Since it opened in February, The Show at Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage has shown its range as a concert venue.
This past weekend Puddle of Mudd, with all the original members, taook the stage at 9 p.m.
Singer-guitarist Wes Scantlin was cruising top down in a convertible along Sunset Boulevard (with someone else driving) when he called. “Hey, it’s an honor to come down to — where? Rancho Mirage? — and play a new (venue),” he said, with the phone cutting out a bit as he hit the curves in the road.
POM’s summer schedule hasn’t been released just yet, but Scantlin was looking forward to being in front of a live concert audience.
“I don’t mind being on the road,” he said. “You loose yourself in what you’re doing. I mean, there’s not a lot to do except play and then get to the next (show).”
Puddle of Mudd broke big with 2001’s release “Come Clean” on Fred Durst’s Flawless label. The album spawned three no. 1 number one hits, including “Blurry,” “She Hates Me” and “Drift & Die.” launched the band.The band and Scantlin followed-up that initial release up with “Life On Display” in 2003 and “Famous” in 2007. While POM’s sound has been compared to the Rage Against the Machine and Korn, Scantlin’s vocals have been likened to Kurt Cobain’s. But those bands weren’t big influences according to Scantlin. said influenced him and his music.
“You know, I get asked that question all the time,” he said. “The truth is I listened the same bands as everyone, (Led) Zepplin, AC/DC. It’s not like I tried to follow their sounds.” Scantlin started writing songs because “I knew I wasn’t ever going to be a great guitar player like (Eddie) Van Halen or Randy Rhoads (Quiet Riot).” he said.“ Instead he started writing songs. “Most of it comes down to melody,” he said. As for the lyrics, “As long as it hits home, it’s good.”
“Famous” is the title cut tune on the band’s 2007 release, with lyrics borrowed from Dire Straits’ “Money For Nothing.”
“It knocks a bunch of people who think they’re really cool, like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan who got famous for going to jail,” he said. “I just want to tell them to grow up.” The irony isn’t lost on Scantlin, who is 36. “I mean, I did a bunch of s**t like that when I was younger; now I think I’m just an old bastard,” he said.
Ultimately, Scantlin knows where his success comes from.
“I know that I have been seriously blessed because there a lot better musicians out there who haven’t achieved what I’ve been able to,” he said. “I owe a lot to God; but I owe a lot more to the people who told me that I couldn’t do it. It makes me really proud to continue to prove them wrong.”
