Operation Ivy fans have been waiting a long time for a reunion. The influential ska band hasn’t played together since breaking up in 1989, and its members have frequently shot down any hope for a revival; however, that all changed last night.
Tim Armstrong (under the name Tim Timebomb) and his band the Interrupters backed the Specials during a set for the 10th annual Musack Rock And Roll Carnival charity event in Los Angeles, and to the surprise of literally everyone brought out former Op Ivy singer Jesse Michaels to perform “Sound System.”
It may have only been one song, but that’s a helluva lot better than nothing. Perhaps more importantly, it also shows that the band (or at least Armstrong and Michaels) are open to playing together again. And that’s exciting.
Watch footage of the mini reunion below.
Last month, Michaels said he didn’t “object to the idea” of getting Operation Ivy back together, but admitted that a reunion consists of many factors.
“Well, for a long time we weren’t really talking – it wasn’t because there was bad blood. We had issues when we broke up, but we’re all grown up now. We were just sort of in different worlds,” he explained to The Hard Times Podcast. “For a long time, we just weren’t talking that much. Now, we do. I see Tim pretty frequently. We get along, he is a friend.”
Michaels went on to say that “because [a reunion] involves different people and different factors, I can’t talk too much about that,” before adding, “I will say, I don’t object to the idea. I don’t know if it could happen for various practical reasons, but I wouldn’t rule it out.”
“We have gotten offers, other people have tried to make it happen… who knows. I just can’t talk about it more than that. It involves other people who have other careers, it involves legal matters…” he said. “I do truly appreciate the interest.”
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