Puddy Up Or Shut Up: Punk Rockers Comeback Track Gives The People What They “Want”
Feeling worn down? Run over by life? Like you’re constantly at the mercy of malevolent forces beyond your control?
If you’ve survived the last few years, the answer is probably “yes.” But sweet vindication is here in the form of Puddy, the Canadian indie quartet that’s back after a prolonged absence with its triumphant revenge fantasy of a track, “What Do You Want?”
An eminently singable burst of punked-up fury, the song finds the band hurling invective at a “parasite” whose “meal ticket” has just been canceled after years of abused privileges. And from the way singer/guitarist Paolo Rizzo snarls out the chorus lyric, you can tell this is a man who’s well and truly over it.
What more do you want from me?
What more can you take from me?
Ain’t nothing to break in me
Nothing left to take from me
Puddy are recognized as pioneers of Canadian punk rock, but there’s nothing laid back about the way Rizzo’s and JV Bonhomme’s overdriven guitars and Tim Reesor’s lurching bass nail the unnamed tormentor to the wall, only for Eric Cohen’s drums to pummel him about the head in repeated, righteously indignant bursts.
The song, out now, along with an accompanying music video in which the group is seen wandering through a hazy limbo that’s meant to symbolize the mental fog induced by a life of setbacks. It’s an apt metaphor indeed for the less-than-linear career trajectory Puddy has followed since its founding in 1993 – a series of ups and downs recounted with endearing self-deprecation on the outfit’s official website, puddy.tv.
Having members scattered to the far-flung corners of Timmins, Niagara and Montreal hasn’t helped things any. Yet the band has defied distance and countless other obstacles to mount a comeback album, Demagogo, co-produced by Andy Curran (Envy of None) with Paolo and mixed by Vic Florencia (Danko Jones). “What Do You Want” is the opening salvo in that eagerly anticipated return to active duty, which culminates with the release of the full album in the spring. In the interim, Puddy will hone the new material at two specially arranged shows: one on Friday, January 19, at Camp Cataract in Niagara Falls, and the other on Saturday, January 20, at Bovine Sex Club in Toronto. Ticket pricing for each is set at a highly reasonable $10, as an intentional throwback to the cost of admission at the group’s last gig all the way back in 2012. In this case at least, the answer to the question “What do you want from me?” is “Way less than you’d be willing to pay.”
Care to introduce yourself?
Hi! I’m Paolo Rizzo (‘Rizzo’ to friends and rude casual acquaintances). I yell and play guitar in Puddy.
Tell us about the process of recording “What Do You Want”?
We cut a rough demo to work out arrangements, then Eric recorded the drums in Montreal with Ryan Battistuzzi at “Le Stuzzio” using the demo as a guide.
Guitars and vocals were recorded at Badpixel studio in Niagara by myself after Vic Florencia (mixing engineer) set us up to fly solo. Our old friend Andy Curran (Envy of None) popped in for a couple of sessions to oversee some guitar stuff and be there for vocal tracking to make sure we didn’t go off the rails :). (He also played bass on a couple of the tracks on the record). Once we were happy with the performances, we packaged everything up and sent it off to Vic for mixing and mastering. The process was the same for all the songs on the upcoming record.
What brought the band back together again?
A few years ago, someone on YouTube bootlegged one of our old records out of the blue and it got about 160k views (that’s a ton for us) – and there were a bunch of positive comments. We thought it was kind of weird because the album was 20 years old. The members hadn’t spoken regularly in years but that opened the door to us talking more.
I’d been demoing songs by myself that sounded like Puddy, and I have access to a decent studio through work. At some point, the demos came up in our chats and we decided ‘why not’… Not fully appreciating the challenges that come with having members scattered over a 1000km radius (Timmins / GTA / Niagara / Montreal). That was in 2019… We’re just now wrapping up the record and getting the songs out. The pandemic didn’t help the timeline and there have been some personal setbacks along the way – but when we started, we were like, “a year tops” haha.
Who was the first and most recent Canadian artist to blow you away?
The first band was definitely MUNDANE from Toronto in the mid-90s. CRAZY good tribal metal band that predated Sepultura by YEARS. Super innovative. Vitor (Singer/percussionist) would set up at the front of the stage with a percussion kit made of a few drums and bits of salvaged scrap metal. Crazy heavy, amazing live show.
Most recent? DANKO JONES! Not technically a recent artist but their brand new record “Electric Sounds” is a perfect example of kickass, straight-up, no-nonsense rock n’ roll. A close 2nd would be CHOIRZ from Pembroke, ON – super cool synthwave / post-rock outfit featuring ex-members of Cheerleader, Zuku, and Goathorn!
You’ve been making music for a bit of time now, what’s one piece of advice you can offer to those starting out?
“A bit” – that’s awfully generous :). Make music YOU LIKE, for YOU! At one point we were signed to a sizeable label and learned that lesson the hard way. Whether it’s getting caught up in the fog of trying to expand your reach or it’s having industry types inserting themselves and their ideas on what you need to do to commercialize; The result is almost always the same.
Keep it authentic, keep it honest, keep it yours.