"Masterpieces" came out recently and I was wondering what inspired that. Mustard Plug is obviously not breaking up or retiring, which is the case for most bands when releasing a greatest hits album. We noticed a lot new kids coming to shows. And a lot of them were younger kids who hadn’t heard our music so they would ask us “which album they should buy“ or “which had the best songs on it.” So we decided to put out something to that effect. An idiot’s guide to Mustard plug.
How did you choose the songs for "Masterpieces"? Well, we notice what kids get into and what they request to hear the most. We also just picked songs we really liked as a band. A lot of it is crowd and fan influenced, but we had the final say in the list.
So what's next with Mustard Plug? I know you're working on some new stuff, what can we expect and when?We’re not necessarily going for a certain sound. We pretty much just write one song at time. And When we have 12 songs we are satisfied with we sort of just put out an album (laughs).
A lot of bands are getting political with their music lately. I guess one in particular with relevance to your style are the Suicide Machines. Do you see the upcoming material as becoming more political or socially conscious?Some of the songs have been political or socially conscious, but I don’t really get too specific when I write that sort of thing. They lyrics I write are more general. I personally have a hard time writing a song using specific examples without them becoming irrelevant in a few years. I find it to make more sense to be as broad as I can. We tend to make specific comments between songs at live shows depending on our moods for the night. This way we can be more timely and relevant.
What was it like working with Bill Stevenson and do you think you'll be working with him again?Working with Bill was awesome. At first we were in awe of him, but after awhile it was just someone we were working with. He’s a really personable, interesting, and unique guy, who is very smart, but open minded as well. He always wants to try to new things. He asks a lot of questions and tried to approach things in a new way. One reason he wanted to work with us was because everyone who was approaching him wanted to sound like the Descendents. He had never even recorded a horn before us so it was a challenge for him and something he wanted to do. We got him to remix 4 songs for Masterpieces since we liked working with him so much. We self-produced our last album and it turned out ok, but we definitely liked the overall sound of Bill’s work better.
Did you ever catch flak for being part of the ska revival scene? Not really. We never signed to a major label or got much play back then when some bands were cashing in, so I don‘t think we sold out at all. We were more along the lines of Reel Big Fish, we just got in a van and kept touring. When the fad sort of wore off, we just got ignored more than anything though and that’s what hurts the most.
I admire that you started doing ska when I was like 8 years old, and you still play it today through all the changing trends and fads, which are terrible right now, and pretty much always have been. Can you give me some sort of pop-culture rant? As far as fashion, it seems we just regurgitate what happened 20 years ago without much change. There is no creativity involved, just recycled past trends. Pop music though may be at an all time low. You can’t really blame technology, but Pro Tools is hurting the music. Pop is especially terrible. You see like Britney Spears or whoever and it just seems like the person who dresses the sluttiest wins. It’s like the 1950’s when a producer creates someone, writes there music, etc, and they just go on stage and act. But I mean, people back then, like Frank Sinatra, at least he could sing.
But there is always good stuff out there, and now once you know what you like it is easy to find, just a point a click away.
What do you think about iPod's, do you own one? What's on it right now, or what newer bands have you been listening to lately? I want an iPod, but I just haven’t gotten around to shelling out the 300 bucks for one. I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had much time to listen to new music, so I listen to a lot of ska. We play with those types of bands, they send me demos. It’s not all I listen to, but one of the best bands doing ska right now are The Magnetics. They’re from Montreal and are like 80’s pop influenced almost, not your normal cliché ska. Also, Go Jimmy Go from Hawaii. They’re more traditional 60’s ska. I hear a lot of crap, so when I hear something with some originality being played by talented musicians its just great.
Any bands you haven’t played with that you’d like to?The Pogues are reuniting, so that would be a dream of mine. No Doubt would be cool too. Not necessarily because I like them a ton, but because it would almost be like some weird science experiment to open for them.
Good old Club Soda. How many times have you played there? Any specific moments or shows that stick out in your mind?We’ve played around 30 times I’d guess, we used to play it four times a year and we’ve played there for about 13 years.
Our bass player quit on stage there once, which was nuts. Also, we had a new drummer one time and the opening band who were friends of ours started taking his drum set away piece by piece on the last song. They would take a cymbal, then a tom, his snare etc, until he couldn’t even play anymore and was just sitting there on his stool. It made for a good laugh.
Being that you guys are from MI, how do shows in this state compare to those of others. I know for a lot of bands, their homecoming shows are always really crazy. How are they for you guys?Michigan shows are definitely some of the best and most fun. It’s nice to see big crowds, and fans knowing the words. Midwest kids seem to be less jaded and more into the music too, which is welcomed.
Your music always makes me want to dance, but I have no idea how to. Got any tips?I would say pay attention to the rhythm of the song. Sometimes kids just dance to a completely off rhythm and its pretty funny. Drum and bass, it’s all about that.
Finally, Western is playing Central the day of your show, they‘re tied for 2nd in the MAC so it‘s a pretty big game. Give me a winner and margin of victory. I will take the Broncos by 50 points. I’m being optimistic.
