Today we’d like to introduce you to MUDD.
Hello MUDD, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
MUDD formed when friends Vince Thompson and Nick Grover met Collin Maria and Steve Greer through an OSU club group chat. I (Thompson) put out a message trying to garner interest for a band, saying I needed a guitarist and bass player to join myself and Nick, who called dibs on being my drummer if I ever started a band. We ended up meeting with Collin and Steve (who barely played bass at the time) for a little jam sesh, and everything seemed to click from day one. We were all comfortable with each other and had good musical chemistry, so we decided to start doing multiple weekly practices over the summer, setting up on Nick’s balcony and playing to the neighborhood as the sunset. We came up with the name MUDD about halfway through the summer, and it just felt right. We played our first show on July 29th at Ruby Tuesday to a packed house, which was awesome. As school began, we started playing shows almost every week, be it house shows or local venues and people kept coming. Over the past several months, we have been growing steadily and are now aiming to expand beyond the local scene.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We have been extremely fortunate to meet a lot of very talented people who have helped us on our journey very early on. It seemed like we started growing very fast right from the beginning, and it was definitely because we have people who are into what we are doing and want to be a part of it. It hasn’t been easy, but it definitely helps having people who support you. Now it seems the initial hype of the “new band on the scene” has died down, but we have carried the momentum from that phase and are working on establishing ourselves in the minds, hearts, and ears of Columbus and beyond. Even though things have been largely positive for us, we aren’t satisfied, and we want to make this our career someday. We are pushing ourselves extra hard to try and see where this thing can really go, and I think the stress and pressure we often feel is because we put high expectations on ourselves. We have a very business-like approach to how we work and market ourselves, and when it comes to our goals, we know how much work is necessary to get where we want to be.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We are an indie/psychedelic rock band that loves to experiment and not limit ourselves to a small set of genres. We love to have fun and express ourselves through our music, so we try a lot of new things. There are elements of funk, disco, hard rock, and much more in our original music. We released our first EP, “DESCEND,” on January 20, 2023, and we really prided ourselves on making it a high-quality record that showcases our songwriting ability. While we are very proud of DESCEND, we know there is so much more we are capable of unlocking, and we have been writing plenty of music in the last several months. When we play live shows, we love to bring the energy and interact with the crowd. I think people really resonate with the personal feeling our band has, and we never like to take ourselves too seriously. We’re just four silly guys, and we make cool sounds.
We love surprises, fun facts, and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Our bass player, Steve, holds the unofficial world record for the fastest time solving a 5×5 Rubik’s cube with one’s feet. Yes, that is for real. He competes nationally in Rubik’s cube competitions.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/muddofficial/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@muddverse
Image Credits
Sarvesh Gupta
Jack Foley
Rachel Becker
