Mustard Plug by Mitch Ranger
Pick it up, skank it out — dust off the pork pies and find that forgotten bottle of Plochman’s in the back of the fridge because 30-plus years later, the skapocalypse continues owing in no small part to the vinegary goodness of ska stalwarts Mustard Plug.
Formed by Dave Kirchgessner and Colin Clive in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1991, Mustard Plug stood out with energetic live performances and an upbeat sound that helped to propel ska’s third wave. Mustard Plug albums including Evildoers Beware! (1997) and Can’t Control It (2014) blended ska rhythms and catchy horn lines with punk rock energy, humorous lyrics, and a DIY ethos that has kept the band going.
“It really comes down to a sincere love of what we are doing,” Kirchgessner tells PureHoney. “We started the band because we both love ska music and wanted to make music that we enjoy. When we started, ska punk was pretty obscure. It gained a lot of popular attention and then lost it and then gained it back again. We just focus on what we like and ignore the rest.”
Decades later, a Midwest-bred, working-class attitude keeps Mustard Plug on the road, horn section and all. “It would be so much easier not to have horns,” Kirchgessner says, “but they are such an integral part of our sound, that we have to have them.”
Their most recent effort, 2024’s Hey! EP, picks up where the band’s previous LP left off. “We came into the studio with more songs than we had time to record, and we had to cut four,” Kirchgessner says of the sessions for 2023’s Where Did All My Friends Go? “We felt that they were good songs, but “Take Me With You” was unfinished and “West Coast” just didn’t fit the vibe of the album.”
They’re joined for select dates by another unsinkable ska favorite, Washington, D.C.’s the Pietasters. “We love them and it’s been years since we toured with them,” Kirchgessner says, “so we’re really excited about it.”
Mustard Plug with the Pietasters and Flying Raccoon Suit perform 6pm, Saturday, March 22 at the Miami Beach Bandshell in Miami Beach. mustardplug.com ~ Abel Folgar
