- Puddle of Mudd
Infobox musical artist
Name = Puddle of Mudd
Img_capt =
Img_size = PuddleOfMudd-Famous.jpg
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Background = group_or_band
Origin = Kansas City,Missouri , USA
Years_active = 1993 – present
Label =Universal Music Group
Flawless/Geffen Records
Associated_acts = Operator3 Doors Down
URL = http://www.puddleofmudd.com/
Current_members = Wesley ScantlinDoug Ardito
Christian Stone
Ryan Yerdon
Past_members = Paul PhillipsGreg Upchurch
Jimmy Allen
Kenny Burkett
Sean Samon
David MorenoPuddle of Mudd is an American rock band from Kansas City,
Missouri ,United States . They achieved success on rock radio and some success in the mainstream, and their major-label debut "Come Clean" has sold well over 5 million copies. To date the band has sold over 7 million albums, and have had a string of #1 mainstream rock singles in the U.S. They have released 5 albums, with their latest being "Famous", released in2007 .History
Early years
Puddle of Mudd was formed in 1993 by
Wes Scantlin (vocals/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 . The album did well in Kansas City, but never made it much further.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, FL , 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 this time all went well. Durst then recruited the band to his new record label,
Flawless Records .Unfortunately, things did not work out with the Jacksonville drummer, and
Josh Freese fromA Perfect Circle andThe Vandals (and laterGuns N' Roses ) did the drum tracks for Puddle of Mudd's next album instead. The band later held auditions for a new drummer, which producedGreg Upchurch , an ex-member of Eleven who had also toured withChris 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 " turned out to be Puddle of Mudd's most successful single, reaching #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #8 in theUnited Kingdom . "Drift & Die" was 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 theMainstream Rock Tracks chart , as well as #13 on theBillboard Hot 100 . [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?JSESSIONID=ZYpBGrDHbJXQDhQF0fT7FG9vSBMLKLvLpW2jvn6MzKpXBnNd3pwR!-1141656175&model.vnuArtistId=448285&model.vnuAlbumId=610824]The group then embarked on a European tour with
Godsmack and were also part of the Family Values 2001 tour, alongside theStone Temple Pilots ,Linkin Park andStaind .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" and "Famous"
Puddle of Mudd's follow up, "Life On Display" spawned two hit singles "Away From Me" and "Heel Over Head". The album sold 706,191 copies to date, a very considerable fall off from the previous album. Some suggested this was the primary cause of drummer
Greg Upchurch 's jumping ship when3 Doors Down came looking for a new drummer. Guitarist Paul Phillips left the band later on due to creative differences between him andWes Scantlin .Marisa Miller appears in the music video for "Spin You Around". "Away From Me" was featured inThe O.C. in2004 . The song "Nothing Left to Lose" was the official theme song ofWWE 's2004 Royal Rumble .On
July 24 2007 they released "Famous EP" featuring "Famous", as well as an acoustic version of "Blurry", and a new track "Merry Go Round". The full length "Famous" album was released October 9, 2007. It included Puddle of Mudd's new hit single "Psycho".Their song "Famous" was the
WWE One Night Stand 2007 official theme song and was also featured in the video gameWWE Smackdown vs Raw 2008 .Future Plans
Wes has stated in an interview that the band's next project would be a live concert album release, an idea that Puddle of Mudd has wanted to do for some time. Then back to the studio for their next album release.
Members
*
Wes Scantlin -Lead Vocals ,Guitar (1993-Present)
*Doug Ardito - Bass,Backing Vocals (1998-Present)
*Christian Stone -Lead Guitar (2006-Present)
*Ryan Yerdon - drums (2007-Present)Former members
*Paul Phillips -
Lead Guitar (1998-2005)
*Greg Upchurch - drums (2000-2005)
*Jimmy Allen -Lead Guitar (1993-1994), (2005-2006)
*Mark "Moke" Bistany - drums (2005-2007)
*Kenny Burkett - drums (1993-2000)
*Sean Samon - Bass (1993-2000)Discography
Albums
*"Stuck" (1994)
*"Abrasive" (1997)
*"Come Clean" (August 28 2001 ) - #9 U.S. - 3x Platinum - RIAA
*"Life on Display " (November 25 2003 ) - #20 U.S. - 706,191 - Gold - RIAA
*"Famous" (October 9 2007 ) - #27 U.S. - 300,000+ copiesingles
B-Sides
* "Bleed" (3:41) - From The Punisher Soundtrack
* "Daddy" (4:19) - From Life On Display
* "Life Ain't Fair" (3:45) - From Life On Display
* "Cast Away" (3:18) - From Famous (Best Buy Exclusive Download Track)
* "Miracle" (4:01) - From Famous (Target Exclusive Download Track)
* "Reason" (4:08) - From Famous (Target Exclusive Download Track)Demos
* "Chemical Head Change" (3:11)
* "Gimp" (3:16)
* "Hip New Groove" (3:25)
* "Pussy Perfume" (4:45)
* "Sex Hate" (3:23)
* "Where U Gonna Go?" (3:35) - Also known as "Young Angry Revolution" or "What U Gonna Do?"
* "Overdose" (4:47)
* "Down On Me" (3:03)
* "Bitter End" (4:01) - Also known as "Bitter Friend"
* "(Unknown Recording)" (1:20)
* "Stuck"Cover Songs
* "Breed" by Nirvana
* "About A Girl " by Nirvana
* "Brother" byAlice in Chains
* "War Pigs " by Black Sabbath
* "T.N.T." by AC/DCReferences
External links
* [http://www.geffen.com/puddleofmudd Record Label website]
* [http://www.puddleofmudd.com/ Official website]
* [http://pompit.cjb.net/ The Puddle of Mudd Pit Fansite]
* [http://feeds.geffen.com/artist/puddleofmudd/content Official RSS Feed]
* [http://www.myspace.com/puddleofmudd Puddle of Mudd] atMySpace.com
* [http://www.project961.com/iplaylist/artist/484548/ Puddle of Mudd on Demand]
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