Back to Home!
Behind the Scenes Look at a Puddle of Mudd Show
Shower, make-up, sexy outfit - Check. Out the door and ready to meet up with Wes Scantlin’s mom and dad, Patti and Bill.
Just the ride over to meet up with Bill and Patti Scantlin was adventure for me, I screwed up my nail polish and had to stop into a gas station to buy a box of tissues, bottle of nail polish remover and a bottle of Smirnoff. As I got back in my car, I can’t imagine what the gas attending was thinking about my purchase, it hit me that he was probably thinking I was going to have one wild night getting drunk and crying my eyes out while doing my nails. I called Bill to tell him I was running late, thinking that I was not going to make our appointment on time but everyone was running late. So I parked the car behind the gas station and did quick touch up on my nails then headed to the Scantlin’s house.
When I got to Bill and Patti’s house I was greeted as if I was part of the family. I sat down with Patti to discuss the days events. Bill and Patti were scouring around the house, in preparation for the day and their phones ring off the hook. This was a day I was grateful for not being related to Wes Scantlin as the phone calls increased with fans wanting tickets to see Puddle of Mudd show. Frank Arena with Project Backstage showed up and we were off.
I have walked by tour buses countless times, always wondering what the band members were doing on the tour bus. I had always imagined the band members were looking out the windows checking out hot chicks as they walked by. Much to my surprise when I step foot inside Puddle of Mudd’s tour bus, the band was still rubbing the sleep out of their eyes and they look like me in the morning looking for the coffee. Patti making comments about Wes never being a morning person and it generally takes him a couple of hours to wake up, I was not at all surprised by Wes dragging out of bed at two o’clock in the afternoon. The bright eyed greeting came from Jordan Scantlin as he appeared to be the only one really awake. When talking with Jordan, you quickly realize that he is just beginning his teenage years and he is just as thrilled as you about being on the tour bus. The one thing about Jordan that people miss, is that Jordan has that look in his eye about just being with his father. Jordan may look like an up coming rockstar, but for now it appears that Jordan playing with Wes is a simple father and son hobby together as if Wes was a baseball coach and Jordan was the baseball player. The world see’s Jordan as a rockstar and the family see’s the relationship that Wes and Jordan are building together as father and son. It is always great to see a strong relationship between father and son specially when one is on the road a lot.
Our dinner date with Saliva and Puddle of Mudd at Casscones Restaurant located at 3733 North Oak Trafficway in Kansas City Missouri turned into a to go order from the bands so they could get some sleep prior to the show. Even though the band members did not want to go, that did not spoil our plans to go to Casscones. This was my first time at Casscones and I will to admit that the food was excellent. The restaurant was vibrant with a romantic atmosphere and a customary Italian greeting at the door. At Casscones, a Puddle of Mudd fan was dining, he was a Marine serving our country when he saw Puddle of Mudd overseas. The bartender at Casscones Burns graced us with his presence as he sat with us for the meal. You can image the stories being told about Wes when he was younger as if I had just joined a Scantlin family reunion. Bill Scantlin told the story about him wanting to call the police on himself to put an end to the party going on in his backyard. The story of Patti’s open kitchen to the teenagers was a good laugh. Burns hired Wes as a cook for Tanner’s back in the days.
One would think that Bill and Patti could do whatever they want being the parents of Wes Scantlin, after all if it hadn’t been for them Wes would not be in this world. In the music industry they don’t care who you are, family or not there are still rules to be followed, to put in perspective this is the musicians place of employment. Being a mother, you could see how proud Bill and Patti were of Wes and Jordan but you could also see the side of them that just wanted to spend time with their son and have the five minutes to just sit and hold him. With limited time the seconds we did spend with Wes and Jordan was an honor. There were few moments that you saw the person instead of the rockstar and there were moments that you saw the work and life of a rockstar. In final preparations for the show, we were blowing up the Puddle of Mudd beach balls that would be used during the show. Wes also blew them up to throw them out the window of the bus.
Unfortunely we did not make it inside to see the first band of the evening Shaman’s Artist but I heard they had an excellent opening act. One of my favorite bands played second, Saliva. I will never forget the first time I went to a Saliva concert it was Uptown Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. I just happened to be at the merchant table for Deepfield and Saliva. I had the opportunity to meet Paul Crosby (drummer for Saliva) and the drummer for Deepfield. I had offered to buy them a drink and both of them said "Surprise me". I am not a beer drinking and being a brave soul I bought both of them a Smirnoff. The looks on their face when I brought them the Smirnoff was priceless. Remember that Smirnoff I bought at the gas station, yep I did it again. I was expecting Paul Crosby not to remember the Smirnoff greeting, but much to my surprise, I was wrong. Paul Crosby was just as nice as could be and still one of the best drummers I ever met. Jonathan is one cool cat and loves to talk, as I had seen him on several occasions talking with fans. The show Saliva put on was exhilarating playing in front of a packet house at Beaumont Club.
The headliner of the evening was Puddle of Mudd. I am not sure who was more excited to see them play me or Bill and Patti. When Puddle of Mudd took the stage, you could see waves and waves of people, body surfers came in pairs at times. In standing back and watching the performance you could see that this is where Wes’ comfort was. Wes’ performance on stage is his true personality. You could see the emotion on Wes’s face as he sang that add a powerful meaning to the words. The playful act between Wes and Jordan was not a stage show, it was a reality of them enjoying each others company on stage. At one point Wes was on his hands and knees on stage and Jordan came up behind his father and kicked him in the butt. Paul, Damien and Ryan not only support the father and son relationship but they also partake in the playful spirit on the stage. Looking over at Patti, you could see the mother and grandmother proud face that just glowed with "That is my son and grandson." When Wes decided to swing from the microphone cord, management was shaking their head, crew was running around trying to protect Wes from getting hurt and his parents were laughing. Wes performing entertaining stunts one after another, gave Kansas City the best Puddle of Mudd show ever.
The night was memorable, to see the behind the scene view was amazing. It’s hard not to walk away respect for the musicians and family members of the musicians. After the show, the fans crowded around the bus in hopes of getting a picture, autograph or some memorabilia from Puddle of Mudd or Saliva. Inside the bus they were catching their breath from an awesome show and saying their goodbyes to their family and friends. The job of being a musician has to be one the toughest jobs as it takes an emotional toll on family relationships and only the strongest families survive this lifestyle.
Author MissC