Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Concert News

Puddle of Mudd

The quartet "Puddle of Mudd" will bring its distinct, hard rocking sound to the Tecate Light Rock-N-Roar Concert on Saturday, April 18 at the 35th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Puddle of Mudd made their major-label debut in 2001 with Come Clean, which sold more than five million copies (and spawned no less than four radio hits, including Blurry, which hit No. 5 on the Billboard Top 100), then followed that up with their gold-certified Life on Display.

Their newest effort, Famous, was produced by former Black Flag drummer Bill Stevenson.

And despite all their platinum albums, awards and sold-out shows, "Puddle of Mudd" – originally from Kansas City, Mo. – have retained their "organic" approach to songwriting.

"If it sounds good and it makes your skin goose bump-up, then you're probably onto something," says frontman Wesley Scantlin.

Scantlin (vocals/guitar), Douglas Ardito (bass), Christian Stone (guitar/vocals) and Ryan Yerdon (drums) spent a good portion of 2008 touring the U.S., Canada, Japan, Korea and Iraq, and have made recent TV appearances on "Last Call with Carson Daly" and "One Life to Live."

Famous again reflects Puddle of Mudd's single-mindedness, focusing on unpretentious songcraft and accessible lyrical authenticity over fashion's fickle demands or artsy affectations.

"It's about passion and writing music that connects with other people and somehow heals them," Scantlin says. "I really want to try to crawl under people's skin. Anything that irks you a little bit, for some weird and unknown reason, is good for really passionate songs."

"We're not using DJ turntables and synths and all that stuff," Ardito adds. "We're just trying to pull out the honesty and make another batch of great songs for people to listen to."

The Tecate Light Rock-N-Roar Concert, free to all race ticketholders, will be held on the Concert Stage in front of the Long Beach Convention Center at approximately 6 p.m., following Saturday's on-track activities.

Tickets for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach can be purchased from the Grand Prix ticket office by calling toll-free at (888) 82-SPEED, Ticketmaster or by visiting www.gplb.com. A handy ticket brochure – which includes circuit map, grandstand and parking locations, ticket prices and order form – can be obtained by calling the ticket hotline.

A Saturday admission ticket at the Grand Prix costs as little as $42, and other ticket prices range from $25 for Friday-only general admission up to $125 for a three-day ticket that includes Saturday and Sunday reserved seats in upper levels of the grandstands. Pre-paid parking packages are also available when ordering through the Grand Prix Ticket Office. Handicapped seating, IndyCar Paddock passes, Super Photo tickets and a variety of hospitality club packages are also available.