Posted on Sun, Mar.
07, 2004
M
u
ddy waters
The
Journal Gazette
Bassist
for 'Puddle' grappling with fame
DATELINE
- If you think a band as semi-famous as Puddle Of Mudd ever gets to enjoy
its success, think again.
Bassist
Doug Ardito says the pressure never lets up.
Even
after the alt-metal quartet got signed to Fred Durst's label (Flawless
Records) in 2001, the stress had only just begun.
"We
started with this little tiny development deal," he said, "and
some people knew who we were. But there was always some person you had to
play for, because this person wanted that person to hear you. And then,
you know, that person would want you to play for some other person."
Huh?
Ardito
can be forgiven for sounding a little confused. We exist in a universe
where most rock bands never even get a chance to have a sophomore slump.
Puddle
of Mudd is aggressively touting its second release, "Life On
Display," and will put in an appearance at 9 p.m. Wednesday at
Piere's Entertainment Center.
The
band's first CD, "Come Clean," yielded the top 10 hit, "She
Hates Me."
Ardito,
who will turn 33 the day of the Piere's show, has seen Portuguese people
mouthing the words to his band's songs and yet he hasn't quite digested
fame.
He
says the memory of his geeky garage band days in eastern Massachusetts are
still too fresh in his mind.
"You're
always the weirdo for being a musician, and then all of a sudden all these
people are waiting for you to sign something in blue ink so they can sell
it on eBay."
Of
course, Ardito doesn't have to contend with the crowds that swamp lead
singer Wesley Scantlin.
Despite
the fact that Ardito got into music because he noticed a prominent hickey
on Peter Wolf's neck during a J. Geils Band concert, he is grateful not to
be the center of attention.
"I
think I slipped through the cracks," Ardito says. "I'm a bass
player and I'm not a singer, so - kind of fortunately - I slipped through
the cracks."
Speaking
of Scantlin, Ardito says he is displeased that critics still compare him
to Kurt Cobain.
"People
look at any blonde, shaggy-haired guy grinding his jaw on the mike and say
he reminds them of Kurt Cobain. It's like they're using their eyes rather
than their ears."
Ardito's
particular rock idols precede Cobain's ascendance by several years, and he
has been able to meet many of them, including legendary guitarist Jimmy
Page.
Ardito
got along well with Page, but not because he knows his guitar heroes.
"Jimmy
Page lived in a mill house with a working river wheel, and I had just seen
this PBS special about mill houses, so I could talk to him about it with
confidence.
"I
think he was surprised," Ardito says. "I was like, 'Oh my god!
Thank god for PBS!"'