Proof in the Puddin

“Whether they will admit it or not, most people love metal,” says bassist Kim Breeden of the new and decidedly metal band Puddin.
Kim and drummer/husband Hugh Breeden previously played together in both Julius Pleaser and Loaded Dice. “It’s fun,” Kim says. “We get along more than most people in bands that aren’t married.”
Looking for a new and heavier band experience, though, the couple joined forces last summer with former Mouthbreathers guitarist Jonny Rej to mix up a tangy, jagged metal dessert. With a mutual love of late ’70s hard rock as inspiration, the Breedens and Rej take the standard male-dominated metal posturing and feminize it with a woman’s lyrical perspective and vocals.
“I usually just write about what’s on my mind that day,” she says, as Hugh warns, “I have to be careful, and not do anything that will wind up in a song.”
At home in the Echo Lounge, 9 Lives Saloon or Star Bar, Puddin manages to bridge punk expressionism and ham-fisted rocking. “It’s great to be welcomed into different worlds,” Rej says of his band’s versatility. And having been in novelty acts — the Mouthbreathers with their over-the-top metal and Loaded Dice featuring Kim’s sexy, sometimes topless, antics — Rej says, “It feels great to just go out and rock for a change.”
Though they’ve only played six shows (“We’re not into rushing anything,” Rej says), Puddin have already improved on the Sabbath-sludge sound captured last October on their CD, 777 Demo. Kim’s songwriting, while still retaining metal’s hellish rage, now includes a sly pop slant.
But they’re not going mainstream anytime soon, says Hugh. “We’re just waiting to see if people like us.”
“We’re gonna rock first,” concludes Rej, “And make T-shirts later.”
Puddin plays the Star Bar, Wed., Jan. 31.