Journey out of East Bay

It is the 27th of May 1987, a twenty two year old Tim Armstrong, later of such bands as Rancid and Transplants, is playing a show in his friend Dave Mello’s garage with his newly formed outfit Operation Ivy. To them this is just another weekend, but little do they know just what it will be the beginning of.

In the mid 1980’s the punk rock scene in California was becoming overcrowded by a thriving brood of hardcore bands. Many of the local DIY punk rock clubs were slowly being pushed out of business and the scene was in danger of becoming stagnant. Then, in 1986, a change came. The town of Berkeley on the east shore of the San Francisco bay paid witness to the opening of what would later become on of punk rock’s most celebrated residences; 924 Gilman Street.

‘The Gilman’, as it affectionately became known, would later become a regular home for such bands as Green Day, AFI, Bad Religion and The Offspring. It only had three simple rules; no violence, no alcohol and no drugs. It was a place where people of all ages could come together and enjoy the music they loved in its purest form.

One year after the Gilman’s opening, on May 28^th 1987, it was the theatre for Operation Ivy’s first public show. The band had come equipped with a fresh, new sound, a sound which would later be dubbed ‘ska-core’. It was an amalgamation of familiar hardcore themes and more subdued, light hearted ska punk and dub tones, it was passionate and stripped down, and made to be played at an intimate gig. With this sound Operation Ivy had brought something original, exciting and ultimately influential to the genre; they kept the lyrical beliefs of social justice and community spirit alive, but harboured a much more upbeat tone.

It is this upbeat tone that went on to influence a whole generation of punk rock bands. It is noted that without Operation Ivy much of the 90’s punk revival would simply never have happened. Punk rock behemoths Green Day quote the band as one of their major influences, and to this day can be found playing a cover of knowledge at their gigs (a song that this very blog is named after). Elements of Operation Ivy’s sound can be found being used by a myriad of bands today, from Rise against to Reel Big Fish; they can truly be credited with forging much of the modern punk rock landscape.

To this day bands continually strive to keep the spirit of ’87 alive with their music and ethic. Operation Ivy disbanded in 1989 after only two years, but in this time played hundreds of shows and gained a massive cult following, centred around the Gilman. The band and their fans had an obsession with the idea of raw energy, urgency and hope. They loved the feeling of community, and the band was famously grateful and honoured to have developed the following that they did during their short lifespan.

The life and times of the band is chronicled aptly in Rancid’s song ‘Journey the End of the East Bay’;

Started in '87, Ended in '89, 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. Four kids on tour, 3,000 miles, in a four door car, not knowing what was going on. We got a million years, of tourin' out like this, Hell no, no premonition could have seen this!

Can’t really put it better than that!

Operation Ivy – Operation Ivy (spotify link)