Puddle of Mudd frontman Wes Scantlin has frequently made headlines for more than just music, from onstage meltdowns to multiple arrests, including his most recent in March. But were these incidents blown out of proportion by the media, or were they legitimate offenses? During a recent appearance on Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, Scantlin opened up about his past troubles, the band’s new lineup, and his renewed focus on keeping his career on track. With Scantlin as the sole original member, he acknowledged the group has seen a revolving door of musicians. Still, he expressed hope that the current lineup, Michael Anthony Grajewski (bass), Miles Schon (guitar), and Jon Smith (drums), will remain stable.
Scantlin expressed:
“Right now everything’s solid, and I pray to God that no one leaves me again. Please, dear God above, do not let any of these people leave. It’s hard to make — the transitions are a pain in the butt.”
Reflecting on the turnover, Scantlin recalled being signed by Fred Durst’s Flawless Records in 2001 after his original band had dissolved, stating:
“Well, I got signed by Fred from Limp Bizkit, and they just were, like, ‘Here, we just want you to come. We just want you to come.’ But the band was already dissolved at that point, and I was at the breaking point to where I was just gonna stop doing music anyway. And lo and behold, Fred, man, he came to the rescue. But he was just, like, ‘Yeah, we just want you to come.’ So we had to piece the band and we had to do a lot of tryouts and stuff. And people come and people go and there’s nothing you can do.
People have their lives and they have different jobs and stuff. It’s a weird situation to be in a rock band — or any type of band or any type of artistic situation. But all I know is they said, ‘Here’s a guitar. Here’s a hotel room. And write. Keep writing, keep writing, keep writing.’ And, unfortunately, some people have different situations in their lives and stuff, and I can’t control that stuff. So, I’ve had to make different moves and stuff. And hopefully these guys, hopefully they won’t take off on me like a lot of other people have. So, we can keep this one intact for now and hopefully forever.”
Scantlin also addressed his past run-ins with the law, saying much of it has been overblown, explaining:
“Yeah. Main goal, just stay out of trouble. And I really seriously don’t really do that much wrong things. I really just don’t. But I’m like a big fish in the little pond. I call myself a Christmas dinner trophy for the Poppo. I wonder how many times they’ve explained that they arrested me at their Christmas dinner, at Christmas day. I’m telling you, man. I’m just a big, huge trophy.”
While often targeted and sensationalized in the media, Scantlin admitted to his past mistakes:
“I’ve made some mistakes, but at certain points I could breathe in the wrong direction and get cuffed and slammed in a dungeon. Shoot, man. It’s weird. My whole thing, my whole motto is turn around and run for your life as fast as you possibly can, man. I’m talking about maybe like a girlfriend or something. If they hit the ‘psycho wall’, as I call it, turn around and run. Somebody’s gotta go down, and they usually pick me, ’cause I’m the trophy. But my motto is turn around and run as fast as you can and just run.”
Beyond the headlines, Puddle of Mudd released their latest album, Kiss the Machine, in May and have a string of tour dates throughout the summer. Whether you’re curious to see a new side of Scantlin or simply there for the music, the stage is set for fans to decide for themselves.
