F.A.Q.

Frequently Answered Q.

So, what's operation ivy?

Where did they get the name from?

Operation Ivy is an 'operation' of testing a bomb  in 1950s. I HAVE NO IDEA if that's where the name is from. Rumors said they got it from a tv show, it's one of Isocracy's lyrics/song titles, or some older bands. i don't really know.

How many members are there in op ivy?

the 'official' one, 4. jesse michaels, tim (lint) armstrong, matt (mccall) freeman, and dave mello. but in my view, there are 6 (including pat and paul). they were in horn section and played some songs (like bad town).

The genre?

ska punk. if you call it ska core, doesn't matter. it's a mix of 2 tone ska (the specials) and old punk rock (clash). jesse said their main influence was from the clash. from some info i got, operation ivy is considered the first ska punk band in the us. they've influenced countless skacore bands (less than jake, rancid).

Why did they kick ass?

Why? go listen to the music. and watch some of their videos, especially the last one.

How big was operation ivy at that time?

They were pretty well-known. but it was only in bay area, since they were underground and just another local band.

How big is operation ivy today?

How big? hmmmmmmm. they're prety well known today. even jesse michaels said that there are more operation ivy fans today than in 1980s.

If they were that big, how come they aren't that recognized?

They aren't that recognized simply because they were actually an underground band. they didn't have any music videos, not even on mtv. they didn't have metalica or limp bizkit-kind concert (where the crowds can never touch the band). None of the members were a model or a tv star.

What does operation ivy have to do with Rancid, Common Rider, and Schlong?

2 of operation ivy members are now playing for rancid (tim and matt). tim is now a singer and matt is still a bassist. Jesse is in Common Rider, a vocalist and guitarist. And Dave is still a drummer in Schlong, with his bro Pat.

I heard there are some today's bands that were playing with operation ivy, is it true?

yup. the most influenced and famous one is probably green day. check out the quote from billi joe in letters section.

Is Energy  the only official cd?

yeah. the rest are bootlegs. unity: the complete collection, unreleased energy, radio daze, they're all bootlegs. well, but i don't consider plea for peace and hectic 7" as bootlegs, because op ivy was around when they produced hectic 7" and plea for peace was band's-authorized 7".

How old are jesse, lint, matt, and dave at that time?

i don't know the exact age, but i think they were 17-19 years old kids (jesse is now 30, i think).

Shit man, i think they're awesome!

They are!

Thanks for the time dude.

anytime (i'm interviewing myself, i know i sound dumb).

if you have any questions or if you have some info you wanna share, go to Forum or email me.

Oh, by the way man, can i have jesse, lint, matt, or dave's email? so i can talk to em!

i am in NO WAY related to them. damn it! i'm just a fan! PLEASE DON'T BOTHER ASKING ME if you want some personal stuff (like emails, street address). i don't know it, ok?

Fun Facts

          This is basically a page filled with some cool op ivy facts gathered from various interviews and sites. Read on! cos all your email questions are probably answered here. If you see something wrong, drop me an email.

1. Operation Ivy played 180+ shows, and yes, they did US tour (i don't know if it was once or many).

2. They were among the first bands to introduce skapunk (or skacore) in the US.

3. Matt Freeman got his "old nick" name (McCall) from a TV show called Equalizer (or something like that).

4. Their first show was in Dave Mello's garage. Their second show is in Gilman St. Club on sometimes in May 1987.

5. Just like Rancid's story of Bret Reed, Dave Mello didn't really know how to play drum when he first joined op ivy.

6. Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong sang Op Ivy's Humpty's Comin By and Helen In my Car. Eh? those are actually Junkie's Running Dry and Yellin' in my Ear. Since there weren't many people who knows the exact lyric, they just said what they heard.

7. Their main influence was from The Clash, as noted by Jesse Michaels. But if you say Op Ivy was only about ska and punk, well, that's not all. They also had some hip hop influence! "I was totally into rap back then. On the song Unity, it's basically a total Chuck D vocal pattern." in other interview, it's also said that Jesse wanted to be like Social Distortion's Creetin Chaos. "Yeah. (Laughs). If people hear Cretin chaos sing, they'll be like, "oh, I see where he got all his shit."

8. What about Lint? "My first guitar hero was Angus Young, then when I got older it was Joe Strummer and Johnny Ramone." And what was his first band? "My first band was a hardcore band called C.O.D. which played Black Flag-type straight-ahead punk rock."

9. Jello (yes, you heard it right, Jello) got beat up after he went to one Op Ivy show. Very sad, some assholes just took things too serious probably.

10. Operation Ivy did not have any music videos for Mtv. They were all underground and at that time, i believe, ska punk wasn't a trend.

11. As you might already know, Pat Mello is Dave's bro.

12. The reasons Op Ivy broke up. Jesse: Argument; Tim: Too big.

13. Jesse didn't get into music for a while after Op Ivy broke up. He was more into negative type of punk music (like the germs). He partied, read a lot of books and such...

14. ... and from various interviews, i assume he did not really became a monk. why? "After Operation Ivy I just partied and went to shows and just raged for, like, years. I tried to study Zen Buddhism, but I couldn't get up at 5:30 in the morning, I couldn't handle it."

15. Tim Armstrong got into alcohol heavily. And sometimes in 1992-93, he asked Matt to start a band. and there ya go, Rancid.

16. Dave is somewhere, but I believe he plays in a band called Schlong right now. to be honest, i've never heard their music, but some people said it's a poppy ska band.

17. All band members were not into only one band after op ivy broke up. Lint and matt were in Downfall.

18. Op Ivy had many fans, but even Jesse said there are more fans these days than back in 1980s.

19. What about bootlegs? Jesse said "I don't have anything against bootlegs, but I would strongly advise anyone who is thinking about purchasing one to see if they could listen to it first, because a lot of them really suck. Sometimes when you release something, there's a reason for it." and what about Napster? "...and it kind of funny how much of a big deal they're making about it, because it doesn't seem like much of a threat."

20. As far as i know, Jesse's not married, Tim is (with Broody of The Distillers), and i don't know about matt and dave.

21. What does Jesse think about today's ska? "My attitude about the current punk bands is exactly the same as my attitude toward the current Ska bands. If they have Heart, and they are Real, and they play Good Music, then I love 'em."

22. What about sex? Guess what? he believes in sex before, after, and during marriage.

23. And what about all these major label debate? Jesse doesn't have anything against major label, however, he has something against losing intimacy with an audience and not being able to control how one's music is presented.

24. Common Rider is a word from a Japanese TV series called Kamen Rider. Ummm, no one cares, but it was one of my favorite shows when i was 8 or something.

25. Why don't they play op ivy songs? Well, basically, they just enjoy what they have right now.

26. Will we see the reunited Op Ivy? as far as i know, nope.  it's hard to reform a band once you are in a very successful and enjoyable band, that's probably the main reason.

27. Check out Rancid's time bomb video. There's a second where you can see the cover of Unreleased Energy. I think rancid loves op ivy