http://www.theday.com/eng/web/news/re.aspx?re=F519AB59-F148-4F64-B9C7-7988E81B4F5A

05-05-05

His Name's Not Mudd
Lead Singer Wesley Scantlin Goes Solo At Mohegan Sun

By BEN JOHNSON
Arts Reporter
Published on 5/5/2005

Wesley Scantlin has had several hit songs, and his alternative metal band, Puddle of Mudd, has been all over MTV practically since Fred Durst (of Limp Bizkit) discovered the group in 1999. But only this year has Scantlin been able to jam without being hassled.

“I've been on the road for, like, four years, man,” says the 33-year-old, who looks and sounds strangely like Kurt Cobain. “This is my first place. Finally, I can just jam whenever I want without anyone around nagging at me.”

Scantlin, who usually performs with the three other members of his band, will be playing his first-ever solo show at Mohegan Sun's Cabaret Theatre with an acoustic guitar.

“It'll be some heavy stuff but on acoustic guitar,” says Scantlin. “This'll be the first one, so I'm really excited about it.”

The alt-metal singer's appearance is part of a series of solo performances that one promoter has been lining up with the help of Mohegan Sun. Last spring, singer Aaron Lewis of the Massachusetts band Staind visited the casino, and this spring Scantlin is the attraction for those who like heavy music unplugged.

While Scantlin's angst-ridden lyrics are part of what made his band perfect for Durst's label (Flawless Records), the singer had a fairly normal upbringing on a lake outside of Kansas City, where his parents allowed the young guitarist and musician to blossom. “There's nothing to do in Kansas City except get in trouble or play music,” says Scantlin.

Early on, the Puddle of Mudd's front man stayed out of trouble, but after the band's first major release, “Come Clean,” Scantlin was involved in a few public disturbances. A fight with his girlfriend on the side of a Los Angeles highway (ironically, the plot line of one of the band's earlier videos) and some seriously public drunkenness at a Puddle of Mudd concert in Ohio earned Scantlin some negative attention in the past few years, but these days the singer says he's on the wagon.

“I quit drinking and everything. I'm totally clean and sober,” he says.

It was, of course, easy for Scantlin to stay dry when he and Puddle of Mudd performed for American Troops in alcohol-scarce countries like Afghanistan and Iraq as part of a musical tour of duty.

“It was really gnarly over there, but it was probably one of the best things I've ever done in my life,” he says. “We did six countries in, like, eight days, and we talked to everybody — we didn't sleep. People were so happy to see us, and it was like bringing some of home to them, you know? We were dry the whole time because there was no alcohol over there, and it was good for us. You've got to wise up, man, especially when you're making a record.”

The band's next CD, which Scantlin is still recording vocals for, is the band's first major release since 2003's “Life On Display.”