and production For the band's debut release, manager Jeff Hanson matched them up with John Kurzweg, a producer friend who, with his unobtrusive production style and talents as a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, he felt was a great fit. Together, the album was recorded for $6,000, which was funded by Hanson. My Own Prison was originally released independently on their own record label, Blue Collar Records, in 1997. The album was distributed to Florida radio stations, and their enthusiasm for the record helped it sell 6,000 copies in the first two months in Florida alone. Creed singer Scott Stapp said that even though Creed were trying to find the band's creative stride, it took a while for the band to discover its musical style. Stapp said: "I remember after Mark and I and the guys wrote our first five or seven songs and we hadn't found our identity yet. Then we wrote a song called 'Grip My Soul,' which we never recorded or put out but I remember leaving band rehearsal and all of us felt the same way. Like, alright, we found ourselves. We found out who we are and then right after that is when 'My Own Prison' poured out of us." Stapp then said: "If I'm remembering correctly, those were essentially the next 10 out of 13 songs that we wrote after that initial 'find your identity' moment that I think every band has." Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti said that in Creed's early days, he was working as a cook at Chili's and Stapp was working as a cook at Ruby Tuesday's. Creed drummer Scott Phillips was managing a knife store at a mall and Creed bassist Brian Marshall was the only one without a job, and, according to Tremonti, Marshall "was also the only one who ended up getting his degree before it was all said and done." When Creed got a record deal, the band got an advance and Tremonti quit his job and started working for about 3 weeks at the local guitar shop and then after that, Creed began touring. My Own Prison was originally released through Blue Collar Records, but was remixed by Wind-up Records and then released through Wind-up Records. Creed recorded the original version of the album in Kurzweg's house in Tallahassee, Florida. For the of the album, the band went to Long View Farm in Massachusetts. Music and lyrics My