Daily Southtown
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
www.dailysouthtown.com
By Vickie Snow
Midlothian resident Jack Pender - union carpenter by day, musician by night - was told he resembles Creed lead singer Scott Stapp so often by young women everywhere that he decided to play him on T.V.
Well, sort of.
"People were mistaking me for Scott Stapp, taking my picture and asking for my autograph," Pender said. "I'd laugh and say I wasn't him. It still happens when I go out anywhere on the South Side."
So Pender, who played bass guitar and handled backup vocals in various bands, and his two 30-something boyhood friends decided to make the resemblance work for them. Last spring, they formed a Creed tribute band and named it My Sacrifice, the title of the lead single from Creed's sophomore album, "Human Clay" (1999).
My Sacrifice played Champs, O'Malley's, Oasis One-Sixty, Dreams, Sean Kaleys and other clubs in the Southland, as well as some up north and even in New York, Missouri, Louisiana, Arkansas and Indiana.
Their brush with fame, though, came thanks to two goofballs who filed a lawsuit and some comedians who make a living making fun of others.
In December, while Creed played inside the Allstate Arena, Pender was left in the cold.
"I couldn't get a ticket, so I was in the parking lot handing out fliers for my band," he said.
But inside Creed fans Chad Costino and Phil Berenz were boiling over at what they considered a sloppy performance. So the two filed a $2 million class-action lawsuit against Creed.
Enter the second round of madmen.
Producers from "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," a wacky news-based talk show on cable's Comedy Central network, were researching the lawsuit on the Internet and came across Pender's band.
Shortly thereafter, "Daily Show" producers and technicians were filing into Pender's mom's house in Oak Lawn, cameras rolling and oddball questions flying.
The hysterical segment, titled "Creed Isn't Good," aired in late May. It made fun of the guys suing the band as well as the local guys paying tribute to the band.
"Scott Stapp was unavailable, so we caught up with a guy who looks like Scott Stapp - 10 years from now!" the segment began, showing an extreme closeup of Pender's albeit chubby face.
"The real victim of Creed's bullcrap performance is a tribute band," "Daily Show" field producer Rob Cordroy siad. "It could end Jack Pender's 33-year quest to move out of his mom's house."
Ouch!
In his defense, Pender pointed out he has moved out and did so before the segment aired.
On the show, Berenz complained, "We planned our lives around the concert," Costino sang "With Arms Wide Open" off-key and Cordroy chastised them with, "And you're outside waiting for your mom to pick you up" while they seemingly nodded yes.
Nicole Helmin, teenage daughter of My Sacrifice guitarist John Helmin, was portrayed as a young Creed fan, deadpanning: "This lawsuit is frivolous and the best argument for tort reform that I've ever seen."
If fans no longer want to see Creed because of an allegedly poor performance, Cordroy asked, will they then want to see a Creed tribute band like My Sacrifice?
Guess not, they said.
Pender said he and John (Helmin) would need to find another band if Creed broke up.
"Who's John?" Cordroy said.
Pender pointed to John.
"Have you been here the whole time?" Cordroy said, seemingly unaware of this presence all along.
John, a serious-looking bloke who never spoke a word, nodded, and then the segment closed with a take on AC/DC.
"For those about to sue rock, we salute you!"
"They were making a comedy skit out of the lawsuit," Pender said, "to make fools out of the guys suing them."
He said he knew what he was in for when he agreed to the taping. And he thought it was hilarious.
"I wasn't insulted," Pender said. "I took it all in good fun. I know Scott Stapp is younger than me."
Of the hours the crew was filming, he said only a few serious quotes were used.
"They asked John and I questions with the cameras looking at us. They has us nodding yes or no," he said. "Then they turned cameras around, having Rob ask questions and then questions he never even asked us. They were trying to get me to say the wrong thing."
Pender said he heard from a few people who were disappointed by the Creed concert in question. But fans who've seen My Sacrifice haven't left disappointed, he said.
"Our show brought them back to liking Creed again," he said, "because they weren't real pleased with the show they saw."
Plus, he said, negative publicity is still publicity."
"It gave us national publicity," he said. "We were able to get a national agent out of it."
Video Clip From
The Daily Show with John Stewart
June 2003
Midwest Beat Magazine
Dec 2002/Jan 2003
www.midwestbeat.com
By Tom Lounges
There's a new Creed tribute band called My Sacrifice
that recently started hitting the local Chicagoland club circuit.
Creed fans are urged to mark January 4 down on their calendars and join the
group for a regional video cable TV taping
at 10:00pm that night at Sean Kaley's (10900 Kingery Rd,) in Lemont, IL. For
show info call, (630) 257-6383.
For more band info, and to check out mp3 audio and video clips, log on at: www.mysacrifice.com
By Jessi Virtusio
When it comes to favorite bands, no matter how much a fan loves a band, it
can be difficult to see that group on a regular basis.
That's where the tribute band comes in.
My Sacrifice, which bills itself as "The Ultimate Creed Tribute Band and
Experience," offers the wildly successful rock band's
fans a chance to experience Creed's sound and style in a more intimate setting.
"What we try to portray is the actual Creed show
on a smaller level," vocalist Jack (Scott Stapp) says. "We are
similar in look to the band. Our sound is the same as the
band, and we try to put on the same show. We have our own separate light and
laser show that we put on with this."Orland Park
resident and Jack's brother, Greg, is My Sacrifice's director of visual
effects, while Tinley Park resident
Mike Brezen serves as the group's sound man.
"We want the best person for the job to make the sound and the effects
as real as Creed's own stage show," Jack says.
Jack had a chance to check out the band he pays tribute to when
Creed played Alpine Valley Music
Theatre in Wisconsin earlier this year. "It was a great experience to see
the reaction of the crowd there and then to see the impact
that they put on the crowd," Jack says. "(And I saw) how we as a
tribute band would have to hold up (Creed's) name and how
much more effort we have to put into our stage show in order to make the Creed
message enjoyable for everyone."
Jack formed the group after several people, including members of local band
V90, mentioned his physical resemblance and
matching vocal range to Stapp, Creed's front man. "I like the message
of what Scott Stapp and (guitarist) Mark Tremonti write,
" he says. "It's a positive message unlike a lot of other bands in
music out there. This is positive energy." Jack adds,
"I like Creed because it's very similar to my writing style and it made me
get into it even more as I started to listen to the music.
"We, as a band, analyzed the music, and we saw how complex and musically
talented they are."
Only together for a half-year, My Sacrifice also features guitarist Johnny (Tremonti), drummer
Pat (Scott Phillips), and bassist Brad .Over Thanksgiving break, the group played in New York thanks to the band's Web site, www.mysacrifice.com,
which is maintained by Mike Greene.
"It's just given us national promotion and awareness," Jack says of
the site, which is also at creedtribute.com.
My Sacrifice has been averaging about one show per week, with its next big
gig slated for Sean Kaley's/Confetti's in Lemont next week.
"We want people to come to this show particularly because it's a larger
level. It's a big club that holds a lot more people," Jack says.
"The Creed experience that we're going to give, the more fans we have
there, the better show it is. Without the fans participating in our
show, we don't have a show."
The set spans more than 20 songs from the bands three releases — "My
Own Prison," "Human Clay" and "Weathered"
and lasts for approximately two hours, mirroring Creed's set from The Weathered
Tour. Jack, who earns a living as a union carpenter,
says music is at the root of everything he does. "I have a love for music.
I was born into a musical family, so music's been a part
of my life since the day I was born," he says.
The bass player-turned-vocalist says he enjoys fronting My Sacrifice, which
is named for the biggest hit off Creed's latest album, "Weathered."
"Being a lead vocalist, all eyes are on me. When you play an instrument,
you can hide behind it," Jack says. "I'm the front man
so I have to be able to become Scott Stapp when I sing his songs. I have to
sound like him and act like him. "I'm an actor when
I'm up there, and if there's one note or one move that is wrong, people will
know. There is a lot of pressure on me, but I enjoy it."
Jessi Virtusio may be reached at (708)
802-8854 or via e-mail at jvirtusio@starnewspapers.com
IF YOU GO ...
WHAT: My Sacrifice and Smackdown.
WHERE: Sean Kaley's/Confetti's, 10900 Kingery Highway (Route 83 and
Archer Avenue), Lemont.
WHEN: 10 p.m. Jan. 4
TICKETS: $5 for an over-21 show.
PHONE: (630) 257-6383.
WEB: confettisnights.com.
My Sacrifice Press