Operation Ivy  / 1987 - 1988

• Tim Armstrong - Guitar / Vocals
• Matt Freeman - Bass / Vocals
• Jesse Michaels - Vocals
• Dave Mello - Drums

Operation Ivy tour photos Chicago 1988

Operation Ivy

East Bay and beyond

Operation Ivy started in Berkeley in 1987 when Tim Armstrong, who was a veteran of the local ska/punk/rock band Basic Radio, approached Jesse Michaels about starting a band. The two quickly discovered they had good song writing chemistry and set about creating a set of songs. Tim had already been playing with bassist Matt Freeman in Basic Radio and the newly acquainted trio quickly found Dave Mello and added him as a drummer. Coincidentally, the start of the band coincided with the founding of Gilman Street, a collective venue which was to become a mainstay of the Bay Area punk scene from the late eighties on. Operation Ivy's first show was in drummer Dave Mello's garage and their second show was at Gilman Street the next day. At that time Gilman was just getting started and the growth of Operation Ivy and of Gilman Street would be mutually intertwined. Eventually Operation Ivy would go on to attain international interest and Gilman would become a legendary early stomping ground for many notable bands including Green Day, Rancid and Jawbreaker.

As time went on Operation Ivy's following grew although contrary to what many people think, the band was never very big while they were actually playing. Most of their popularity came about after the group broke up with the release of their first full length record, Energy. Even so, Opivy found small but enthusiastic groups of supporters wherever they went. People enjoyed the combination of two-tone ska and fast, modern punk music. Though the sounds had been combined before by bands such as The Clash, The Ruts and Spain's Kortatu, Operation Ivy was the first band to play an up-tempo version of what has been come to be known as "ska-punk." This was at least partially inspired by the Berkeley Band The Uptones who played two-tone type ska in the early eighties. The Uptoness were known to have punk-like crowd energy at their shows and all members of OPIVY had been attendees at these early American second wave ska gigs. Still, Operation Ivy considered themselves primarily a Punk band with ska influences, especially since their sound was stripped down and did not include the other instruments normally associated with ska music.

After approximately two years the band broke up due to different perspectives on decisions between band members. In the two years of their existence Opivy released one six song ep ("Hectic"), contributed songs to the "Turn it Around" and "Thing That Ate Floyd" compilations and recorded a full length record ("Energy.") After their break-up all this material would be compiled on the CD version of the "Energy" record which is currently on Epitaph/Hellcat. Operation Ivy played approximately 130 shows and since their break up have sold over 700,000 copies of the Energy LP in its various forms. Tim and Matt went on to form the band Rancid while David Mello played in bands including Schlong and Jewdriver and Jesse Michaels performed in the bands Common Rider and currently plays in Classics of Love.

The most commonly asked questions about Operation Ivy are whether the members still speak to one another and whether there will be a reunion. The short answer is that all the members of Opivy are still amicable but there are no reunion plans in the works. The band has great gratitude to its fans and feels that the true legacy of the music has been created and kept alive as much by the people who have connected with and supported Operation Ivy as by the original performers.

Thank you!