Don't expect to see Creed and Pearl Jam sharing a concert bill together anytime in the near future, as Creed bassist Brian Marshall blasted the Seattle proto-grungers in a recent interview with Seattle radio station KNDD.

During the interview, conducted last week by on-air personality Andy Savage, Marshall was asked about the constant comparisons made between his band and Pearl Jam, and claimed that his singer, Scott Stapp, was clearly superior to Vedder.

Eddie Vedder wishes he could write like Scott Stapp," Marshall told the radio station before backpedaling slightly. "I love Pearl Jam, but I just don't understand the route they took, and I don't think it all had to do with Eddie Vedder.

When pressed by Savage, Marshall pointed out that while there were some similarities between the two groups' "lyrical tones," there were many, vast differences between Creed and Pearl Jam's recent album sales and fan bases.

Pearl Jam tends to... in their recent albums,

has gone in such a different direction, which is fine, but looking at their album sales and their fans, you can just see the decline," Marshall told KNDD.

Statistically speaking, Pearl Jam has seen a steady decline since the release of its sophomore album, "Vs.," in 1993, which sold 5.69 million copies, followed by 1994's "Vitalogy" (4.54 million), 1996's "No Code" (1.34 million), and 1998's "Yield" (1.48 million), according to SoundScan. To date, Pearl Jam's new album, "Binaural," has sold some 408,000 copies.

In comparison, Creed has sold 4.4 million copies of its 1997 debut, "My Own Prison," and has already sold 3.86 million of its newest record, 1999's "Human Clay," which is still holding strong in the Top 10 of the "Billboard" Pop Albums chart after 37 weeks in release.

In the KNDD interview, Marshall also said that while he listened to Pearl Jam throughout his collegiate days, he didn't understand why the band now chose to "write songs without hooks.

To hear

more from Andy Savage's interview with Creed's Brian Marshall, check out the special section of KNDD's official Web site.

Pearl Jam was not immediately available for comment, as the band is in the midst of a European tour to support "Binaural" and won't launch a North American tour until August 3 in Virginia Beach, Virginia (see [article id="1433055"]"Pearl Jam Goes 'Binaural' With New Album, North American Tour"[/article]).

Meanwhile, Creed is currently out on the road with Sevendust and Nickelback and is set to play the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon on June 20. Creed has also firmed up additional dates for its upcoming tour with 3 Doors Down.

Current dates for the Creed-3 Doors Down pairing:

• 8/11 - Chicago, IL @ New World Music Theatre
• 8/12 - East Troy, WI @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre
• 8/14 - Cincinnati, OH

@ Riverbend Amphitheatre