Pass the mustard

Mustard Plug defend skacore

by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

With ska's recent upsurge in popularity, a debate is intensifying. Is skacore legitimate? Many old-school second wavers feel the raunchy, punkified variation originally introduced by acts like Operation Ivy and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones isn't quite authentic enough. And this is understandable: with the introduction of distorted guitar overdrive and thundering drums, there's a point at which a ska band devolves into a punk band with horns.

Mustard Plug, hailing from Grand Rapids, Michigan, defend their sound as genuine ska. Singer Dave Kirchgessner puts it this way: "I think ska, from its start, was a meshing of different styles. Mento [Jamaican folk] mixed with other Caribbean sounds such as calypso, and American jazz and R&B. We're just taking the ska sound and mixing it with our own contemporary influences."

To be fair, there wasn't any sort of Midwestern ska scene before Mustard Plug formed in '91. The closest thing available was the punk movement, and that's where Kirchgessner and company find their roots. Sealing the deal, Mustard Plug's new album Evildoers Beware! carries the emblem of Californian pop-punk label Hopeless, as well as production credits for All's Stephen Egerton and Bill Stevenson. Hybridizing punk and ska, longtime associates in spirit, is a recipe that has served many American bands quite well. And having sold 15,000 copies of both the new album and Big Daddy Multitude, their Moon Records debut, Mustard Plug aren't exactly complaining about accessibility.

Kirchgessner does, however, have a bone to pick with skacore's most glaring shortcoming. Slamdancing at ska shows is hardly a new trend, but it's starting to get way out of hand. "I hate to see people get hurt at our shows," says Kirchgessner, "and I hate to see people prevented from dancing, because that's the appeal of ska." Kirchgessner points out that, ironically, it's the mohawked crusty punks who display proper skanking etiquette. Meanwhile, the Johnny-come-lately preps and snowboard jocks are the ones turning the dance floor into a football field.

Good work, Kirchgessner, you've defended your band's right to call its music ska. You're not out of the woods yet, though, kid. Turns out Montreal's own Planet Smashers have challenged Mustard Plug on the originality of their stage getup (both bands sport matching bowling shirts). While a "Cage of Death" battle royale wrestling match seems the most obvious means of settling the matter, Kirchgessner offers a more reasonable solution. "We had the bowling shirts first. I think this will have to be resolved on the lanes."

Mustard Plug garnish the Grim Skunk record launch at Metropolis on Friday, May 2. 7pm, $10, all ages