Plastic Pinks Celebrate New EP With a Churchill's Takeover

Over the past few years, Plastic Pinks have worked and played their way toward becoming one of the most recognizable names in Miami music. And their upcoming EP-release show at Churchill's promises to be both a celebration of the band's accomplishments thus far and a launching pad toward a new era for the group.

"I'm not saying we're the saviors or whatever, because we're not."

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"We are not stopping the way we did music," guitarist Augie Pink says. "We're still very attached to that sound, but we do want to add to that sound."

"Make it bigger," vocalist June Summer adds.

The Pinks recently shook up their lineup — losing guitarist Luigi La Rocca — and the band is now rounded out by Rod Woolf on guitar, Dane Giordano on bass, and Trevor Mustoe on drums. It's been a refreshing reset for Plastic Pinks and a source of new inspiration.

"There's new influences that are added into our creative process," Pink says. "That brings out different music that we already love but we've never gotten the chance to play."

The band's forthcoming EP, El Animal, will be the first to feature the recently updated lineup and the group's first collaboration with producer Gordon Raphael, best known for his work with the Strokes on their landmark album Is This It.

The collaboration came about in the most 2016 way possible, after Pink added Raphael on Facebook and they began liking and commenting on each other's statuses — Facebook flirting, if you will. One night, after completing a forthcoming song, Pink decided to message Raphael about working together. "It was like 3 a.m. I was like, Fuck it. What do I have to lose? Nothing. But what do I have to gain? A lot. So I just decided to be genuine about it. I sent him a message as a fan and as a professional musician."

Raphael replied within minutes and offered his services. He mixed two songs on El Animal and plans to work on the band's second album, set to drop sometime in 2017. Underscoring the prolificness of this period of time in the band's career, Plastic Pinks will also release a second EP between El Animal and the sophomore full-length record.

For the release of the first of their three forthcoming projects, Plastic Pinks wanted to throw a massive rock 'n' roll party to celebrate, and, naturally, they chose Churchill's to host it. "It's like the CBGB of Miami, and CBGB is not there anymore, so all we have is Churchill's," Pink says.

Emphasizing the value of a Miami venue that is 18-and-up and gets fans exploring the local music scene early, Summer adds, "I think people take for granted what Churchill's is, and they forget there's a bunch of states and cities that don't have a Churchill's."

Plastic Pinks see their EP release as an opportunity to celebrate not only Churchill's but also the bands that have made the venue's existence possible for decades. To that end, the Pinks have put together an impressive 15-band lineup for their release show, including Peyote Coyote, the Woolly Bushmen, and Sandratz.

"Yes, this is our event, but we want it to be a Miami celebration, and every time someone is doing something good, it should be celebrated, whether it be us or whoever," Summer says.

Summer acknowledges that with his band's success comes a responsibility to serve as stewards of the local scene. "There's many bands that come and go, and there's always talk about, 'There's nobody helping the scene.' I'm not saying we're the saviors or whatever, because we're not. We're just people who really care for music, and we've always been people who want bands to interact and do shows together and make people aware of what's happening in Miami, because we're not the only ones."

Plastic Pinks EP-Release Fest. 5 p.m. Saturday, November 5, at Churchill's Pub, 5501 NE Second Ave., Miami; 305-757-1807; churchillspub.com. Tickets cost $8 at the door.