Scott Stapp kept his look casual and easy Thursday night, May 28, as if the frontman with the singular baritone was joining in on a jam session with the band. For the man in the cream-colored Henley and comfortable jeans, the assumption was partly true, but there was much more purpose in the set that the lyricist and legendary rock vocalist was about to deliver, and very different circumstances.
Like countless other artists across music, Scott Stapp was gearing up before the spring thaw for summer and beyond of back-to-back concert dates. Ticket sales were underway and fall dates, for the European leg of the tour in support of “The Space Between the Shadows,” were posted. The critically-acclaimed album, released last year on Napalm Records, marked the most courageous and poignant him musical statement of his solo career thus far.
Scott Stapp was eager to board the bus with his touring band and beaming with positivity over his latest single, “Survivor,” giving him the biggest day of radio playlist “adds” in his career.
Suddenly, in mid-March, the looming coronavirus pandemic prompted tragedy and an unprecedented halt to daily life and the economy. Contrary to the natural will of human nature to “do something,” survival became a matter of staying in and self-isolation to flatten the curve. Celebrities or not, everyone took cover in the sanctity of the home.
The power of music travels to regions of the soul and spirit where no footprint can tread. Scott Stapp, his family, and band members have been active ambassadors for ChildFund for many years. At every venue, concertgoers are offered presentations detailing the work of the charitable organization’s efforts in offering sustaining lifelines to impoverished children throughout the world.
As reported by ABC News radio online and MSN entertainment on May 28, Scott Stapp brought the venue to anyone listening for an intimate performance from the heart. The amplification was appropriately turned down a few notches, but the voice, the conviction, the passion, and the pure aim were at 11.
Scott Stapp keeps ChildFund close to his heart and home
Scott Stapp and his wife, Jaclyn, became actively involved with Childfund International in 2014. The organization, which provides assistance to “deprived, excluded, and vulnerable children in 30 countries, including the United States,” per its mission statement, took on an even more pivotal role for Stapp through his recovery journey.
Scott has frequently made appeals for Childfund from the stage and reflected on how its outreach had a powerful impact on giving him a vision of “something greater than self.” Causes for children and families in need are nothing new for the Stapp family.
The Scott Stapp With Arms Wide Open Foundation was founded in 2000, at the height of Creed’s multiplatinum surge, and has expanded its scope of serving underprivileged families and children to include veterans, and especially those suffering from PTSD. Scott has personally contributed more than $1 million over and above fund-raising in support of the foundation’s mission.
Jaclyn Stapp’s CHARM (Children Are Magical) Foundation strives to heighten awareness of children's issues and provide youth with tools to enrich their lives. The “Back to School Bash” supported by the outreach has become a welcome and well-attended launch into the school year for the local area.
Scott and Jaclyn have been more than believers in “neighbor helping neighbor” through these times of unprecedented unemployment and uncertainty.
They and friendly supporters have shared gift cards for groceries and other needed items for many in need through days of unstable employment.
ChildFund has an office not far from the home of Scott Stapp and his family, but it never takes a reminder call to get this gifted artist or his family on the go for a good cause, even if it's singing from home.
Every song and every cent makes a difference to a child, reminds Scott Stapp
There was no evidence of a time machine in the surroundings near Scott Stapp or his accompanying musicians for the live stream set, but the vigor and vibrant energy pouring from the artist surpassed any reminiscence of his 90s heyday, and his resonant tone was as velvet as ever.
Clearly, the composer isn’t using any quarantine restrictions as an excuse for extra snacking. His regimen of exercise and healthy eating is still in force. He looks and sounds better now than he did at 25 and his seasoned appreciation for life and the courage to reclaim it makes every grateful note sweeter.
Without a hint of rock star swagger, Scott Stapp pointedly declares that “This COVID-19 epidemic has caused these children to go from extreme poverty to dire, to desperation.” He guides viewers and listeners to the link at the bottom of the screen, stressing that any donation makes a difference. He voraciously leads into “Purpose for Pain” with a greater purpose for this evening.
ChildFund is built on a unique sponsorship model between donors and children.
Letters between sponsors and children (by post or computer) build personal connections and let sponsors see how their dollars make a difference in housing, nutrition, health, and education. The ultimate goal is to give youth sponsorship until the equivalent of high school graduation.
Especially in these unique circumstances, Scott Stapp stressed that any amount makes a difference. Due to travel restrictions under the COVID-19 spread, needed supplies and deliveries are made more difficult, school is interrupted, and social-distancing is virtually impossible when homes have rooms shared by several family members, packed only feet apart.
Along with the performance, the Grammy-winning Stapp offered autographed CD’s to new ChildFund sponsors during the performance, as well as vintage Creed T-shirts.
Live performance is always a gift in itself, and perhaps only superseded by the blessing of leaving another life better than the way one finds it.
A father’s heart and familiar passion move Scott Stapp in the virtual set
Naturally, Scott Stapp included the resurgent “Survivor” as a centerpiece of the set, opening with a resolute assurance that “We’ll get through this. We’re gonna make it.” Conviction never falters for this performer, but in the moment, he took on a father’s tone. The driving bass and guitar were every bit as infectious as the electrified version.
Scott Stapp is the father of three sons and a daughter now, from ages 2 to 21. He has thrived on superhero play with his youngest, Anthony, while sheltering in place, and shared the stage with Daniel for “Face of the Sun” last summer.
While countless fans yearn for the unparalleled, sweat-soaked passion that he brings to the stage, the 45-year-old Stapp cares about the kind of world he is leaving for his children, and for generations to come. A healthy, healed world, post-pandemic, has to happen first.
“It feels so good to reunite/Within yourself and within your mind,” echoes “My Sacrifice.” Endless broken lives and souls in the cry for that healing and restoration in Minneapolis, in Atlanta, in Brooklyn, and dozens more cities where unheard masses have nowhere to put their anger. “The World I Used to Know” was composed long before “pandemic” became a part of the daily vocabulary, yet the seemingly prophetic song centers on the “soul sickness in the bones” that is consuming present-day existence, physically, socially, and emotionally.
The set closes with the tender “Don't Stop Dancing” from Creed’s “Weathered” album. The ballad reminds all children to “believe you can fly,” and yearns for the day when no one is hiding in the shadows. Again, the verses take the tenor of a father’s wisdom in ways 20-something Scott Stapp could have never conceived. “With Arms Wide Open” still endures as a father’s promise to a son, but becomes a global hug for this endeavor.
“Hey, God, I know I'm just a dot in this world. Have you forgot about me?” the song asks. So many people are begging the same question, for millions of different reasons, all covered in hurt. The COVID-19 pandemic will pass, probably far sooner than so many of the wounds in the wake of the George Floyd murder.
No single act can ever compensate for a world of wrong, but one act of kindness, one expression of a father's love, can be part of a legacy forever.