Puddle Of Mudd Biography

Puddle of Mudd is an American rock band from Kansas City, Missouri. They achieved success on rock radio and some success in the mainstream, and their major-label debut Come Clean has sold over 5 million copies. To date the band has sold over 8 million albums, and have had a string of #1 mainstream rock singles in the U.S. They have released 2 independent and 3 major albums, with their latest being Famous, released in 2007.

History

Early years

Puddle of Mudd was formed in 1992 by Wes Scantlin (vocals/guitar), Sean Sammon (Bass) Kenny Burkett (Drums) Jimmy Allen (Guitar) The name was inspired by the Missouri River flood, which inundated the band’s practice space, and left the floor a big “puddle of mud”. The group’s first album, Stuck, was released in 1994 on V&R Records. The album, of entirely original compositions, was produced by PoM and E.J. Rose, and recorded at Red House Studio in Lawrence, Kansas.

Minus Jimmy Allen, the group released a second album, Abrasive, in 1997 on Hardknocks Records. It had eleven tracks, all written by the band, three of which would eventually make it on to Puddle of Mudd’s first major label release. These would be the only two albums that exhibit a dirtier, grungier sound, compared to the semi-polished sound of later work.

Scantlin’s start 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.

One of the first people Scantlin met upon arriving in California was Doug Ardito, an intern at Interscope Records. Ardito was also in a Boston-based band called Throat Culture. 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. A drummer was also recruited from Jacksonville. The four began playing together on some of the band’s older songs, as well as some new ones. Durst signed the group to another showcase, and then recruited the band to his new record label, Flawless Records. Things did not work out with the Jacksonville drummer, and Josh Freese from A Perfect Circle and The Vandals (and later Guns N’ Roses) did the drum tracks for Puddle of Mudd’s next album instead. The band later held auditions for a new drummer, which produced Greg Upchurch, an ex-member of Eleven who had also toured with Chris Cornell.
The breakthrough and mainstream success

Puddle of Mudd released its major-label debut album Come Clean on August 28, 2001. The lead single from the album, “Control” was successful and grabbed the attention of rock music audiences worldwide. It was also the theme song for WWE’s Survivor Series 2001.

The second single off the album, “Blurry” Co-written with Doug Aridito, turned out to be Puddle of Mudd’s most successful single, reaching #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #8 in the United Kingdom. Drift & Diewas also released as a single and was very successful with rock audiences with the single spending 6 weeks at the #1 on the Mainstream Rock Chart. The fourth single, “She Hates Me”, was released in late 2002 and became a massive hit reaching the #1 spot on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, as well as #13 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The group then embarked on a European tour with Godsmack and were also part of the Family Values 2001 tour, alongside the Stone Temple Pilots, Linkin Park and Staind.

Copies of the album were selling well. It 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 5 million copies.
Life On Display

Puddle of Mudd’s follow up, Life on Display spawned three hit singles “Away From Me”, “Heel Over Head”, and “Spin You Around”. The album sold below high 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 jumping ship when 3 Doors Down came looking for a new drummer. Marisa Miller appears 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.
“Famous”

On October 9, 2007 the band released their third major label record, Famous (album).” The first single, “Famous”, was leaked through the band’s myspace and radio in July before the CD hit stores. Another track “Merry Go Round” was released as though ITunes before the official release as well. The following single “Psycho” garnered immense popularity, radio play and topping both the Mainstream Rock Tracks and Hot Modern Rock Tracks charts for an astounding 9 weeks. “Livin’ on borrowed time” and “We don’t have to look back now” were the final singles released.

Their song “Famous” was the WWE One Night Stand 2007 official theme song and was also featured in the video game WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2008, as well as UFC 2009 Undisputed.
Jacket On the Rack

In 2009, former Guitarist Paul Phillips rejoined the band after replacement Christian Stone resigned. Around this time the band recruited “Famous” producer Brian Howes to begin recording a new record. The record was recorded in a three part session because of extensive touring duties. As of August 2009, the band announced through their myspace and follow-up interviews that the album had finished production and is currently in mixing. Bassist Doug Arditto announced that the disc will only contain 9 songs to avoid what he called “filler material” and to have new listeners focus more on non-single songs.. The record is expected to contain more edgier, punk rock, similar to earlier releases according to singer Wes Scantlin. The album is schedualed for a late September/early October release. The title of the album “Jacket on the Rack,” is a tounge-in-cheek reference to a sexual inuendo.
Future

In an interview with Ultimate-Guitar.com, frontman Wes spoke out about future plans. He stated that he has a solo record coming out “pretty soon” and that the band will do a cover album of popular rock songs. Some bands mentioned so far are AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.. And since 2004, Scantlin and crew have mentioned numerous times in various interviews plans for a live and acoustic record. Some of the mentioned releases are suspected to be released shortly after “Jacket on the Rack.”

Members

Wes Scantlin – vocals, rhythm guitar (1992-Present)
Doug Ardito – bass, backing vocals (2000-Present)
Paul Phillips – lead guitar (2000-2005) (2009-Present)
Ryan Yerdon – drums (2007-Present)
Former members
Christian Stone – guitar (2006-2009)
Greg Upchurch – drums (2000-2005)
Jimmy Allen – guitar (1992-1994), (2005-2006)
Mark “Moke” Bistany – drums (2005-2007)
Kenny Burkett – drums (1992-1999)
Sean *Sammon – bass (1992-1999)
Kane Hazzard – guitar (2007-2009)

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Original Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puddle Of Mudd