Bridge arose from the ashes of alternative rock heavyweight Creed after the group broke up last year. Creed vocalist Scott Stapp went solo, while guitarist Mark Tremonti, drummer Scott Phillips and original Creed bassist Brian Marshall regrouped to form Alter Bridge, along with singer Myles Kennedy, formerly of Washington-based band the Mayfield Four. The group wasted little time recording and releasing its debut album, "One Day Remains," and then hitting the road. In advance of Alter Bridge's show at the Rockwell later this month, we spoke to Phillips by phone about his new band, his old band and the vibes surrounding both. Q. What's your attitude toward starting over, in a sense, and playing small clubs instead of arenas or amphitheaters? A. Actually, it's something that we're really enjoying. In the beginning of this band it was sort of verbalized that we really did want to get back our roots as much as possible, start small and grow from there. Q. Can you give an example of how things have changed? A. First and foremost I think we sort of realized that the music is the most important part of why we're doing this. I think we kind of lost that a little bit toward the end of the Creed days. It seems like it very much became a business, which it has to, to some extent. But when the business side sort of overruns the music and (music) becomes secondary then you start really questioning why it is you're doing this. Q. Mark has said if this doesn't work out you can all move to the Keys and join a cover band. Is there a more relaxed vibe this time around? A. It definitely is more relaxed this time out, that's for sure. I think we've gone through so much with Creed, had great times doing that, gained a ton of knowledge and this time around I think we just have the background knowledge that we need. ... When problems arise or if things come up then it might have been something we've handled before, and (we'll) know if we did it right the first time or did it wrong the first time. Q. How does that vibe come across to the fans out there? A. I think they can tell that were having fun, and we've heard that from a lot of people who will say, "I saw you guys as Creed and you were great but you didn't look like you were enjoying yourselves out there." Q. How do Myles and Brian fit into the picture? A. It's very much a democracy. Brian was a part of it the first time around. Myles is, I guess, the newcomer to all of this. (Yet he) has a very musical background and has been through the music business, but not really on the winning side like I think he should have been. The Mayfield Four was an extremely talented band with great material, but didn't quite get the shot that I think (it) could have. Q. Where are you spiritually as a band and does that come across through the music? A. Spiritually, as a band we really don't have anything that's uniform or unified. I think everybody has their own personal beliefs. Creed got misrepresented in that sense. Scott's lyrics certainly (led) to people's perceptions that we were a Christian band or a religious band. There were definitely some undertones of that, but I don't think it was Scott's intention to come across that way. I think he was just sort of writing from what he knew. ... It's not something that is a part of this band, or should be perceived to be a part of this band like I think it was with Creed. Q. Has Scott been to an Alter Bridge show? A. Uh, I seriously doubt it (laughs). Q. The band's name is a reference to Marks' childhood in Detroit, and is not a religious symbol, correct? A. It was a bridge on Alter Road that was a border between his neighborhood and another neighborhood. I guess it was sort of night and day, going from upper middle class to the Wild West, pretty much. I've never been there, but I've always heard the stories. Apparently that was their border of where they were allowed to play in the neighborhood. They could go up to Alter Bridge but never cross it. It represented the unknown, and that's where we feel like we are now (as a band). Q. How does the fan base break down? I'm sure many have stuck with you and some haven't, and that you have some new fans now, too. A. Yeah, I think we've had all three of those options. We've had a lot of people approach us and say, "I was a big fan of Creed and like this just as much," or "I like it better." Via the Internet people have said, "I really like Creed but I just don't quite get this." We have certainly run across people who've said, "You know what, I couldn't stand Creed but I really, really like (Alter Bridge)."