Five #1 hits. Meltdowns. Arrests. Now this band is playing ‘angry’ rock in Emmett, Idaho bar
Emmett country-music hangout Stoney’s Road House is getting into the rock game.
Hey, I can appreciate a gamble.
Let’s just hope the dice roll doesn’t come up snake eyes.
Stoney’s has booked oft-troubled post-grunge band Puddle of Mudd. The concert is Saturday, May 14. Known for early 2000s rock radio hits such as “She Hates Me,” Puddle of Mudd has become infamous in recent years for frontman Wes Scantlin’s antics on and off stage.
Located at 1050 Cascade Road in the redeveloped Boise Cascade Mill complex, Stoney’s describes itself as “a true local country honky-tonk dance hall.”
Formed in 1991, Puddle of Mudd has been described as, well, a variety of things: hard rock, alt-metal, “Kurt Cobain ... if he was being sodomized with a cactus.” The band’s debut album, “Come Clean,” was “a full-on blast of grungy, angry rock & roll,” Rolling Stone wrote shortly after its release in 2001.
Decades later, the angst-ridden anthems feel secondary to the real-life drama. Four months ago: “Puddle of Mudd singer Wes Scantlin slurs words, covers face, walks off stage in latest onstage meltdown: watch.” That was the headline at Consequence, which noted that “Scantlin has been a fixture on TMZ for the past several years due in large part to a number of run-ins with the law.”
A two-hour standoff in 2016 with police armed with assault rifles outside his home? That was Scantlin. Rock website Louder even compiled an article titled, “25 times Puddle of Mudd’s Wes Scantlin completely f***ed up.” (Impressive, even by “rock star” misbehavior standards.)
Accusations of lip syncing at shows also have followed Scantlin in the past 10 or so years.
Still, if things go off without a hitch in Idaho, concertgoers could be pleased. Or, either way, entertained at least?
Much like Nickelback and Creed followers, Puddle of Mudd fans do exist. “Come Clean” sold over 5 million copies. Puddle of Mudd has moved more than 7 million albums in total. The band enjoyed five No. 1 Billboard mainstream rock hits: “She Hates Me,” “Blurry,” “Drift & Die,” “Away From Me” and “Psycho.”
Penned in 1993 but released in 2002, “She Hates Me” is Puddle of Mudd’s most memorable track. You know Emmett will gleefully scream along with the profanity-laced chorus: “She f***ing hates me!” Most striking about that hit? Its derivative arrangement and vocal delivery — specifically, how jaw-droppingly reminiscent of Cobain and Nirvana they are. In a Missouri redneck sort of way.
Potshots have never stopped Scantlin. Puddle of Mudd even performed a cringe-inducing acoustic cover of Nirvana’s “About a Girl” in late 2019 for SiriusXM. It was mocked. Brutally. Social media had a mean-comment field day (e.g., the aforementioned prickly “cactus” comparison).
Tickets to Puddle of Mudd go on sale at 10 a.m. Wednesday at stoneysroadhouse.com. They’re $30 if you’re 21 and older — a bit more if you’re younger. Fans have to be 18 or older to attend. On-site camping will be available Friday and Saturday for $10 a night. It’s one of the perks Stoney’s has offered since opening in fall 2020.
As for Scantlin? Here’s hoping the 49-year-old singer-guitarist enjoys his time in the Boise area. Despite the jackassery, he almost makes for a sympathetic figure. (Getting arrested at Denver International Airport for riding the oversized baggage carousel? That’s just funny.)
For years, Puddle of Mudd has seemed ready to implode at any given moment. But Scantlin apparently has come to grips with self-inflicted controversy.
“I’ve done some great things,” Scantlin said in an interview last year with Sofa King Cool, “and I’ve done some duuumb stuff, too.”
