Puddle of Mudd – 17 Impressive Facts You Didn’t Know
Formed in Kansas City Missouri in 1992, Puddle Of Mudd are an American post-grunge, alternative rock band. The only constant member of the band is lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Wes Scantlin.
Those are facts you probably already knew about Puddle Of Mudd, keep reading for 17 impressive facts you didn’t know about Puddle Of Mudd.
Table of Contents
They Were The 1st Band Signed By Fred Durst
Puddle Of Mudd formed in 1992 and released the album “Abrasive” independently in 1997. By 1999, the band had reached the end of the road. The band broke up and Wes Scantlin was all set to become a barman in New Orleans.
However, he got backstage at the Family Values Tour and somehow got a demo tape to Fred Durst’s security guard. Fred heard the tape, liked what he heard and signed him (and his now non-existent band) to his new label Flawless Records.
The Band That Fred Signed Wasn’t The Original Band
By the time Fred Durst heard their demo tape, the band had already split up. Which left lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Wes Scantlin the only original member. Fred apparently told Scantlin to find a new band, which is exactly what he did.
Scantlin started working with Doug Ardito, an intern at Interscope Records who played bass guitar. Then Fred Durst called up guitarist Paul Phillips who he knew from his hometown of Jacksonville, Florida.
They then held auditions for a drummer which led to Greg Upchurch, formerly touring drummer for Chris Cornell, joining the band.
Their Debut Album Sold More Than All Their Others Put Together
Puddle Of Mudd’s debut album for Fred Durst’s record label “Come Clean”, was incredibly popular and has sold more than 5,000,000 copies worldwide.
Shortly after the release of this album, musical tastes changed and their subsequent albums never did anywhere near as well. In fact their total album sales to date are estimated at somewhere around 7,000,000.
Wes Scantlin Got Banned From Graceland
When Puddle of Mudd were between shows, they went on a tour of Elvis Presley’s home, Graceland. Whilst on the tour they saw Elvis’s swimming pool and Wes couldn’t resist jumping in, fully clothed.
The security guards hoisted him out of the pool and out of Gracelands and gave him a lifetime ban.
SEE ALSO: Interesting Facts About Elvis Presley
Their Name Comes From A Flooded River
Puddle Of Mudd’s name was inspired by the fact that they often had to walk through muddy puddles to get to their practice studio. This was because the Missouri river flowed right by their building and when the river was in flood, the lower half of the building would flood.
Their equipment was safe because they used the 2nd floor of the building, but getting to it meant walking through a puddle of mud.
Many Of Their Songs Have Featured On WWE
Over the years, songs by the band have been featured at WWE events including; the lead single from “Come Clean”, “Control” which was the theme song from WWE’s Survivor Series 2001, their song “Nothing Left To Lose” taken from the “Life On Display” album was the official theme song for WWE’s 2004 Royal Rumble.
Plus their song “Famous” taken from the album of the same name, was the official theme song for WWE’s One Night Stand 2007 as well as featuring in the video game WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2008. It was also featured on UFC 2009 Undisputed.
“Blurry” Was Their Most Successful Song
Puddle of Mudd’s 2001 single “Blurry” peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 8 on the UK singles chart. Which made it the band’s highest charting single to date.
The song also won the ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) song of the year award as well as being featured in the Namco game Ace Combat 5.
Their Biggest Hit Song Is About How Fake Hollywood Felt
Puddle Of Mudd’s biggest hit single “Blurry” was written by Wes Scantlin about his experiences when first arriving in Hollywood. He said,
Blurry was basically about being flown to freaking Los Angeles and y’know, I didn’t have any friends so they had put me into a hotel room, I didn’t know anybody at all. And I was just missing my family and son, I missed my grandma and stuff.
Wes Scantlin
They Performed At The 2001 Family Values Tour
Puddle Of Mudd were one of the acts that performed at the Family Values 2001 Tour. Other acts on the same bill include; Linkin Park, Staind and Stone Temple Pilots.
They Released A Song For Team USA
Puddle Of Mudd released the single “Shook Up the World” on February 10th 2010. It was written for Team USA for use at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
All proceeds from the song were given to Team USA, even though the song wasn’t released in time for the Olympics due to the band missing the deadline for production.
They Performed With Limp Bizkit
In 2011 at the Epicenter music festival in Irvine, California, Puddle Of Mudd performed on the same stage as Limp Bizkit.
Other bands that performed that day include; Staind, Papa Roach, Five Finger Death Punch, Crossfade and Buckcherry.
They Participated In The 2016 Make America Rock Again Tour
In 2016, Puddle Of Mudd were one of the bands that participated in the Make America Rock Again super tour. The promoters have said they felt that rock had been an underground genre for the last 10 years or so.
The idea of this tour was to rejuvenate the rock genre by exposing the general public to some of the acts that had achieved mainstream success during the early 2000s.
Wes Scantlin Occasionally Tours With Jerry Cantrell
Wes Scantlin sometimes tours with Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chains) and joins in with Cantrell on playing acoustic versions of Alice In Chains songs.
SEE ALSO: Alice In Chains Albums Ranked (rated from worst to best)
They Covered An Elton John Song
On their 2011 album “Re:(disc)overed” Puddle Of Mudd covered songs by various artists including Elton John’s song “Rocket Man”.
They also covered songs by Led Zeppelin, Free, The Steve Miller Band, AC/DC, Bad Company, Neil Young and The Rolling Stones.
Not So Impressive Facts
The following facts are all true, but we wouldn’t consider them to be “impressive” about Puddle Of Mudd or specifically their frontman Wes Scantlin. But to make this article full, we’re including them here:
There’s Been Accusations of Lip Syncing
The accusations first began in 2012 that Wes Scantlin was lip-Syncing to his own songs at live shows. This reportedly led to a show on April 16th 2014 at Trees Dallas where Scantlin threw beer and his microphone at the audience and attempted to physically attack members of the audience after he was accused of lip-syncing.
Then on June 20th 2015 it is reported that the band were booed off the stage at a show in Versailles, Ohio after he was again accused of lip-syncing.
The Band Was A No Show In Quebec
The Festival de la Relève in Thetford Mines, Quebec, Canada had to cancel a performance by Puddle Of Mudd after the whole band apparently failed to turn up at Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport.
Where they were supposed to be picked up and taken to the show by volunteers. However we could not find any record of them stating a reason for not showing up.
Wes Doesn’t Like Constantly Being Asked About Fred Durst
It is well known that Fred Durst signed Puddle Of Mudd to his recording company, in fact they were the first band he signed. This means the band are often questioned on the nature of their relationship with Fred. In a 2004 interview with Chart magazine Scantlin said,
He doesn’t write our songs, he doesn’t produce our songs, he doesn’t do anything for us. He doesn’t do our videos anymore. He doesn’t do anything for this band. I don’t know what he’s doing, I don’t know what the guy’s like. All I know is that he’s like Mr Hollywood guy, Mr Celebrity. Like, ‘I don’t hang out with anybody except Hollywood celebrities’. Every single #u@#i@# interview I’ve ever #u@#i@# done, I get asked about that #u@#i@# guy… And for me to do interviews all the time and be asked about this certain individual… People think he writes music with me or something. He does not do that. I just don’t get it. We have nothing in common. He doesn’t even call us, he has his assistant call us to congratulate us on our record. Yeah, that’s how pathetic he is.
Wes Scantlin
However, he has since spoken well of Fred in an interview 4 years later with Artisan News Service where he said;
[Fred] got our foot in the door and helped us out tremendously. I think nowadays he’s doing a lot of directing and we don’t really speak to him too much but we appreciate everything he’s ever done for our careers.
Wes Scantlin
SEE ALSO: Puddle Of Mudd Albums Ranked (rated from worst to best)
Do You Know Any More?
That’s all the Impressive facts we know about Puddle Of Mudd, do you know any more? We’d love to hear them, share them with us in the comments.
Frequently Asked Questions
Puddle of Mudd were originally formed in Kansas City Missouri in 1992.
The Puddle Of Mudd song that contains the lines “I wonder what you’re doing, imagine where you are, there’s oceans in between us, but that’s not very far” is “Blurry” which was taken from the album “Come Clean”.
It is true that Wes Scantlin is the only constant member of the band Puddle Of Mudd. The original lineup split up before Fred Durst signed the band. So Scantlin formed a new band with Durst’s help.
The title of the lead single from Puddle Of Mudd’s album “Come Clean” is “Control”.
The name of the song that Puddle Of Mudd released for Team USA for the 2010 Winter Olympics is “Shook Up The World”.
The Puddle Of Mudd song that contains the lines “I got a new tattoo, two black eyes, missing one too, but you should see the other guy” is “Uh Oh” which is taken from the album “Welcome To Galvania”.
Puddle Of Mudd’s 11 song debut album is called “Abrasive” which was released in 1997.
Puddle Of Mudd released an album of covers in 2011. The album was titled “Re:(disc)overed”, on it they performed songs by artists including; Elton John, Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, Free and The Steve Miller Band.
Fred Durst is a founder member of the band “Limp Bizkit”.
The Elton John song that Puddle Of Mudd covered on their 2011 album “Re:(disc)overed” was “Rocket Man”.
The Puddle Of Mudd song that contains the lines “To back in the days when we were young, when everything was like a loaded gun” is “Psycho” which is taken from the album “Famous”.
The Puddle Of Mudd song “Famous” was the official theme song for WWE One Night Stand 2007.
The name of Puddle Of Mudd’s first “best of” album was “Icon” which was released in 2010 and contained singles from their first 4 albums.
The Puddle Of Mudd song that contains the lines “In a trap, trip I can’t grip, never thought I’d be the one who’d slip” is “She Hates Me” which was taken from the album “Come Clean”.
Wes Scantlin was banned from Graceland for jumping into the swimming pool while having a tour around Graceland with the rest of his band.
