411 Music Interview: Wes Scantlin Of Puddle Of Mudd
Posted by Dan Marsicano on 02.14.2010
Puddle of Mudd frontman Wes Scantlin spoke to 411 Mania about the band's new album, Vol. 4: Songs In The Key of Love and Hate, plans for a live album, the return of guitarist Paul Phillips, and much more!
Puddle of Mudd hit it big in 2001 with their major label debut, Come Clean. Spawning hit singles "Blurry," "She Hates Me," "Drift and Die," and "Control," the album sold millions of copies and pushed the rock band into the spotlight. Their next records had a few hit singles, but none of them could reach the level of success that Come Clean achieved. However, the band has acquired a loyal fan base that has kept the band relevant for almost a decade. I recently had the chance to speak with frontman Wes Scantlin about the band's new album, Vol 4: Songs In The Key Of Love And Hate, the return of guitarist Paul Phillips, how important record sales really are, and much more.
(Credit: PR Brown)
Is there any significance to the title of the band's new album, Vol 4: Songs In The Key Of Love And Hate?
You have to ask Paul Phillips that. I think he pulled that down from the angels, man.
Why did you decide on that title and not something that was your own creation?
I was going to call it Jacket on the Rack, but Paul looked up to God and came up with that title. At the end of the day, I was going, "All right cool man, that's the name bro. You nailed it."
Has God had any influence on any other songs or album titles in the past?
Yeah, he's the master of everything. Fortunately, he likes our team. We pray to him everyday and at the end of everyday, we pray to him again before we go to bed. He takes care of us all the time, man.
What makes this album unique from the other ones that have preceded it?
This one was a little more edgy, kind of getting back to our roots. It was a jam fest every night and certain songs surface and hopefully you will get the cream of the crop, basically.
Looking back at Famous, were you satisfied with the end result?
Yes I was.
Famous was written with the help of a number of outside songwriters. Did you feel that you had to get back to the basics on the new album or did you approach the songwriting the same way you did with Famous?
The Famous record was good. It was an amazing record and there was a lot of learning experience for me as a songwriter. This last one was let's get down, let's get dirty, and let's get after it and handle it and then get back out on tour. At the end of the day, everyday, it's all about the fans, personally.
Do you enjoy being in the studio or would you rather be out on tour?
No, I like being in the studio. As long as somebody is putting a couple of C-notes in my back pocket, everything's pretty good (laughs). The main reason I like to be out here on tour is that it's your family and you miss your crew guys. The whole operation, just watching it happen all day long, is mind blowing to see this many people and this many talented forces come together and make a party go on, you know.
I read that the band recorded over 20 tracks for the album. How did you dwindle it down to ten?
I don't know man. I just write them and there's a bunch of other amazing people…it's a big team thing. It's hard to make all the decisions all the time by yourself, so it's a blessing to have a bunch of other people involved pulling the trigger on certain things that might be a little hookier.
What's going to happen to the leftover material? Will it be worked on for future albums?
The songs are always going to be there. They are already recorded. If somebody needs to use some of the old material, or the pre-written material, for anything they need to use it for, we'll go ahead and give them the shot at using it. It's nice to be a songwriter and actually come out of the tunnel and know that you gave it a shot.
How did guitarist Paul Phillips find his way back into the band?
I don't know man. I don't like him very much personally. I think his face is kind of ugly (laughs). I love that dude man. If he was right here in front of me, I would punch him in the balls.
Why not in the face?
Because the balls hurt way worse (laughs).
What elements does he bring to Puddle Of Mudd that was missing while he was gone?
In my opinion, nothing (laughs). He's a force to be reckoned with. I love him; I'll take a bullet for that guy anytime. He's a very talented guitar player. He's gotten a lot better at guitar; he's really stretching it out and making it happen, which is pretty cool to see it happen. He practices hard and works hard at being the best man he can be. I'm glad to have him as a friend and as a team member.
Do you find it hard to try to top the success that the band's debut album Come Clean had?
That was a big thing man and I'm very proud of the effort that a lot of different people came in and did on it. I was fortunately blessed to have an amazing team of people working with me and around me and making sure I kept my head on straight. It's not really up to me; all of this downloading and burning and the whole economy is going in a different pattern. I'm very proud of it; I'm proud of all the records and all the songs that have been written and released and unreleased, but I can't control the equation of what is going on right now. It's impossible to do.
Vol 4 debuted at #95 on the Billboard, the band's lowest ranking to date. In this day and age, do you feel that record sales are still important or that touring is where the real focus should be?
It's almost an impossible situation to figure out. When I went to the record store when I was a kid growing up, I couldn't walk into the store and walk out with whatever I wanted to. You got to embrace the way things are going and just flow with them and just accept it for what it is. Fortunately, we have the touring and the fans keep us going. That's the only thing we got left is all the fans anyway.
Do you think there is any solution to the problem of people downloading illegally?
It's a very rough situation to try to even diagnostically figure out. I don't have enough time in my day to figure it out. The only thing I will say is if you respect the music and the work put into it and the passion and the whole part of it, you will go out and actually grab a record and buy it. When stuff's on the deck and it's sitting there right in front of your face and it's free and there's not going to be any infraction, people will grab it and roll. It's a looting fest, basically. People are basically just looting the music. It's out there and it's right there in front of their faces. Heck, my son's probably ripping off stuff right now (laughs) and his friends and my grandmother, I don't know.
Does the whole "Nirvana-ripoff" tag irk you at all?
To be referred or even in the same category as Kurt Cobain or Layne Staley or anybody like that, that's a blessing. Those guys are my mentors and I wish they were still with us, but unfortunately, they have passed. To carry on a little bit, maybe a piece, of their legacy and get recognized for it, I feel great about it.
Has a live album ever been discussed for the band?
Yeah, I'm getting ready to do some DVD stuff right now. I've collected so many tapes with the camcorder and all that shit. I'm trying to compile everything right now. It's getting done; it's just a lot of material. It has to get all logged in…we're going to make different 30 minute versions of DVD's. So after all the footage gets logged in, we're going to pick the best stuff and put a bunch of goofy ass moments on there and let people take a little peek of what goes on out there.
Are you going to put that online or will it be sold in stores?
That'll be at the shows for anybody that wants to come pick them up at the merchandising table. We'll have different DVD's of the last 15 years. We're going to put old Puddle of Mudd, new Puddle of Mudd, middle Puddle of Mudd and then a bunch of goofy outtakes of what has happened in the last ten years. We're going to make different volumes of it.
If you could tour with one band, past or present, who would it be and why?
