JIMMY ALLEN

Jimmy Allen
Beyond Puddle of Mudd

He’s a gifted songwriter whose first hit, “You Don’t Know,” from the indie album Stuck by Puddle of Mudd, became a top ten hit in his hometown of Kansas City. At that time, Puddle of Mudd was still unsigned, yet Jimmy Allen was ready to leave the band. And though he did part ways with his former bandmates, he left them a profusion of great songs, many of which have become hits, including “Blurry” (ASCAP’s 2003 Pop Song of the Year award winner), “Drift & Die” and “She Hates Me,” from the “new” Puddle Of Mudd’s triple-platinum major label debut, Come Clean.

Jimmy started a new band, which he has dubbed the Cut Out Band. Though many in the industry assumed the name referred to the “cut out” promo copies of CDs sent out by record companies, in truth it’s a shortening of the phrase “Cut Out The Middle Man,” which Jimmy felt was too long of a name for a band. Cut Out, which also features ex-Puddle of Mudd bassist Troy McCoy, has recorded a passionate, stirring four song demo and is currently shopping for a new deal. We spoke to Jimmy about his current activities on the phone from his native Kansas City, where he was working on new songs in his home studio.

The new demo sounds great. Did you record it at your home studio?

No, we recorded it in L.A. at Troy Van Leeuwen’s studio. It’s pretty rough. We were trying to get a raw, live sound. There are some things I would do over, but I think it’s pretty good.

The song “Leave Me Alone” stands out.

Yeah, that one is really a kicker. I wrote it in ’98. I had just split up with my girlfriend, and she would come back and mess with my head, and that’s pretty much what that one’s about. It was during the period that Puddle of Mudd was falling apart. We weren’t even going to do that song, but my bass player Troy McCoy insisted, cause he really likes that song, so we laid it down.

Are you someone who writes songs all the time?

Yeah, that’s pretty much what I do. I’ve submitted a lot of tracks to a lot of people, and have done a lot of co-writes with people. It’s really what I like to do – get in a room and battle with another person to make something out of nothing. I really dig emotion, and I think that’s what separates some good artists from what’s out there. Sometimes I take Tenacious D more seriously than a lot of what I hear on the radio. I want to work in a room with a lot of people and bounce ideas off of people. When I work with (Puddle of Mudd member) Wes Scantlin there’s a lot of emotion there. When we get together and write a song, we argue a lot and butt heads, and get the best song possible. I like to try to make the song better and better.

It’s interesting you describe co-writing as a battle with another writer.

Yeah, it brings out the emotion. I hear stuff on the radio all day long that has no emotion. I don’t necessarily have to fight or argue with my co-writer, but we bounce ideas off of each other to take it in a further direction. It’s easy to write something which is ho-hum, but is there any struggle to take it to a different place? So much of what you hear is just product. I want to do something different. Sure, I can throw down three chords and write a dumb little song, but is it challenging? Is it going to make people think about things? Or is it just a little jingle that you’re going to sell? Most of the people I work with want to take the song somewhere further.

You were with Puddle of Mudd, yet before they got signed, you left the band?

Yeah. Me and Wes [Scantlin] came up with the band, and the band was pretty strong here for years. We were hometown heroes. We were one of the first local bands to release a CD, Stuck, and we sold about 7000 copies. What happened is that the band was kind of flailing and we were going through changes. It was really just flipping and flopping all over the place. Wes quit at the same time that I did. We were just like, “Dude, I give up.” But Wes changed his mind and was going to get a band together. It was going to be Puddle of Mudd.

So they ended up using your songs even after you left.

Yeah. That was a process that me and Wes had to work out. It was just one of those things where I was under the impression that they were going to use the songs in the first place. So it was no big shock to me when they used them because the songs are good. The thing about it was that I probably wouldn’t have wanted them to use my songs. But it’s been good for me, and has led to a lot of co-writes.

When did you write your first songs?

I started playing guitar at 17, and writing songs pretty much right out of high school. I put up flyers to find members for a band, and the second band I ever formed was Puddle of Mudd. We took that as far as we could, so I feel blessed that I had that opportunity.

What’s your next step with Cut Out Band?

We’re going to re-record some of the songs on the demo and probably cut a new one. We have one mid-tempo softer track. We’re looking for a producer in L.A. When we find the right one, we’ll make a new demo and then shop it. I’ve got a lot of new songs which I feel good about. So I feel good about the future. I think good things are going to happen.

BY PAUL ZOLLO