Here is our first Defunct Local Band Profile of 2023, as we're again looking at a randomly selected inactive local metal, hard rock, or punk band from the past, in order to spotlight their run for current readers! Our rotation brings us to Sault Michigan to kick off the year for a talented but short lived group from the mid-2010s, so here's what you should know on them!
Audio/Video: Plastic teased working on demos in 2014, but as best as I can tell, they never posted any of them on for public consumption unless reworked as solo songs by frontman Zac Crook ("Be My Angel" did get released as such). Live videos can principally be seen on Zac's YouTube channel, which primarily covers his solo career now, but also dips into Plastic and Half Stupid live clips, with all of his Plastic videos coming from their sets at the 2013 & 2014 LemmaFests outside of Dondee Lanes. These include Zac, Nick, and Paul playing "Be My Angel" and covers of Black Flag & Stevie Wonder in 2013, and this 2014 video shot by Wayne Kozeyah featuring two originals and seven eclectic covers!
Info/Analysis: Debuting at LemmaFest in June 2013, Plastic were effectively the successors to mid-late 2000s local grunge trio Half Stupid, if boasting a more diverse setlist. Plastic quickly became a common sight at local concerts in late 2013 at venues like The Merchants Bar and Dan's Place (now The Brickyard Bar & Grill) in Rudyard, while almost opening for The Misfits in Detroit that September. The band dialed back live dates in 2014 to work on demos, but they returned at that year's fourth & final LemmaFest. Plastic changed their name to The Spendthrifts later that summer, but undertook no major public activity as such, falling inactive by 2015 (a one-off Misfits-heavy reunion in 2018 as "Das Spööky" aside). Frontman Zac Crook has since focused on solo music that shares thematic similarities to his heavier band work, while he has also owned Crooked Music (the former Grooves Music) on Ashmun Street since 2017.While only publically active for about one year, Plastic left a good impression with their more mature but still hard-edged brand of alternative rock, with their suprisingly diverse covers often dipping into some bluesier territory to good effect, and seeing Misfits love across the river was neat! It's a shame that Zac and company didn't fully exist past 2015, but Plastic do feel like a bridge between Half Stupid and his eclectic and sometimes jazz-inflected solo material (on sale at Crooked Music and on Bandcamp), so don't bypass Plastic's extant videos to see what they brought to the table!
I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! We'll return to Sault Ontario next month for the first time in 2023, and our latest random selection is quite a band, namely inactive local punk quartet The Inner City Surfers! Look for this profile on or around February 10th, and for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!
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