Operation Ivy is the band that made the previously unknown company Lookout famous! Records. Operation Ivy featured vocalist Jesse Michaels, guitarist Lint (then Tim Armstrong, who founded Rancid after Operation Ivy broke up), bass guitarist Matt Freeman (who also became Rancid), and drummer Dave Mello. At the time of the creation of the group, they were all 18-19 years old. Originating in 1987 in Berkeley, California, the band began playing a revolutionary mix of traditional Jamaican ska and punk
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Operation Ivy is the band that made the previously unknown company Lookout famous! Records. Operation Ivy featured vocalist Jesse Michaels, guitarist Lint (then Tim Armstrong, who founded Rancid after Operation Ivy broke up), bass guitarist Matt Freeman (who also became Rancid), and drummer Dave Mello. At the time of the creation of the group, they were all 18-19 years old.
Originating in 1987 in Berkeley, California, the band began playing a revolutionary mix of traditional Jamaican ska and punk rock. At the time, neither was common; vocalist of the band Mr. “Everybody was obsessed with heavy metal and wanted to play and listen to it.” Operation Ivy laid the foundation for a new wave of ska, closely intertwined with other styles (in this case punk). They mixed a weak share of ska guitars, a walking bass in the style of “rocksteady” and a very fast rhythm. Some people call this style “Ska-Kor”. Most of Operation Ivy's songs were closer to ska, though they didn't have a brass section. The musicians themselves commented on this as follows: It happened. Basically, we used winds on Bad Town, and we had a saxophonist on a couple of shows. But we didn't have permanent wind instruments, although maybe a pro-existing group would have been different. The band also played punk rock in its purest form on songs such as Hoboken and Sleep Long. The lyrics followed punk themes (nonconformism, think with your head, don’t forget to have fun, you have to hear it yourself; I would call the themes of Operation Ivy songs “political-philosophical”).
A year later, the group was extremely popular on the coast of California, called East Bay. They released their first and only album, Energy. For 1989, only a few thousand copies of this album were sold, but after 9 years it acquired a cult status and sold more than 500 thousand copies.
This success may be the result of an aura of mystery that developed after the band broke up in 1989. In addition, vocalist Jesse Michaels disappeared from sight, allegedly fascinated by Buddhism and left for Tibet. The reasons for the breakup were not disclosed, but it is believed that the members of Operation Ivy did not want to listen to accusations of “saleability” (a large company had just offered them a contract for 2 more albums). Lint (Tim) and Matt formed the band Rancid, which went towards punk rock and, over time, gained immense popularity. Drummer Dave joined the band Schlong.
A few years later, Jesse Michaels sent to the newspaper Lookout! Records is an open letter to dispel numerous and mostly implausible rumors about the reasons for Operation Ivy’s breakup and its own fate. It turned out that the group broke up mainly due to internal conflicts. As for Jesse, he suffered from alcoholism for about 3 years, but then he “was tired of waking up in a pile of vomit”, and he really became interested in Zen Buddhism, but did not leave California, but visited the San Francisco Zen Center (it should be mentioned that various publications claimed that he left: 1) to Nicaragua; 2) to South Africa; 3) to India. Then Jesse got tired of freezing outside at 4am in a stupid robe, and he slowly returned to Lookout!, becoming a staff artist. He currently plays and sings in the band Common Rider.
In conclusion, Jesse Michaels wrote on the cover of the album Energy: “Music is a hidden force for change because it gives hope in the face of human tragedies.” It helps make the world more cohesive. At certain moments, at some concerts, that world is already here. Operation Ivy was very lucky to have that feeling. In those seconds, it becomes clear that the energy that drives the subculture forward is far more important than any single group. This energy exists because of people who continue to be interested and remain persistent and hopeful.”