Infobox musical artist
Name = Operation Ivy
Img_capt = Operation Ivy performing at the legendary Gilman
Background = group_or_band
Origin = Berkeley, California, USA
Genre = Hardcore punk
Ska punk
Ska-core
Years_active = 1987–1989
Label = Lookout! Records, Hellcat Records
Associated_acts = Rancid
Transplants
Downfall
Big Rig
Common Rider
Isocracy
Green Day
Dance Hall Crashers
Basic Radio
Shaken 69
Past_members = Jesse Michaels
Tim Armstrong
Matt Freeman
Dave Mello
Pat Mello (unofficial 5th member)]
Operation Ivy was an influential ska punk and hardcore punk band formed in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The band consisted of frontman Jesse Michaels (vocals), Tim Armstrong (credited as "Lint") (vocals/guitar), Matt Freeman (credited as Matt McCall) (bass/backing vocals), and Dave Mello (Drums/backing vocals). The band's name, previously abandoned by another Gilman group, Isocracy, was derived from the Operation Ivy series of nuclear tests. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ivy]
History
The band existed between May of 1987 and May of 1989, as was chronicled in the lyrics of the Rancid song "Journey to the End of East Bay", which appeared on Rancid's "...And Out Come the Wolves":
Started in '87,Ended in '89, You got a garage, or an amp we'll play anytime.It was just the four of us, Yeah man, the core of us, Too much attention unavoidably destroyed us. [Rancid. "Journey to the End of East Bay." "...And Out Come the Wolves." Epitaph, 1995.]
Their first show was performed on May 16, 1987 in Dave Mello's garage. The next day began a tradition of performances at the Berkeley ska/punk collective center 924 Gilman Street. They began playing a lot of gigs which led to their almost immediate cult-following. Later in 1987 they made their debut on a Maximum Rock'n'Roll compilation called "Turn it Around". In January 1988, they signed to Lookout! Records, and released "Hectic", their first E.P., which became one of Lookout!'s strongest sellers. By this time, Operation Ivy (along with Crimpshrine and The Mr. T Experience) was one of the most popular Gilman/Berkeley Punk bands. They began getting many gigs and set out on a tour across the United States. By mid-1988, they began selling out larger venues and the pressure to sign to major labels began to rise.
They released the album "Energy" on Lookout! Records in May 1989. The band broke up the same month, and their last official show was on May 28, 1989. It was also Green Day's first show with the name "Green Day" at Gilman, at what was supposed to have been their release party. They played one more show the following day, mainly for friends and family, in Robert Eggplant's backyard in Pinole, California. In two years, the band had performed 185 shows and recorded a total of 32 songs (28 released officially, 4 on the bootlegged "Plea For Peace" EP), as well as songs which were recorded only as demos, such as "Hedgecore" (about a favorite pastime of the band which involved artfully jumping over manicured bushes), "Hangin' Out", "Sarcastic" and "Left Behind". Recordings from their aborted attempt to record the "Energy" LP live at Gilman also exist, and include some early versions of songs which appeared later on the final studio version of Energy, such as "6 to 10" which evolved into "Vulnerability", and an early version of "Unity" with horn accompaniment and a different chorus. All of their known demos and unreleased recordings are available on bootlegs.
The lyrics and tone of Operation Ivy's music portray a vociferous desire for social justice and a strong distrust of mainstream conformist culture.
Green Day did a cover of the Operation Ivy song "Knowledge" on the "1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours" compilation and have continued to play the song live. Several other artists have covered Operation Ivy songs, many of which are included on Glue Factory Records' 1997 Operation Ivy tribute album, titled "Take Warning: The Songs of Operation Ivy." The most notable bands on this tribute are: Reel Big Fish covering "Unity" (track 2), Blue Meanies covering "Yellin' In My Ear" (track 5), Cherry Poppin' Daddies covering "Sound System" (track 6), The Hippos covering "Freeze Up" (track 10) and The Aquabats with a campfire-style cover of "Knowledge" (track 13). Other bands to cover Operation Ivy songs include a rendition of "Healthy Body" by Area-7, "Sound System" by Buck O Nine, "Caution" by No Trigger and more covers of "Knowledge" by both Millencolin and Evergreen Terrace. Many local bands from around the country are keeping the spirit of 87' alive, covering Operation Ivy songs. Additionally, it is not uncommon for Rancid to play a few Operation Ivy songs at their shows.
In 1991, two years after their breakup, Lookout! put together a compilation consisting of the "Energy" album, the "Hectic" EP, and songs from compilations. It was released as a complete discography (sometimes referred to as a re-release of the "Energy" album). It contains 27 songs, following the band's recorded history.
Post-Operation Ivy careers
Two of the band's members, Armstrong and Freeman, also perform(ed) with the bands Rancid (their current and biggest project), Dance Hall Crashers, Basic Radio, Downfall, Devil's Brigade, Shaken 69 and Transplants. Additionally, Freeman has performed with Auntie Christ, Generator, MDC and Social Distortion.
There was a great deal of speculation regarding the fate of Michaels. He revealed in an interview that he became a Buddhist monk for about 6 months in 1992 although this was later found to not be true although he did study Buddhism. [http://www.operationivy.com/interviews.php] . Legend had it that he had moved to Nicaragua. Michaels eventually resurfaced into the music world with a project band, Big Rig who only released a 4 song EP titled Expansive Heart, and later with a more active band, Common Rider, which included bassist Mass Giorgini (producer and bassist for Squirtgun and occasionally Screeching Weasel) and drummer Dan Lumley (of Squirtgun and Screeching Weasel). Common Rider released a 7" EP and two full-length albums and did some nationwide touring in the United States before eventually disbanding. There were slight plans for a third album, but it never came to fruition. B-sides from their second album This Is Unity Music were used in a split EP with the Florida Skacore band Against All Authority.
During Rancid's 2006 US tour, Operation Ivy alumni Armstrong and Freeman were playing a select few tracks from their previous bands catalog. At a stop at San Francisco's Warfield Theatre on December 17th 2006, Jesse Michaels reunited with his two former bandmates to perform the tracks "Unity" as well as "Sound System". It was his first time on stage with the two in over 15 years. [http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/16268081.htm]
Leaving Lookout!
On 4 May 2006, it was announced that "Energy" had officially been removed from Lookout! Records' catalog. The album had been, after Green Day's first two albums, the label's biggest-selling album. Following such bands as Green Day, Screeching Weasel, The Queers and Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Operation Ivy is the latest in a series of bands who have left Lookout! in recent years and taken back the rights to their back catalog due to unpaid royalties [http://www.eastbayexpress.com/issues/2005-09-14/news/feature_1.html] .
"Energy" was later reissued on November 6 2007 by Epitaph Records subsidiary Hellcat Records as a self-titled compilation album. Hellcat Records is former band member Tim Armstrong's label. While the Epitaph reissue's tracklist is identical to the 1991 Lookout! release, the 2007 re-release features remastered audio and new Digipak packaging.
A reunion of the band is not planned for anytime in the future. Michaels addressed reunion issues in a Myspace blog [ [http://www.punknews.org/article/22284 "Jesse Michaels addresses Common Rider and Operation Ivy reunion questions."] Punknews.org. February 17, 2007.] citing the legal and logistic difficulties in getting the 4 members together for a reunion, as well as the fact that the band "never belonged in a big rock club in a one to two thousand seat joint." He concluded the post with the following:
Discography
LPs and EPs
Members
*Jesse Michaels vocals
*Tim Armstrong (Lint), guitar, lyrics and vocals
*Matt Freeman (Matt McCall), bass and vocals
*Dave Mello drums and vocals
References
External links
*MusicBrainz artist|id=931e1d1f-6b2f-4ff8-9f70-aa537210cd46|name=Operation Ivy
* [http://www.operationivy.com/ Fan Site]
* [http://www.operationphoenixrecords.com/flipsidedeoperationivy.html Flipside Interview] - Operation Ivy interview from 1988
* [http://www.operationphoenixrecords.com/maximumrocknrolloperationivy.html Maximumrocknroll Interview] - Operation Ivy interview from 1988