ASSOCIATED PRESS ARTICLE
April 30, 2004
The rock band Plaastik, after a search spanning over a year, have finally found a new keyboardist replacing department member Christina Singleton. Jerry Mull will perform with the band on a brief promotional tour this fall, according to their manager, Melvyn Mylquetoast.
The announcement comes days after word slipped to Spin from an anonymous source at Capitol Records that Plaastik has gone 200% over budget in the creation of their new album, tentatively called WALKING DISTANCE. According to the informant, a rough cut of the album was completed in late 2003 but was destroyed by frontman Nick Parker, who is acting as his band's producer for the first time.
Mylquetoast confirmed that there have been problems. "They are very happy with the material, but were understandably shaken up by Christina's departure, and right now they're just dealing with presentation of the new songs." Myquetoast claimed that recording for the LP was completed at the end of March and that it is currently being mixed, but a Capitol spokesman told AP that they have not received any word on the project since November, when they were given the working title.
Mull is a classically-trained pianist from Minnesota who will be the first addition to the band's lineup since 1988. According to Mylquetoast, he has been a fan of Plaastik since he was a teenager... which will make him the youngest band member by a longshot.
Many fans feel he has big shoes to fill, as Singleton was one of the creative forces of Plaastik in the last fifteen years. Some fans speculate that her separation from the group won't last long; the first record from her band, Crisis, did poorly on the Billboard charts upon release in February, and Virgin Records recently delayed the release of her solo debut, KICKING GLASS.
The creation of the new Plaastik album has been known to be somewhat problematic almost since it was officially announced to be in production. Parker, sources at Capitol say, is a ruthless perfectionist, and both the band and their label are a bit weary of their place in the context of rock radio today.
"Plaastik is an old band now, and they've always been kind of a niche market even with all their hit singles," says critic Jon Pareles. "I don't see much hope that a lot of radio stations are going to embrace their new work without hesitation." Their last three albums sold pitifully in comparison to their blockbuster predecessors, including the Grammy-winning ON SUCH A NIGHT.
Capitol Records, one of the labels hit hardest by the recent industry slowdown, still has a lot of faith in the group, enough that they are also releasing an acoustic "folkish" record by the band's two chief members, Nick Parker and Janet Kieran, in early 2005 and they are said to be planning a massive campaign surrounding it.