Mustard Plug is an American

ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music together. (sometimes spelled skacore) is a subgenre of ska punk that mixes ska with hardcore punk. Early ska punk mixed both 2 tone and ska with hard ...

band from

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

, consisting of Dave Kirchgessner (vocals), Brandon Jenison (trumpet), Jim Hofer (trombone), Nate Cohn (drums), Colin Clive (guitar/vocals), Mark Petz (tenor saxophone) and Greg Witulski (bass). Formed in 1991, the band has regularly toured throughout the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

, and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

. They have toured with the

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touri ...

twice, and participated in the Ska Against Racism Tour. , the band has released seven studio albums and continues to tour actively. Explaining the band's goal, Jim Hofer said, "We may have some messages in our music, but essentially we just do this because we love it and we want people to lighten up and have fun."

History

The band formed in 1991 after Colin and Dave both attended a Special Beat show. The band's original members were Dave Kirchgessner, Mike McKendrick, Colin Clive, and Anthony Vilchez. There was virtually no ska scene in

at the time, so Mustard Plug was able to develop a unique sound and draw a large following. Brandon Jenison stated in an interview that their band name originated when "a guy in the early stages of the band was making a sandwich and that crusty stuff that forms on the mustard bottle when you put it in the fridge without wiping it off first gave him an interesting idea for a name." In 2002, the band released '' Yellow #5'', and supported the album for years on tour. In 2005, they released the "greatest hits" album '' Masterpieces: 1991–2002''. Mustard Plug was on the label

Hopeless Records Hopeless Records is an American independent record label in Van Nuys, California. History Hopeless Records was founded in 1993 by Louis Posen. The label's artists are generally considered to fall under the genres of punk rock, pop punk, post-h ...

for many years, but as of 2010 were free agents. The band celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2011 with a national tour. In 2012 the band had an idea for a live album called ''Mustard Plug:Live!'', but canceled in favor of their 2014 album '' Can't Contain It'', the recording of which was funded via

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

. The album features cover art by Jeff Rosenstock of

Bomb the Music Industry Bomb the Music Industry! (commonly abbreviated as Bomb or BtMI!) were an American punk rock musical collective from Baldwin, Nassau County, New York, United States, led by singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Rosenstock. ...

. In May 2017 the band performed at Pouzza Fest in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

. In 2019, they embarked on a tour of Japan. The band continues to perform around the United States on a regular basis. In 2021, long-time bassist Rick Johnson left the group."Pouzza Fest, 7th Edition - May 19 to 21, 2017"
''CJLO AM Radio'', by Robert Portnoff // May 29, 2017

Discography

Albums

*'' Skapocalypse Now!'' (1992, Dashiki Clout) *'' Big Daddy Multitude'' (1993, Asbestos Records) *'' Evildoers Beware!'' (1997,

) *'' Pray for Mojo'' (1999, Hopeless Records) *'' Yellow No. 5'' (2002, Hopeless Records) *'' Masterpieces: 1991-2002'' (2005, Hopeless Records) *'' In Black and White'' (2007, Hopeless Records) *'' Can't Contain It'' (2014, No Idea Records)

Music Videos

* ''Summertime'' (1992) * ''Mr. Smiley'' (1993) * ''Beer'' (song) (1995) * ''You'' (1997) * ''Everything Girl'' (1999) * ''Hit Me! Hit Me!'' (2007) * ''Over the Edge'' (2007)

Lost Music Videos

* ''Send You Back'' (1998) - This video was seen on MTV only once before disappearing off air. * ''7-11 Man'' (1991) - A rare live performance of this song was seen once before disappearing. * ''Mendoza'' (1996) - Aired once on Vh1. Now considered to be lost.

Line-up

* Dave Kirchgessner -

Lead Vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

(1991–present) * Colin Clive -

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

, Vocals (1991–present) * Nathan Cohn -

Drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

(2005–present) * Brandon Jenison -

Trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

Backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

(1994–present) * Jim Hofer -

Trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

(1994–present) * Mark Petz -

Tenor Saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

(1993–1998; 2021-present) * Greg Witulski -

Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

(2021–present)

Past members

* Rick Johnson -

(2004–2021) * Anthony Vilchez - Bass (1991–1994) * Craig DeYoung - Bass (1994–2001),

Alto Saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B t ...

(1992–1994) * Matt Van - Bass (2001–2004) * Mike McKendrick - Drums (1991–1993) * Michael Skowron - Trombone (1993-1995),

(1993-1995) * Nick Varano - Drums (1993–1999) * Brad Rozier - Drums (1999–2004) * John Massel - Drums (2004-2005) * Bob Engelsman - Trombone (1992–1994) * Bleu VanDyke - Trombone(1995–1998) * Kevin Dixon - Tenor Saxophone (1996–1998)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:1000 height:450 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:100 top:0 right:0 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:1991 till:2015 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:dd/mm/yyyy Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:Backing value:pink legend:Backing_vocals id:Trumpet value:yelloworange legend:Trumpet id:Sax value:skyblue legend:Saxophone id:Trombone value:coral legend:Trombone id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:Keyboards value:purple legend:Keyboards id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums id:lines1 value:black legend:Studio_album id:bars value:gray(0.95) BackgroundColors = bars:bars Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:2 start:1991 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1991 LineData = at:30/10/1992 color:black layer:back at:01/12/1993 color:black layer:back at:18/03/1997 color:black layer:back at:16/03/1999 color:black layer:back at:17/09/2002 color:black layer:back at:11/09/2007 color:black layer:back at:14/01/2014 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:DK text:"Dave Kirchgessner" bar:BJ text:"Brandon Jenison" bar:CD text:"Craig DeYoung" bar:MS text:"Michael Skowron" bar:MP text:"Mark Petz" bar:KD text:"Kevin Dixon" bar:BE text:"Bob Engelsman" bar:JH text:"Jim Hofer" bar:BV text:"Bleu VanDyke" bar:CC text:"Colin Clive" bar:AV text:"Anthony Vilchez" bar:MV text:"Matt Van" bar:RJ text:"Rick Johnson" bar:MM text:"Mike McKendrick" bar:NV text:"Nick Varano" bar:BR text:"Brad Rozier" bar:JM text:"John Massel" bar:NC text:"Nathan Cohn" PlotData = width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:DK from:start till:END color:Vocals width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:CC from:start till:END color:Guitar width:3 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:CC from:start till:END color:Vocals width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:AV from:start till:01/01/1994 color:Bass bar:CD from:01/01/1994 till:01/01/2001 color:Bass bar:MV from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2004 color:Bass bar:RJ from:01/01/2004 till:END color:Bass width:3 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:RJ from:01/01/2004 till:END color:Keyboards width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:MM from:start till:01/01/1993 color:Drums bar:NV from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1999 color:Drums bar:BR from:01/01/1999 till:01/01/2004 color:Drums bar:JM from:01/01/2004 till:01/01/2005 color:Drums bar:NC from:01/01/2005 till:END color:Drums width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:BJ from:01/01/1994 till:END color:Trumpet width:3 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:BJ from:01/01/1994 till:END color:Backing width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:BE from:01/01/1992 till:01/01/1994 color:Trombone bar:BV from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/1998 color:Trombone bar:JH from:01/01/1995 till:END color:Trombone width:3 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:MS from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1995 color:Trombone width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:MP from:01/01/1996 till:01/01/1998 color:Sax bar:KD from:01/01/1996 till:01/01/1998 color:Sax bar:CD from:01/01/1992 till:01/01/1993 color:Sax bar:MS from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1995 color:Sax width:3 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-5)

References

"Mustard Plug Interview: Talks about the New Album, Breakfast Cereals, and more!"
"The Battle Of The Midwestern Housewives", July 6, 2007. Accessed July 7, 2007
"Interview with Rick Johnson!"
"Michigan Ska Blog", December 12, 2008. Accessed September 9, 2009

External links

Official website
* Mustard Plug's Allmusic entrybr>Interview from 2002Interview from 2005Interview from 2007
a
ReadJunk.comMustard Plug collection
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

's live music archive {{Authority control American ska punk musical groups Third-wave ska groups Musical groups from Michigan Musical groups established in 1991 1991 establishments in Michigan Hopeless Records artists Musical groups from Grand Rapids, Michigan