Celebrity Jobber with Jeff Zito - Wes Scantlin (Puddle of Mudd)

All right. Hello everybody. It's Jeff Zito and thanks for checking out another episode of the Celebrity Jobber podcast streaming on Apple podcast Spotify wherever you listen to podcasts. And please hit that subscribe button. Would also love a five star rating. And if you could please leave a review if you wanted to check out some of our past guests and episodes you can do so simply by going to celebrityjobber.com. And we take a little bit of a deeper look at some of these celebs before they were famous like some early jobs they held and even their first job. And that big break that moment that changed their life forever which is pretty interesting because there was one of those moments for my guest today. His name is Wes Scantlin and he's the lead singer of the band Puddle of Mud. And he's got a very famous like big break kind of story that will go over today. And let me just say this about Wes Scantlin. He's a guy that's no stranger to the headlines. You can Google Wes and a lot of stuff will come up. Some issues from his past mostly substance abuse and a few other legal issues. But the one thing that I got from doing this interview with Wes Scantlin is that he's a pretty nice guy. He sounds like a pretty nice guy. And I think throughout this interview he kind of identifies what the problem may be. And he sounds like he's he's gotten things all together right now. So I'm kind of rooting for the guy. And like I said earlier going a little deeper into Wes's life. I never heard before about some of the musical influences that Wes actually had in his family. So we're going to talk all about that as well. He's got new music out with Puddle of Mud and very excited to speak with him today. Wes Scantlin lead singer of Puddle of Mud is my guest this week on Celebrity Jobber. Hey my my managers you've got a freaking coffee cup. Jack got your back. And I was like and I was like not for me man. Jack makes me pissy. But you can call me Jack. Jack Daniels. Oh all right. We're talking about Jack Daniels. Oh man. Jack can't drink that stuff man. Jack Daniels is is it doesn't doesn't work well with you. No. And you know why and why there's a reason that Jack Daniels and where they make it at is as a dry county. Right. Yeah. You know I often thought about that. Why it didn't quite make sense. But maybe maybe you kind of are explaining it to a point where it does make sense. Yeah. Yeah. It can see I think it's Tennessee right. I think it is. I think it is. Tennessee man. It's a dry county but they have the distillery there that you can visit. I've never been to. Right. But if I drink any if I drink Jack Daniels dude. Yeah. This is going to see. You know there's there's always that one you know drink if you will that just kind of it sounds like a good idea. But at the end of the day it's like oh no all this stuff usually ends up happening once I have this and it's it's funny. I don't know what the attraction is. Oh yeah. Well you're my jack and you got my back. I got your back. I got your back West. It's been such a long time. I mean puddle of mud has been in I mean I hate to date both of ourselves but I can remember such you know early on in this business when puddle of mud kind of came to the scene and the lyrics I love the way you smack my ass that was like a cultural thing. You realize that was like a cultural thing at the time. Those words were so like risque. You ever think about that nowadays. Yeah. I mean you know it was just like I was dating this stripper and I'd have to pick her up from this place in Kansas City called the Zuccas. And so I'd go in the I'd go in the strip club before I picked her up and I just see her like and she lets some of the guys smack her on the butt on her little ass. So yeah. So that's that's I just kind of wrote this song about her getting her ass smacked. Yeah that's that's got to be a tough thing. You know I dated one of those girls way back when as well. So seeing them at work when you're like hey man it's it kind of messes with your mind. Yeah. You know what I didn't really bother me and that we used to tour around the whole country man me and Kristen. Hi Kristen how are you. I haven't seen you for a long time. Thank you for letting me smack your ass. You know it's funny Wes. It's like all this time. There's a new album out by the way. It's called Kiss the Machine. New single is free. I mean and if you haven't heard this stuff you just think about Puddle of Mud in their prime. I mean it's sounds like Puddle of Mud but it's funny Wes because I don't think a lot of people know who you are like growing up in Kansas City like your family what you did like did you when you were growing up did you play sports in high school. You look like an athletic guy. What were you into growing up. Well I grew up on a lake Lake Walcomas in Kansas City and I would like swim and I played I played soccer like all the time and I could have actually been like I could have gone overseas or I could have had a career in playing playing soccer man but I could all of a sudden out of nowhere I got a record deal and so that that didn't happen so yeah so like no you're you're going to be a rocker. Out of nowhere tell me about out of nowhere so where did the guitar and writing songs come from. It seems like you you know grown up in Kansas City you're into sports you're into soccer. How did all of a sudden music enter your life. I went to a Van Halen concert when I was like 12 years old and I was watching it was the jump tour the 1985 jump tour yeah and I was like you know everybody at that point in your life is going like what do you think you want to do with your life and what do you want to do you know and I was like man I want to do I want to do that that looks that looks like sun right so that's basically how it all kind of happens. So Celebrity Jobber the Celebrity Jobber podcast with Jeff Zeta. Are your parents like musical people did you grow up in a musical household is this in the family lineage or or no. Yeah yeah my mom was a Patsy Klein impersonator and my grandmother my grandmother Flover God rest her soul she had a she had an organ in the the basement and we you know my mom got me a drum set and a bass and a guitar like she I don't know my mom helped me out a lot man she she's crazy awesome so that is a cool story. I don't I don't think I've ever heard that. Yeah like you know Patsy Klein and Loretta Lynn and all these really great songwriters and singers and my mom really liked that stuff and she was a Patsy Klein impersonator man it was kind of cool. So that's what she did for for a job she was a Patsy Klein impersonator for you know that was her living that's crazy. Yeah she would just do like a you know a couple of shows with uh what was that Breastly I guess she's like a cousin of Elvis and then they do like a variety type show there's a there's a sunny and shared act and there's like a there's a billy idol thing and there's a Patsy Klein thing and it's just kind of like a variety show and that they do you know they do something like Virginia Beach and stuff like that and yeah she just goes act like Patsy Klein. Wow so before the record deal West did you have any other aspirations I mean let's let's uh let's face it being a rock star it's kind of like a dream right people don't you know like aspire I mean people aspire to do it people dream to do it but you know it's it's a long shot let's just face it so when like before the record deal were you looking at doing anything else were you looking at going overseas to play soccer were you looking at college were you looking at studying a certain a certain major I was physically and literally going down to New Orleans with my ex stripper girlfriend and we were picking her daughter up and I you probably know the story about getting the fake backstage fast the family values concert with biscuit corn ice cube filter they were all playing that night and I just I just brought a demo tape and got to this man named Richie Sernsey who is Fred Durst's like really good friend and he's like the bodyguard super master of everything and he's wonderful and he got the tape I gave it to him with the fake backstage pass and then I said have fun throwing it away and then him and Fred Durst and a few other people they had tons and tons and tons of of records and CDs and tapes from all kinds of people and they were on the hunt for for a for a really cool artist and uh which you know Fred has signed like you know stained and me and and I said you know and I don't know that just it's just incredible that they like out of all these things they picked they picked me you know so that was pretty cool youth I mean I have heard that story but it's good to hear you tell it because you know other people there's a lot that could be lost in translation but do you do you can I mean and you'd have to right because I'm I'm just thinking to myself do you do you consider that your your big break I mean that has to be like that moment doesn't happen are we talking today yeah yeah that's kind of stuff I mean I'm pretty sure it happens to other people now like with these shows and stuff like Idol and you know and what are the talents or whatever all this stuff I don't really watch too much of it but yeah man those people have had some some stuff like that happen too I mean it really does actually happen like that it's like slam right in your face and it's like here we go you know and and do you now think about that moment and is it ever happened to you where kids sneaking backstage and handing you a tape and are you just that much more uh eager to to maybe listen to it give them a chance has that ever happened to you um yeah I get people giving me record CDs and stuff like that I meant there's not a lot of boomboxes around these days um I mean there's not even a lot of cd players in any cars these days so um yeah so it's just all internet it's all the internet now and um anything good have you heard anything good from anybody work like would you actually do that would you sign somebody if you heard something you know worth it to you yeah I mean it's at least at least yeah I would do that um it's you know it's it's a it's a challenge man yeah and the record the record industry is um is definitely one of the hardest industries in the world to even get any type of love from and um but you know at the end of the day you can you can always just um you can always just you know write songs and enjoy being a songwriter and enjoy this playing music but I can't fire or wherever you are I don't care if you're on a gravel road you can get getting your trucks sit on the flat you know pull down the bed of the truck and sit there with an acoustic light of fire get some fireworks and you know just shoot the shit I'm sorry no you're good the celebrity jobber podcast with jeff cito the celebrity jobber podcast with jeff cito I think everybody dreams though of you know the being a rock star and jack daniels and a stripper girlfriend you know I think that's that's a lot of the motivation tell me is that all it's cracked up to be I mean you've been living this life for a long time yeah um yeah I don't do jack daniel sorry guys but and I and I you know I'm not I'm not really down I'm not you know there's nothing wrong with with strippers but my ex-girlfriend who's she was a stripper but she she would get really mad at me if I called her a stripper so she's like I'm a dancer dancer yeah and she'd like kick me in the freaking shit and I'm a dancer I'm like okay well I'm at your they call them pealers in Canada there's there's actually a new song I think on on your new album talking about your you're in love with a dancer is that is that who you're talking about yeah absolutely you always gotta throw something in there for the dancers and I've been dancing and I've been dancing my whole life I mean I'm a break dancer all right on me too yeah right it was fun man it was it was looking back on it it's a little weird but I still I still dance to this day I love dancing it really puts you in a good mood man it really does tell me about your very first job Wes can you talk like all the way back Kansas City growing up high school did you have a job what was your very first paying job what did you do the first job I ever had was shoveling all the driveways on the lake when it snowed so we'd get like some of the cool people would give us a 20 right but we shoveled driveways for money and that that was my first job and then I was I was I mowed lawns and then I was also a cook at a at a little place called Hayes hamburgers that was one of my first kind of jobs I had I've done so much different stuff I mean I was a door-to-door salesman really oh yeah and uh for for restaurants with these cards and you get them stamped and then after you went to this restaurant for like like 12 times you get like two free dinners or something like that so I go door-to-door and and and sell these like little cards for different restaurants okay so that's been it's been a long time any any one of those jobs can you point out is your favorite that you remember I really enjoyed building houses I was definitely like in the carpentry and stuff like that and I'd get up at like five in the morning and I'd go I'd go to this you know basically the foundation was poured right and we'd build houses man I really really actually missed doing that right bartending I like I like bartending too that was fun too right on can you tell me how the the industry because you're just kind of hinting to it it's a really tough industry being in the music biz being an artist traveling recording tell me a little bit about how it's changed between the time you first got involved to all to today has it changed for the better or for the worse or neither I think it's changed for the better I meant you just you know you got to grab your your guitar and you know you got to set up back in the day we had to set up our own gear and stuff so nowadays we have an entire awesome cruise that we have a bunch of crews that are all technicians and stuff and when we show up everything's already set up so the the dodge of elongated van ram van right so it's broken down all the time that I had to pack all the gear in to go to like you will podunk shows I don't I don't really have to do that anymore I will right we'll do that believe me I will but I already got I got my own bus now right so it's nice man it's really nice you look back on those days though when the whole bands in a little van and and a lot of people think those were maybe some of the most happiest days because you know there was just less of the machine you know that you had to bow down to or or kiss as as the title of your your new album kiss the machine yeah I mean you know I I I always think about that stuff like yeah and it was fun we had we had we had so much fun you know before we even got a record deal and yeah it was it was we were partying man we were we were young and we were we were having fun and partying and have a good time man the celebrity jobber podcast with jeff cito celebrity jobber you know west a lot of people read your headlines but I I haven't really heard a lot about growing up and what your life was like and telling me about your mom being a patsy client impersonation uh impersonator I think it was really cool your cool guy and I wish you you know nothing but uh success just an fyi it was way back when working at a radio station in fort miers puddle of mud came and uh your son Jordan I believe was his name and my son Jacob were palling around the whole day they were about the same age and palling around the whole day and having a great time just doing bullshit you know kicking a can or whatever dude how is uh how is your son he's got to be close to 30 years old he's got to be grown man is he a musician yeah he's a he's got a band he's got a band called grim g r i m and uh it's really cool because it sounds like the death tones so if anybody's listening man grim is a great band and Jordan scantlin is uh and his and the rest of his entire band are all cool and they just kind of grind in just like he anybody else does but yeah i'm really proud of him and uh he's gonna be working he's been working with me and uh very cool so he i'm gonna be flying him out really soon and he's gonna be it's the working with me and i'm gonna get grim on some shows uh you know playing with Pluttle of Mud and and uh you know it's good because i've missed him a lot and that's another part of the whole business that you know you know tour so much um when they gotta go to school and stuff so you don't get to see a lot of each other so these these are the golden years man right on yeah it's gotta be tough maintaining relationships stable family with all that going on traveling in the circus um man all the best man all the best to you kiss the machine uh new album out from Pluttle of Mud new single is called free and uh it was really great catching up and and talking to you a little bit uh west thanks so much for uh for taking the time i will i will let him know west thanks again take care man all right jack thank you man bye bye that was cool all right it looks like he had a good time remembers my son's name met him one time maybe uh you know 15 or 20 years ago but uh called me jack so pretty interesting um it looks like van halen got west interested in music but you know when you think about the whole psychology of the thing right you're young and you have a dream right you want to be a professional baseball player you want to be a rock star what is it that makes some people actually achieve that dream and others not you know it's the real passion i mean obviously people they look at the fanfare that comes along with dream and big and become famous but i i think the there's talent and then there's you know the the level of work that goes into it and for most people it doesn't happen but for some it does west is one of those people the famous story going backstage at a family values tour in new orleans like back in the 90s he made fake backstage passes him and his stripper girlfriend find fred durst's bodyguard fred durst from the band limp biscuit at the time just humongous right he was like you know limp biscuit was this giant band they were all over m tv and west seems to find the fred durst bodyguard hands him a tape and says hey have fun throwing that away next thing you know they're probably uh drinking in the tour bus they put it in here's some of these songs they end up calling them getting in touch with them signing the band it's like one of those dream come true scenarios that really happened so you know west was pretty adamant about saying hey this shit happens so it's a really cool story on uh you know how that happened for puddle of mud and what i thought was really cool because i've never heard this before is that west's mom was a patsy kline impersonator he said that his grandmother also had some musical ability played the organ but his mother was a patsy kline impersonator and was very supportive of west becoming a musician she said bought him drums and guitar and so really supported his desire to become a musician but i never heard that before his mom was a patsy kline impersonator i thought that was really cool and this guy had a lot of different jobs before he became famous his very first job he said was shoveling snow around the lake where he grew up in kansas city and he had a ton of other jobs from moan lawns he worked at a restaurant he was a door-to-door salesman he said he was even a bartender and he was like in construction and worked on houses and says that was probably one of his favorite jobs of everything that he did before he became famous with puddle of mud and you know like i said earlier via google west scantlin you'll see all the headlines he kind of mentions a few different times during the interview that jack daniels is not his friend looks like he's uh he's not drinking jack daniels maybe he's not drinking but uh i think west sounds like you know he's on the right track right now and uh the phone call was a pretty early phone call so i would uh i would guess that uh you know west is is doing better right now and like i said earlier i'm rooting for the guy he's a pretty nice guy and his son jordan in this band grim which i checked out and uh they've got some talent so uh be on the lookout for them as west says he's gonna probably fly him out pretty soon and and work with him a little bit maybe bring him out on the road and like i said new music from puddle of mud off their latest album which came out last spring album called kiss the machine the new song free can check out the new music video that just came out for that few tour dates for puddle of mud this summer and of course you can check out their website for more details that's puddleofmud.com that's mud with two d's puddleofmud.com there you have it if it wasn't for west making fake backstage passes at that family values tour in new orleans and sneaking his demo tape to fred durst bodyguard this conversation may never have happened you probably would never have heard the song she hates me or control or blurry or anyone of puddle of mud's hits you know who knows maybe west would still be bartending or building houses in construction that big break that kind of stuff doesn't happen to just everybody so thanks for listening to another episode of the celebrity jobber podcast streaming on apple podcast spotify wherever you listen to podcasts and please subscribe hit that subscribe button would love a five star rating and please leave a review follow on instagram which is celebrity underscore jobber underscore podcast also youtube.com slash the at sign celebrity jobber and follow on sub stack for more bonus content at celebrity jobber on sub stack once again thank you so much for listening happy easter and until next week we'll see you then with another episode of the celebrity jobber podcast i'm jeff zito