Chickasaw Mudd Puppies

Ben Reynolds took on vocals, electric guitar, and percussion, with Brant Slay adding vocals, harmonica, and washboard, forming the primitive swamp-rock duo the Chickasaw Mudd Puppies. Michael Stipe of R.E.M., who also lived in Athens, Georgia, served as their mentor and collaborated with John Keane on the production of the duo’s first album, White Dirt, which appeared in 1990. Willie Dixon, the Chicago blues legend, then joined Stipe to handle production on the 1991 release 8 Track Stomp. The duo disbanded after that record, although Reynolds later returned to performing as a solo artist.