http://www.pnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008804180307
04-25-08
Pics:
http://www.pnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=DP&Date=20080424&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=804250801&Ref=PH&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL
A lot of people wrote Puddle of Mudd off a few years ago. That proved to be a mistake.
The
popular
rock
band,
which
plays
a
free
show
at
Pensacola
Naval
Air
Station
on
Thursday,
sold
more
than
5
million
copies
of
its
2001
major
label
debut,
"Come
Clean,"
which
featured
such
huge
hits
as
"Blurry"
and
"She
Hates
Me."
But
the
dreaded
sophomore
slump
hit
Puddle
of
Mudd's
follow-up,
2003's
"Life
on
Display."
Though
the
record
still
sold
nearly
1
million
copies
and
spawned
a
No.
1
rock
radio
hit
in
"Away
From
Me,"
"Life
on
Display"
was
seen
as
a
commercial
disappointment,
and
guitarist
Paul
Phillips
and
drummer
Greg
Upchurch
left
the
band
soon
after.
More
than
four
years
later,
everything's
different.
Core
members
Wesley
Scantlin
(guitar
and
vocals)
and
Douglas
Ardito
(bass)
regrouped,
bringing
aboard
guitarist
Christian
Stone
and
drummer
Ryan
Yerdon
and
releasing
"Famous."
The
band's
tenacity
paid
off,
and
its
current
single,
"Psycho,"
sits
at
no.
1
on
Billboard's
Mainstream
Rock
and
Modern
Rock
charts.
Ardito
spoke
by
phone
to
the
News
Journal
about
the
band's
perserverence
and
the
rewards
of
a
life
in
music.
Q:
When
"Life
on
Display"
didn't
hit
as
big
as
"Come
Clean,"
how
did
that
affect
you?
A:
We
were
so
wrapped
up
in
touring
on
"Come
Clean,"
it
was
pretty
much
constant
touring
for
18
months.
We
were
writing
the
second
record
in
the
back
of
the
bus,
where
we
had
our
whole
lives
to
write
the
first.
So,
it
is
what
it
is.
We
love
that
record,
there
are
great
songs
on
it
that
no
one
notices
unless
it's
on
mainstream
radio.
I
heard
bands
like
the
Smashing
Pumpkins
aren't
even
going
to
make
full-length
albums
anymore,
they're
just
going
to
make
singles
because
that's
what's
selling.
Q:
How
do
you
define
success
in
this
iTunes/file-sharing
world?
A:
I'd
say
success
is
based
off
of
internal
happiness,
at
the
end
of
the
day.
It
doesn't
have
anything
to
do
with
money,
it's
how
much
life
you
live
in
the
time
you've
got.
I'm
happy
if
100,000
people
buy
something,
I
think
that's
a
lot.
When
you
sell
5
million
copies
of
your
debut,
there's
a
lot
of
pressure
on
you.
I'm
totally
happy
with
just
playing
music
live.
I'd
be
doing
this
even
if
I
didn't
sell
one
record.
Q:
After
the
turmoil
of
the
last
couple
of
years,
is
it
rewarding
to
return
with
a
big
hit?
A:
It's
rewarding
in
the
sense
that
people
quit
the
band
and
people
wrote
us
off,
but
for
someone
who
has
that
kind
of
willpower
and
tenacity
that
I
have
and
Wesley
has,
you
can't
stop
that.
If
we
decide
to
not
make
music
anymore,
then
we'll
stop,
but
nobody
else
is
going
to
stop
us.
Q:
You
started
out
working
with
producers
Bill
Stevenson
(the
drummer
for
punk-rock
legends
Descendents
and
Black
Flag)
and
Jason
Livermore
(who
produced
Rise
Against
and
NOFX),
then
went
in
a
different
direction.
What
happened?
A:
We
got
a
brand
new
set
of
people
working
for
us
at
the
label,
and
they
had
(producers)
in
mind.
Bill
Stevenson
had
worked
with
Rise
Against,
another
Geffen
band,
so
we
did
what
(the
label)
wanted,
because
at
the
end
of
the
day,
it's
still
going
to
sound
like
Puddle
of
Mudd.
So
we
hung
out
with
(Stevenson
and
Livermore)
and
did
a
full
record's
worth
of
material.
After
listening
to
it,
(the
label)
wanted
us
to
write
more
songs
that
might
have
less
of
a
die-hard
punk
feel
and
more
of
a
pop
direction.
So
we
worked
with
Brian
Howes
on
"Faith"
and
"Famous."
And
we
worked
with
Howard
Benson,
who
produced
Hoobastank
and
My
Chemical
Romance,
on
"Psycho."
Bill
and
Jason
produced
"Merry-Go-Round,"
"Livin'
on
Borrowed
Time"
(and
some
other
songs).
We
even
had
people
that
worked
with
pop
bands,
just
to
bring
out
every
color
of
our
palette.
I
think
that's
why
the
record
has
such
a
wide
spectrum.
I
think
that's
what
makes
it
so
nice
to
listen
to
from
beginning
to
end.
Q:
Any
plans
for
the
other
material
you
recorded?
A:
There's
always
the
next
record,
but
once
we
move
forward,
we
tend
to
keep
moving
forward.
It's
kind
of
sad
that
those
songs
disappear
or
become
B-sides,
but
for
some
reason,
if
I
know
(an
unreleased)
song
was
recorded
4
years
ago,
it
never
seems
to
work
out
(later).
Somehow,
the
universe
knows
it's
4
years
old.
In
my
experience,
I've
never
been
able
to
get
around
that.
I
believe
those
songs
will
probably
stay
on
a
hard
drive
in
a
vault
until
we're
old
fogies
and
release
it
as
a
silly
box
set
when
the
record
company
is
trying
to
fulfill
our
contractual
obligation.
But
a
lot
of
times,
we'll
combine
two
songs
we
were
working
on
separately
and
realize
they
work
together.
There's
no
rhyme
or
reason.
Now
that
you
can
manipulate
with
the
click
of
a
mouse,
it's
become
such
a
visual
thing
that
there's
no
rhyme
or
reason
to
how
songs
are
written.
For
good
or
for
bad,
the
technology
is
there
and
everything
is
different
now.
Q:
Is
that
good
or
bad?
A:
I
think
sometimes
it's
bad.
The
downside
is
that
you
can
get
lazy.
Instead
of
singing
over
and
over
until
you
get
it
right,
you
can
sing
one
chorus
and
paste
it
in.
That
could
limit
creativity.
You
might
lose
things
that
might
come
out
spontaneously
if
you
spent
the
hours
working
on
it.
You
have
to
have
a
really
strong
work
ethic
to
not
get
lazy
with
music
now.
There
are
no
nuances
when
you
just
paste
things
together.
Even
if
you
sang
the
same
thing
three
times,
there'd
be
subtle
nuances.
When
it's
an
exact
replica,
it
sounds
dull.
There's
something
about
singing
it
over
again
that's
human
and
not
computerized
and
fake.
If
you
don't
do
that,
you
lose
that
human
thing
that
keeps
it
vibrant
and
exciting
and
fresh.
Q:
What
does
playing
for
members
of
the
military
mean
to
you?
A:
We
went
to
Iraq
and
Kuwait,
so
just
seeing
their
expressions
when
you
turn
up,
they
really
appreciate
it.
Whether
it's
there
or
in
Washington
D.C.
at
the
hospital,
the
expressions
on
their
faces
mean
a
lot.
We're
always
doing
things
like
this,
so
for
us,
it's
just
another
day
at
the
office,
trying
to
be
there
for
the
kids
we
grew
up
with.
They
might
be
a
different
age
now,
but
they're
all
(like)
the
kids
we
grew
up
with.
It's
from
our
hearts
to
do
this.
Q:
What
can
your
fans
expect
at
the
show?
A:
We
don't
have
fire-breathing
dragons
or
all
kinds
of
pyro.
I
don't
think
our
fans
expect
that
crap.
We
just
get
on
stage
and
rock
out.
Hopefully,
at
the
end
of
the
day,
that's
what
matters.