Puddle of Mudd
Puddle of Mudd is an American rock band formed in Kansas City, Missouri in 1992. To date, the band has sold over seven million albums. Their major-label debut Come Clean has sold over five million copies.[1] They have released an extended play, an independent album and six studio albums, with their latest being Ubiquitous in September 2023. Vocalist and guitarist Wes Scantlin has served as the only consistent member throughout the band's history.
Puddle of Mudd
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
1992–present
- Wes Scantlin
- Josh Gilbert
- Michael Anthony Grajewski
- Marc Slutsky
- Doug Ardito
- Jimmy Allen
- Adam Latiff
- Paul Phillips
- Damien Starkey
- Christian Stone
- Shannon Boone
- Kenny Burkitt
- Sean Sammon
- Greg Upchurch
- Ryan Yerdon
- Matt Fuller
- Dave Moreno
- Michael John Adams
- Shane “T-bone†Webb
History[edit]
Early years (1992–1999)[edit]
Puddle of Mudd was formed in 1992 in Kansas City by Wes Scantlin (lead vocals/rhythm guitar), Jimmy Allen (lead guitar), Sean Sammon (bass), and Kenny Burkitt (drums).[Note 1] According to Scantlin, the band name was inspired by practicing next to the Missouri river levee, which always inundated the band's practice space, but never ruined their equipment since they were on the second floor. In order to get to their practice space, the band "had to walk through a pile of shit."[14]
In August 1994, the band played at the Missouri State Fair.[15] The group's first release, Stuck, a seven-song EP, was released in 1994 on V&R Records.[16] It was produced by the band and E.J. Rose, and was recorded at Red House Studio in Lawrence, Kansas. It spawned two radio singles (the first was "You Don't Know", the second "Drift and Die").[17]
Minus Jimmy Allen, the group released their eleven-song debut album, Abrasive, in 1997 on Madison, Wisconsin-based record label Hardknocks Records. Three of the songs from Abrasive were later re-recorded for the band's major-label debut Come Clean. Differences of opinion and other factors led to the break-up of the original Puddle of Mudd by early 1999, leaving Scantlin as the only original member.[18]
Come Clean (2000–2002)[edit]
Scantlin's big break in the music business came after a copy of his demo tape was delivered to Fred Durst. Durst contacted Scantlin, and after hearing that his band had broken up, decided to bring him to California to attempt to put a new band together. At a 2001 Flawless Records showcase, Durst noted that he originally disliked the band's material and told Scantlin to fire everyone else in the band and rebuild it from scratch.[19]
One of the first people Scantlin met upon arriving in California was Doug Ardito, an intern at Interscope Records. When Scantlin found out about Ardito's bass playing, they decided to work together. They were still in need of a guitarist and drummer. Fred Durst decided to contact a guitarist he knew from his hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, Paul Phillips, who had formerly played in a local band there called Happy Hour. After getting the call from Durst, Paul decided to try out for Puddle of Mudd and was accepted, choosing to leave college in order to join. The band held auditions for a new drummer and selected Greg Upchurch, who was an ex-member of Eleven and had also toured with Chris Cornell.
Puddle of Mudd entered the studio in 2000 and released its major-label debut album Come Clean on August 28, 2001. The lead single from the album, "Control" was successful. It was also the theme song for WWE's Survivor Series 2001, which was critically acclaimed. The second single off the album, "Blurry", co-written with Jimmy Allen and Doug Ardito, turned out to be Puddle of Mudd's most successful single, reaching No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 8 in the UK Singles Chart, and also winning an ASCAP song of the year award for Ardito, Allen and Scantlin. The song was also used in the game Ace Combat 5, published by Namco. "Drift & Die" co-written by Jimmy Allen was also released as a single spending six weeks at the No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Chart. The fourth single, "She Hates Me" co-written by Jimmy Allen was released in late 2002, and reached the No. 1 spot on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, as well as No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Allen and Scantlin won the ASCAP award for most played rock song of the year.[20]
The group then embarked on a European and American tour as the opening act for Godsmack and Deftones, and were also a part of the Family Values 2001 tour, alongside Linkin Park, Stone Temple Pilots, and Staind.
The album was certified triple platinum in the U.S. by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on January 31, 2003, and as of late 2006, total sales worldwide were in excess of five million copies.
Life on Display (2003–2005)[edit]
Puddle of Mudd's follow up, Life on Display, spawned three singles "Away From Me", "Heel Over Head", and "Spin You Around". The album sold below expectations. Although shortly after its release, the record was certified gold and to date, has sold over 706,000 copies. Some suggested this was the primary cause of drummer Greg Upchurch's leaving the band to join 3 Doors Down.[21] Marisa Miller appeared in the music video for "Spin You Around". "Away From Me" was featured in The O.C. in 2004. The song "Nothing Left to Lose" was the official theme song of WWE's 2004 Royal Rumble.
Controversies[edit]
Since 2012, Scantlin has been accused on numerous occasions of lip syncing during live performances.[49]
On April 16, 2014, Scantlin had an on-stage meltdown during a show at Trees Dallas, in which he threw a microphone and beer into the audience, as well as appearing to threaten and attempt to physically attack members of the audience. He also received criticism as he appeared to be lip-syncing during the performance.[50]
On June 20, 2015, the band was booed off stage at a show in Versailles, Ohio, after Scantlin was spotted lip-syncing to the songs. In response to the social media backlash, the band subsequently deleted their Facebook page.[51][52] With the Facebook page available, the Austin, Texas-based rock band Black Heart Saints gained access as an opportunity to promote their music using the page title "Check This Band Out Instead",[53] although later Puddle of Mudd decided to use the page again.
On August 18, 2017, Thetford Mines' Festival de la Relève had to cancel a performance by the band, who were the festival's headliners, after neither Scantlin nor the rest of the band appeared at Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport, where volunteers were to pick them up to drive them to the festival. No reason was given for the band's absence.[54]