Arts and Entertainment

Courtesy Photo/ lyricskeeper.es

Puddle of Mudd returns to roots with new EP, old guitarist

By Coty Levandoski GVL Staff Writer
2/7/2010

Famous replacements litter pop culture. The Beatles booted Pete Best and replaced him with Ringo soon thereafter. Adam Banks was snaked from the Hawks to play under Bombay in "The Mighty Ducks."

Add guitarist Paul Phillips to that list as well. Having played with Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst a number of times in Jacksonville, Fla., the pioneer of the red Yankees cap recruited Phillips to join his newly-assembled roster for a small but promising band upon which he had stumbled.

Built around original frontman Wes Scantlin, Puddle of Mudd came onto the alternative rock scene in 2001 with the release of its first single, "Control" off of their major label debut album "Come Clean." Follow up singles "Blurry," "Drift and Die" and "She Hates Me" would all go on to bask in the No. 1 position on the rock charts as well.

Puddle of Mudd blew up and they blew up quick. A 17-month tour followed the release, and the band came home to land right back in the recording studio. Another 12-month tour followed immediately after production wrapped on "Life on Display," culminating in a trip straight back into the sound booth, where work began on "Famous."

"It was just a bad time," Phillips said. "We were fed up with each other and each day got progressively worse than the last. Everything sparked a fight and there was no sign of it slowing down."

Johnny Strong then recruited Phillips to play for his band "Operator," while Puddle of Mudd played on with Christian Stone filling the open void. Both bands struggled to garner airplay.

"Wes (Scantlin) and I just slowly started talking again," Phillips said. "Phone conversations here and there to check in, and it just started this whole new friendship that we'd never had any part of before. One day we were talking and he goes, 'Hey man, we got a show coming up, you should play with us.' Just like that. And that's how we got to where we are today."

Phillips, however, got to where he is on a personal level by picking up a guitar at age 15. A former competitive freestyle BMXer and amateur surfer, the Puddle of Mudd guitarist's inspiration came from his father, who played in a doo-wop cover band that would switch over to Buddy Holly after the patrons had left and the regulars hung back.

"Every now and then we'll try and jam together," Phillips said, laughing. "It's kind of difficult. You've got him playing Buddy Holly, and I'm over here playing some Pantera riff, so sometimes it's a bit of a trial. But when we click and play off of each other, I always enjoy that."

Currently on tour, knowing full well it was the beast of burden that almost destroyed them not too long ago, Puddle of Mudd has gone back to its edgier, alternative sound responsible for getting them where they are today.

clevandoski@lanthorn.com

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