Punktastic

Mustard Plug launch Kickstarter campaign for new, self funded record

Tom Aylott — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 21:00:59 +0000

Mustard Plug, who will leave their long time home of Hopeless Records, have announced a kickstart campaign to fund a new album.

The skapunkers are looking to raise the no-so-princely sum of $12000 for their new album. Check out the skinny on the campaign from the horse’s mouth below, and head over to kickstarter to pledge on some laregly reasonable pledge requests…

“Mustard Plug needs help funding their new record. Please help the Grand Rapids, MI band put out their 7th record!

Mustard Plug started out in the punk clubs, basements and dive bars of the Midwest, playing punk influenced ska music during a time most people in the U.S. had never even heard of ska. They clung to a DIY work ethic that had been ingrained in them from growing up in the 1980’s hardcore punk scene and applied it to everything they’d do for the next 21 years. They released their first cassette tape themselves (1992’s Skapocalypse Now!), and played constantly to earn enough money to record their first cd. 1994’s Big Daddy Mulititude was released on legendary NYC label Moon Records and with their new found national distribution and exposure, the band climbed into their van and performed their music to new fans across North America. Twenty-one years, 1500 shows and 200,000 album sales later, it can not be denied that the band has surpassed all expectations and permanently staked their claim in contemporary music.

For their upcoming album, they are returning to the DIY efforts that the band was built upon. By releasing the new record on their own, Mustard Plug have come full circle, going back to their DIY punk rock roots to bring their music to their friends and fans.

But it isn’t just the band themselves going on this journey; they are keeping the whole project ‘in the family.’ Resident bassist and electronics nerd extraordinairre, Rick Johnson, is recording the album at his Grand Rapids, MI based Cold War Studios.

“We practice here, the van lives here, and [the studio] is close enough to my house to walk to,” said Johnson. “It just made sense to record here.”

“It’s also cheaper than paying a ‘real’ engineer,” joked vocalist Dave Kirchgessner.

The Kickstarter campaign will also include artwork from Lansing based artist Craig Horky, who has made a name for himself, and his tireless work ethic, by providing designs and illustrations for bands both domestic and abroad.

The band will also be sending the record to The Blasting Room to be mixed by venerated punk rock veteran, and close friend, Bill Stevenson. Stevenson, best known for his drumming with Black Flag and The Descendants, originally worked with Mustard Plug on their 1996 album Evil Doers Beware. They returned to The Blasting Room for their follow up, 1999’s Pray For Mojo, and their last album, In Black and White. Your generous contributions will help The Plug finance the production, manufacture, and shipping of their new record.

The band invites to you join them on the next stage in their journey. It’s been 7 years since the last Mustard Plug masterpiece. If your checkered heart is racing at the thought of new yellow vinyl, clicking the link below will bring it one step closer to your door. “

http://www.facebook.com/mustardplug

[Sourced from the chaps over at Punknews]

Mustard Plug

paul — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:56:57 +0000

Paul: Hi Dave, how are things in the Mustard Plug camp?
Dave: Things are going well…thanks!

Paul: You guys have been going for almost 20 years now, what do you think is the secret to your longevity?
Dave: I think the key is to sincerely enjoy what you’re doing and the music that you play. When we started out we picked a style of music that at the time was completely obscure in the U.S. and we never expected to be rock stars. But we did it because we really liked playing it and still do.

Paul: I am sure you will have fans who weren’t even born when you first started out as a band! You’ve also seen trends and fashions come and go, including the ska scene. Do you think ska is strong right now? Are there any contemporary bands you’ve seen/played with right now who interest/excite you?
Dave: I think the ska scene is fairly strong. It reminds me a little bit of how things were in the early 90’s before things got really big in the U.S.. I don’t really see it getting too much bigger for the near future, but you never know. It actually seems to be doing a little better in the U.K. than in the U.S. right now, at least there seem to be more bands coming up right now. There are a few new bands in the U.S. : Deal’s Gone Bad from Chicago haven’t gotten so good in the past few years that I offered to manage them. I could see their next record really breaking them into new places. The Aggrolites keep getting better with every album and their live show is incredible. It seems to be mainly the more Jamaican rooted stuff in the U.S. that is doing the best. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s up in the U.K. when we come over.

Paul: You have also been a band and musician as the internet has grown and grown and made it even easier for bands to be DIY. As a band that’s been fiercely DIY since the start, do you think the internet and the MP3 has made it even easier for bands to forego label help and do it all themselves?
Dave: It’s made it easier to do certain things, like communicate with your fans and distribute your music, but it’s made it a lot of things harder too. It’s a lot harder to run an indie record label because the internet and illegal downloading has made it hard to sell records and distribute them since it’s shut down most of the indie record stores. It’s also made it harder to stick out from the crowd because there are so many more bands competing for the same fans attention, who are also distracted by so many other things. Kids are getting bombarded by media stimuli from so many different places now.

Paul: Does it frustrate you when you see bands ‘fast-tracked’ without doing the hard yards on the toilet circuit, then put in fancy studios and given songwriters to help them write catchy hits blow up on radio and MTV? The cynic in me would say a couple of bands on your label may even fit into that category…
Dave: It doesn’t really bother me because I’m not really part of that world. I don’t listen to that stuff or interact with them at all. Those types of bands have always existed. I’m just a little disappointed that these pre-packaged boy bands are now being marketed as “punk”. As far as Hopeless goes, I’m not sure if they really consider themselves a “punk” label anymore I guess you’d have to ask them that. As I said we have no interaction with any of those bands, I’m not even sure who is on Hopeless right now. It’s not like the early days when we were doing shows with Digger and Falling Sickness and Against All Authority.

Paul: Who came up with the idea for the ‘Never Get Out Of The Van’ DVD? How long did it take to put together, as you must have had a lot of material for it…
Dave: We actually came up with the idea in the days before Youtube, when it seemed like the most viable way to show who the band was from a visual perspective. I actually started shooting video on our first tour in 1994 without a specific idea of what to do with it. We started putting stuff together around the time of our 10th anniversary in 2001, but ourselves and the director, our friend Ben Isbel, got a bit distracted from time to time. It was a huge undertaking too. I had shopping bags of old video tapes for him to go through. So yeah, it took us about 7 years to finish. It’s nice to have it finally out and have some sort of band history documented.

Paul: You do seem to take time between records writing and recording…is there a reason for this?
Dave: It does keep getting longer between records. I think it’s mainly a result of getting older. We all are a lot busier now and it’s harder to get together to work on songs. Also, at this point there is a lot less pressure to put stuff out. People like new songs but they mainly come to hear the classics.

Paul: For the younger readers who may not be aware of Mustard Plug, which song and album would you recommend to start out?
Dave: I’d start out with our greatest hits record, “Masterpieces”. It has most of our best songs, a few videos, good liner notes etc. and you’ll hear a lot of the songs we still play. After that, I guess I’d say get our newest one,”In Black and White”, since none of the songs are on Masterpieces. 1997‘s “Evildoers Beware” is still our most popular though.

Paul: I read somewhere you’re self-recording a new album as we speak. Is that right? Can we expect new material in 2010? Will it be released on Hopeless?
Dave: Right now we’re just recording one new song. We’re going to release it digitally so it’s out before our U.K./European tour. We have a bunch of new songs we’re working on so hopefully we have an album’s worth of stuff by the end of the summer, but I doubt we’ll have a new record in 2010. I’m not sure how we’ll release it. I’m sure we’ll talk to Hopeless about it, but our main focus is writing songs first.

Paul: You’re back in the UK and Europe for the first time in a few years this coming April. What can we expect from the Mustard Plug live experience? Are you familiar with any of the bands in the UK ska scene?
Dave: We started the band basically to play party music for punk rockers and that’s pretty much what you can expect from a Mustard Plug show. I’m familiar with a few of the bands, (Random Hand, King Blues, Pama, SB6), but that’s about it. I’m pretty psyched about playing with Mouthwash and Dirty Revolution. I’ve heard good things about both bands so it should be a really good time.

Paul: What are your plans for the rest of 2010?
Dave: After we get back from the U.K. and Europe we’re going to mainly focus on song writing. We always do a handful of show here and there but noting too extensive for a while. I’m sure we’ll tour in the fall but nothing is lined up yet.

Paul: If you have any final words for our readers please leave them here.
Dave: Please come out and see us when we come to the U.K. They’re going to be awesome shows and you never know when we’ll be able to make it over next.

Mustard Plug

paul — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 23:18:14 +0000

Hi, can you please introduce yourself to our readers!

1. My name is Brandon Jenison and i play the trumpet and sing backup vocals for Mustard Plug.

For the uninitiated, how would you describe Mustard Plug‘s sound?

2. I guess the best description I can think of is a hybrid of ska rhythm, energetic rock, pop sing along, with a punk rock-soul.

The band has been going since the early 90s – what would you say is the secret to your longevity?

3. I believe it’s due to our ability to want to play our music for as many people that we can. We’ve never given up on our original plan of rocking out, drinking beer, meeting the fans, and generally having a good time.

You’re set to release new record ‘In Black and White’ which I, and a couple of other people who I know have heard it, believe is arguably your best yet. While many bands come out with the ‘this is our best record yet’ spiel every time they put out a record, is this a belief your band has?

4. I think everyone in the band will agree that we worked really hard at making this batch of songs kick serious ass. We were rejuvenated with energy by gaining our new rhythm section of Rick Johnson on bass and Nate Cohn on drums. They injected a dose of power into all of our old asses that have been in the band for over twelve years or more.

It’s also very much a ska record – was there ever any intention to throw some devil horns, chuck on some black clothing, dye your hair and start screaming your way onto the radio and MTV?!

5. Angel trumpets and Devil trombones always exist on Mustard Plug records, but we’ve never bent our musical direction in any way shape or form other than our own path. I mean, with every record, you get some stinkers, but they’re our stinkers. Some of us are going gray though, so maybe we should start dyeing our hair. Dave, our singer, does get a little gritty on this new record but it’s not that bullshit that’s on the radio.

Why did you choose to work with Bill Stevenson and what is he like as a producer? Are there any records he has worked on that helped make up your mind to work with him?

6. Bill Stevenson is an icon to me. We’ve worked with him previously on two other records and the decision was not hard to make. I think this third time is the true charmer and it all went really well in the studio. He’s a great role-model for aging punks who still like to make music and tour. The Blasting Room and its family are such an awesome, self-contained work tank. Bill makes really spicy food that will make you sweat and poop a lot, also.

Why choose Hit Me! Hit Me! as the first single?

7. I think it was just a good representation of our “sound” in general. It’s a good sing-along, and its got that fun herky-jerky ska beat.

You did a video for that track too – what is the concept and was it a fun shoot?

8. We made the video at the Icepick in Muskegon, MI. I don’t know if there was really a concept, but we filmed it at 1/3rd the original speed and then when they edited it, sped it up to the original tempo of the song. It was funny to “play along” with the slowed down track – it sounded like we were on ‘luudes or something. I think it cuts quickly and suits the feel of the song.

You’ve been with Hopeless for around 10 years now, have you ever been tempted to jump ship and work with another label? What is it about the Hopeless guys and gals that have made you stay for so long?

9. I guess we’ve just had contracts and good friendships that sustain themselves pretty well. We were one of the first bands that really helped them grow and we also grew along with them. It’s very different than when it first started but the attitudes of the owners and workers remain the same.

Many ska bands during your time as a band have managed to go through the trends and wind up on major labels – some with success, others with little success. Was signing to a major ever an option for you? Is it something you’d ever consider doing?

10. No, we were never really courted by majors. Being from Michigan might have something to do with that. I think if the right deal came along we might try it but this far in our “career” we probably won’t ever see that happen. Who knows?

With the internet and iTunes as prevalent in the industry as ever before, do you consider the majors to play as important a role in the music industry as they did, say, 5 or 10 years ago?

11. Not a chance, it’s all changing right now and has been creeping up on them for a while now.

Whilst on the subject of iTunes and MP3s, when you sit down with the label do you look at how many CD sales you need for a record to be deemed a success? Has that changed now that legal download sales can often outstrip physical CDs? Does it concern you that music may not be available in a physical format in years to come?

12. Fans and fans-to-be end up at our shows and physically buy the album from us sooner or later, so I guess getting the music out there for free first can be more helpful than harmful in a certain way. Sure, we want to profit from our music, who wouldn’t, but we know that people who really care will support us.

There are some fantastic UK ska, or ska-influenced bands, around at the minute. Have you managed to check any of them out? Are there any ‘new’ bands that rock the Mustard Plug collective stereo?

13. I saw and played with some great bands in the UK last year. The music play list in our van is pretty expansive since everyone has I-pods and stuff, so I can’t think of any one thing in particular we all listen to.

You once toured Japan, how did that experience differ from touring the
US and other parts of the world?

14. We went to Japan 3 times, actually. Its like night and day compared to the U.S. I love it though, the food the culture, everything. There are some great bands over there too, like Nicotine and Kemuri and Potshot.

On a similar note, when can we expect to see you in the UK again?

15. Hopefully next year. We’ll be touring the US for the six months or so, and then we’ll see what’s up. I’d go tomorrow if we could – I need proper chips and a good pint.