Forgotten Band of the Day: Chickasaw Mudd Puppies

This was the official bio that accompanied the White Dirt EP. It was 3 sheets, printed on paper that looked like burlap (matching the album cover)

BAND: Chickasaw Mudd Puppies, a duo from Athens, Georgia

MEMBERS: Ben Reynolds (guitar) and Brant Slay (vocals, harmonica, stomp-board, other homemade percussion).

EP TITLE: White Dirt is a native medicine, as southern as the Mudd Puppies' music, made from kaolin, a type of clay found in Kaopectate and also used in ceramics.

PRODUCERS: Michael Stipe of R.E.M. and John Keane.

INFLUENCES: "We're both really passionate about Chess records: Bo Diddley, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters," says Reynolds. "Another big influence is the Lomax's prison songs. Our music has a tinge of blues, but it's not our intention to do straight blues. It's an amalgamation: blues, country, and rockabilly, plus Skynrd and Ted Nugent, maybe a few other bands-from-hell we used to like." "I've been more influenced by the old porch musicians of the south," adds Slay. "There's also a heavier side beyond the blues, a visual approach, like Tom Waits, where we create characters and a set for people to become a part of." You'll also hear a weird sense of humor underneath the swampwater vocals of "Mclntosh" and the Dr.-Seuss-meets-Blue Velvet lyrics of "Sailor Beat The Blood Out." Could the band's thorny riffs and irregular, frenzied approach to the blues also have been inspired by Captain Beefheart? "I'm not really familiar with him," says Reynolds.

HISTORY: "I had no musical talent at all and still don't, really," says Slay. "I'd never played an instrument at all." Rarely has a band been formed with less musical expertise. After a friend gave him a sack of harmonicas, Brant taught himself to play the harp. Reynolds played bass in high school bands, but hadn't played since then. The two were more active in visual arts: Reynolds, a photographer, made limited pressings of books with original prints, while Slay studied sculpture and did installation work.

EARLY SHOWS: "We'd have juke parties at my house in Athens," says Slay. "People'd come over and I'd dress my house up strange: old window panes, dried plants, wheat, old straw, car hoods, rusty objects. It added to the visual imagery of our music." A percussionist who later left the band played an empty popcorn bucket with nails driven into it ("for a snare-drum effect," Slay explains), plus a stovepipe, a log, sheet metal and various tins. "We did our five songs, three times each," he says. "The beer lured people to come hear us play.

PUBLIC SHOWS: "We never had any intention of doing anything except play at Brant's house," says Reynolds. Then they had an offer to play in a local club, and to make themselves more comfortable, they brought their stage; decorations with them. "Club owners usually say 'WOW!' Then they ask, 'Are you going to clean this up?'"says Reynolds. The stage show has evolved over time: "Quilts, that's our newest thing," says Slay.

BAND NAME: Don't be shy, everyone asks. While driving to New Orleans for a working vacation, their car broke down near the Chickasaw River in Alabama. "Two flat tires. At four a.m. in a deep bayou fog," says Reynolds. At least that's the story this week.

FUTURE PLANS: Releasing a full-length album produced by Michael Stipe and blues legend Willie Dixon, author of classic songs for Wluddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter and Bo Diddley. "When we first met Willie, we didn't do much talking because we were so nervous," says Reynolds. "He's a great guy and he made us feel real comfortable real quick. We weren't sure he would be apt to experiment with our music. But like Michael, he was really experimental."

RECEPTION: "Most of the crowds that aren't familiar with us stand back for the first three songs going 'What the hell?' Then they just get into the music,"' says Reynolds. "I know we've done a really good show when I can hardly breathe afterwards and my guitar's bloody." "We were surprised that people dance to this," adds Slay. "We didn't realize it would be such a dance music thing. But I guess you really can't help yourself, ifs got a pretty good upbeat feel to it."