Rancid is an American punk rock band formed in Berkeley, California in 1991. Founded by Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, former members of the band Operation Ivy, Rancid is often credited as being among the wave of bands that revived mainstream interest in punk rock in the United States during the mid-1990s. Over their 32-year career, Rancid retained much of its original fan-base, most of which was connected to its underground musical roots.
Timothy Ross Armstrong is an American musician, singer, songwriter and producer. Known for his distinctive voice, he is the singer/guitarist for the punk rock band Rancid and hip hop/punk rock supergroup Transplants. Prior to forming Rancid, Armstrong was in the ska punk band Operation Ivy.
1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours is a compilation album comprising early recordings by American rock band Green Day, released October 1, 1991, on Lookout Records. Often erroneously referred to as the band's debut album, the compilation combines the band's actual debut 39/Smooth and its first two EPs Slappy and 1,000 Hours, as suggested by the amalgamation of the titles of the debut album and two EPs for the resulting compilation album. The album includes one cover, "Knowledge", which was originally by influential California punk band Operation Ivy, whose singer, Jesse Michaels, contributed the artwork for the album. The cover art features the same image from 39/Smooth.
39/Smooth is the debut studio album by American rock band Green Day, released on April 13, 1990, by Lookout Records. It was the band's only album to feature drummer John Kiffmeyer. Jesse Michaels of Operation Ivy contributed the artwork on the album. The inner sleeve shows handwritten lyrics by Billie Joe Armstrong and letters by drummer John Kiffmeyer and Lookout owner Larry Livermore to I.R.S. Records, rejecting a fake offer to sign to the label and declaring its loyalty to Lookout. There were no official singles released from the album, although "Going to Pasalacqua" was released as a mock-up single in a Green Day singles box set entitled Green Day: Ultimate Collectors.
Operation Ivy was an American punk rock band from Berkeley, California, formed in May 1987. The band was stylistically important, as one of the first bands to mix the elements of hardcore punk and ska into a new amalgam called ska punk. The band was critical to the emergence of Lookout Records and the so-called "East Bay Sound."
Energy is the only studio album by the American ska punk band Operation Ivy. It was originally released on vinyl and cassette in May 1989 through Lookout! Records with the catalog number LK 010. Although the album itself has never been released on CD, all of the tracks were featured on the career-spanning compilation Operation Ivy issued by Lookout in 1991. Despite achieving no mainstream success, Energy is considered one of the most important albums of ska punk and is frequently cited as an influence by many later bands of the genre.
Jesse Michaels is an American songwriter, vocalist, guitarist, artist, and author from Berkeley, California. His lyrics deal with politics, racism, and general social issues. He is most well known as the vocalist for the ska punk band Operation Ivy (1987–1989), as well as Classics of Love. In 2023 Michaels formed the band DOOM Regulator. He is the son of the author Leonard Michaels, and was married to producer Audrey Marrs.
Common Rider was an American ska punk band, formed in 1999 by Jesse Michaels, Mass Giorgini (bass) and Dan Lumley (drums). The band's name is taken from a Japanese TV show, Kamen Rider
The Pietasters are an American eight-piece ska/soul band from Washington, D.C., with additional members from Maryland and Virginia.
King Django is an American bandleader, singer, songwriter, arranger, engineer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, especially in the genres of ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, dancehall, rhythm & blues and soul. Other influences in his music have included traditional jazz, swing, klezmer, hardcore/punk rock, hip-hop and electronica.
Boogadaboogadaboogada! is the second studio album by the Chicago-based punk rock band Screeching Weasel. The album was originally released on vinyl in December 1988 through Roadkill Records. It was the group's only album to feature Fish on bass and the last with Steve Cheese on drums, both leaving the band shortly after the album's release. Although still influenced by hardcore punk, the album also shows hints of the band's later Ramones-inspired sound.
Seedy is a compilation album by the American ska punk band Operation Ivy. The album was released in 1996 through Karma Kredit Records. Karma Kredit was a pseudonym for David Hayes' Very Small Records. The compilation collects studio outtakes, live tracks, and demo recordings. The tracks in this compilation were recorded on a mono speaker tape deck recorder. All releases are currently out of print and occasionally surface on eBay.
Plea for Peace is the final EP by the American punk rock band Operation Ivy. It was released in February 1992, three years after they disbanded, through M&E Records. Plea for Peace contained four songs not featured on any of Operation Ivy's studio releases.
Downfall was a ska and punk band from the Bay Area formed by Tim Armstrong, Matt Freeman, Dave Mello, Pat Mello, and Jason Hammon following the break-up of Operation Ivy in 1989 and pre-dating Armstrong's and Freeman's wider recognition in Rancid. They performed three shows, one at 924 Gilman Street, over a period of three months.
Don't Back Down is the sixth studio album by the American punk rock band the Queers, released in August 1996 by Lookout! Records. The band and Lookout! president Larry Livermore, who served as executive producer, sought to balance the sounds of the Ramones and the Beach Boys, and enlisted the help of former Queers guitarist JJ Rassler and Cub singer Lisa Marr. The album's title track is a cover version of the Beach Boys song of the same name; it also features covers of the Hondells' "Little Sidewalk Surfer Girl" and Hawaiian punk band the Catalogs' "Another Girl". The album produced the band's first music videos, for "Punk Rock Girls" and "Don't Back Down".
Later Days and Better Lays is a compilation album by the American punk rock band the Queers, released in March 1999 by Lookout! Records. It combines a 14-song demo tape from 1991 with some demos recorded in the lead-up to their 1996 album Don't Back Down, as well as some outtakes from that album's recording sessions. The compilation fulfilled the band's contractual obligations to Lookout!, following seven years and four studio albums on the label. They moved on to Hopeless Records, but would return to Lookout! for the Today EP (2001) and album Pleasant Screams (2002) before parting ways with the label again.
'69 Newport is a 7" vinyl EP record by the influential ska-core band Operation Ivy. The 7" was composed of "Hedgecore" and "Left Behind", both of which were recorded at 924 Gilman Street in 1987. '69 Newport was unofficially released in March 1993 under the label Very Small Records. 5,029 were initially pressed on black vinyl. The song "Hedgecore" is a song about the local pastime in Berkeley which involves diving into and destroying bushes.
Turn It Around! is a punk rock compilation album by Maximumrocknroll. Originally released as two 7-inch records in October 1987, it served as a benefit to raise money for the Berkeley, California DIY punk scene. The compilation featured the first appearances of many bands who would later become well known outside of the scene, including Operation Ivy, Crimpshrine and Isocracy. Due to the poor sound quality of the original 7-inch version, Turn It Around! was reissued by Very Small Records in September 1991 as one LP. However, the compilation is currently out of print and has never seen a CD release.
Can of Pork is a compilation album of various punk rock artists. It was released as two 12-inch vinyl records or one CD in April 1992 by Lookout Records. The vinyl version has a booklet of lyrics and photography and the CD version has information on contacting the bands and a detailed description of the compilation's production.
Sleep, What's That? is the debut EP by the Berkeley, California-based punk rock band Crimpshrine. It was released on January 30, 1988 through Lookout Records on 7-inch vinyl with the catalog number LK 004. After the EP went out of print in 1992, all of the tracks were added to the compilation album The Sound of a New World Being Born in 1998, which is also currently not in print. It is often considered a classic Lookout Records release and as Crimpshrine's strongest recording.
