Mark Thomas Tremonti was born in Detroit, Michigan, on April 18, 1974. He started playing the guitar at 11. Marks first guitar was an imitation Les Paul that cost only $25. When Mark was 16 his family moved to Florida where he began attending Lake Highland Preparatory school. It was at this time when Mark met future bandmate Scott Stapp. During his freshman year at Lake Highland, Mark started his first band, 'Wit's End'. After graduation, Mark went on to attend Clemson University where he majored in finance. After a year, Mark made his way back to Florida State and was reunited with Stapp. Scott talked about forming a band, so they started holding auditions at a friend's house. Drummer Scott Phillips and bassist Brian Marshall were eventually picked. The band was originally named 'Naked Toddler' which was the headline of a newspaper clipping Mark carried around in his wallet. After realizing how bad of a name 'Naked Toddler' was, they changed it to 'Creed'. In 1997 Creed released their debut album, 'My Own Prison', which has since sold over six million copies to date. In 2000, following the release of their 2nd album Human Clay, the band released their VH1 Behind the Music (1997) special, which shows you how incredibly far Mark and the other members of Creed have come. Show less «