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Puddle of Mudd Frontman Wes Scantlin and His Brother Are Working on an Autobiography

If they’re taking requests, I would like to know more about the woman who inspired the “smack my a**” line

By Stephen Andrew Galiher

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If you ever wanted to know more about the man behind “She Hates Me” and “Blurry“, you’re in luck. Wes Scantlin, frontman and chief songwriter for Puddle of Mudd, is working on an autobiography with his brother.

The post-grunge rocker revealed his plans during an appearance on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk. While discussing his complex and eventful life, Scantlin opened up about his childhood and shared how far back his substance abuse issue goes.

“My brother and his friends were five years older than me, so when I was about nine, everybody was partying and stuff, growing up and stuff like that,” he began, as transcribed by Blabbermouth. “ So I started really, really early…”

Wes Scantlin co-founded Puddle of Mudd in 1992, but the band’s breakthrough came with their 2001 album ‘Come Clean.’

Scantlin continued, sharing that he was helping his parents get to sobriety meetings when he was just a child. “I’ve been going to AA since I was, like, 10 years old, taking my mom and dad to Alcoholics Anonymous and stuff like that,” he said. “I mean, I was driving them to Alcoholics Anonymous when I was 10 years old. I’d go there, and I hang out at the AA halls and everything. I’d just sit there and wait for my dad, and I’d go into some meetings and stuff like that.”

The singer said that at 53, he’s “been going to AA” for roughly 43 years. “My parents actually were sober for, like, 30 years,” he added. “And then they hit, like, 70, and then they just started drinking again.”

Puddle of Mudd’s most recent album is 2025’s ‘Kiss the Machine.’

In response to all this, Scantlin was asked if he ever considered writing a book about his life. Interestingly enough, he has and is actively in the process of making it a reality. “Me and my brother are gonna be working on it… He’s doing it now, man,” Scantlin explained. “He gets up at four o’clock in the morning, and he just goes and starts writing. Then he’ll call me, and I’m telling him about other stories that he forgot about and all kinds of other insane situations.”

Offering some insight into what the book contains, Scantlin said, “It’s like a combo platter of me and his life, growing up and everything. He was around the whole time when Puddle of Mudd was [starting]…. and just my musical career and his life and our lives together growing up and stuff.”

Finally, he teased a tentative title for the non-fiction read: “Maybe we should just call it Brotherhood.”

Scantlin isn’t just reflecting on his past these days. He’s also looking to the future and livin gin the present with some new Puddle of Music. Just this week, the band dropped a new song, “Free”. It’s an acoustic guitar-led rock tune that is very reminiscent of their Come Clean-era work. I’ll even go so far as to say that it’s one of their best songs of the last two decades. Check out the tune above!

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Wes Scantlin of Puddle of Mudd (Photo by Francesco Castaldo/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images) Puddle of Mudd Frontman Wes Scantlin and His Brother Are Working on an Autobiography 14 minutes ago By Stephen Andrew Galiher

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