Jesse Michaels

Jesse Michaels
Born	April 2, 1969 (1969-04-02) (age 42) Berkeley, California
Genres	punk rock, ska punk, hardcore punk, reggae
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, artist, musician
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1987–present
Labels	Lookout! Hopeless Asian Man
Associated acts	Operation Ivy Common Rider Big Rig Classics of Love Green Day

Jesse Michaels (born April 2, 1969) is a songwriter, vocalist, guitarist and artist from Berkeley, California. He is the son of the deceased author Leonard Michaels. His lyrics deal with politics, racism, and general social issues.

Musical overview

In February 1987, he published his first fanzine, Kill Deal for 50 Cents. Later that year he formed Operation Ivy with guitarist Tim Armstrong, bassist Matt Freeman, and drummer Dave Mello.^[1] They quickly became a popular band especially at the Berkeley punk club 924 Gilman Street. In 1988, the group released its debut extended play Hectic on which Michaels wrote all of the songs. It was followed with an American tour which brought the group's work all around the country, and made Operation Ivy a very well respected band. Operation Ivy recorded and released its only studio album Energy in 1989 and broke-up the same year. Michaels later formed Big Rig in 1994. Big Rig released one extended play and played several gigs around 924 Gilman Street before breaking up. In 1999 after a long hiatus he formed Common Rider^[2] with Squirtgun bassist and renowned producer Mass Giorgini. They released two albums and toured around the country before breaking up in 2003. In August 2008, Jesse went on a short Southern California tour with long-time friend Jeff Ott, playing new solo songs. In December 2008, he participated in a small Northern California tour with Mike Park and Kevin Seconds, as well as formed a new band, Classics of Love.

Michaels has expressed an interest in writing and his sexuality (Expressing and revealing that he is bi-sexual.) In an interview, he told Jewcy,^[3] "I have written one book. It's a novella and I'm sort of shopping it around and it might get published this year."

Art overview

Michaels is also regarded as a talented artist, responsible for designing Operation Ivy's well-known and widely recognized "Ska Man" logo as well as other artwork for the album. In addition to drawing logos, album covers and other assorted art for his own musical projects, his artwork has been used by bands such as Filth, Neurosis, Green Day and Against All Authority.

Michaels has recently been making reprints of sketches and other art available for sale on Ebay on a limited basis.

Trivia

• He is currently working on a solo project. In late 2008 he played a few acoustic shows around the Bay Area in Northern California as well as a small coffeehouse show in Riverside, CA with Jeff Ott of Crimpshrine and Fifteen. Michaels is also an avid painter.

• It was rumored that during his hiatus in the early- to mid-'90s he became a Buddhist monk. According to a 2004 interview with Michaels by The Roots of Rebellion, a Montreal-based underground radio show, he indeed was a monk for about a six month interim. However, during an interview with 'NYC Pinup Magazine', he states that he did study Buddhism but did not become a monk.

• In 2005, Jesse collaborated with Chris Appelgren of Lookout! Records to launch Dynaformer, an art/design collective dedicated to showcasing the artwork of both individuals, as well as offering their artistic talents for hire.

• In early 2006 Jesse met up with his former Operation Ivy band mates to discuss business matters; however, no reunion is planned for the band.

• Michaels has a song enitled "The Bell Tower" on the acoustic compilation album Experiments in Audio Rocketry from 1-2-3-4 Go! Records.

• On December 17, 2006, Michaels joined his former band mates from Operation Ivy, Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, to perform "Unity," for the first time since the late 1980s.

• In November 2008, he formed Classics of Love. Classics of Love features Jesse as well as Max, Mike, and Morgan from San Jose's Hard Girls. Mike also plays with Shinobu while Max and Morgan are veterans of Pteradon. Classics of Love have an E.P. called "Walking in Shadows" on Asian Man Records. They are also touring July & August '09 and have already toured the United Kingdom.

References

1. ^ Huey, Steve. "Biography: Operation Ivy". AMG. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p13865. Retrieved 12 May 2010. 
2. ^ Huey, Steve. "Biography: Common Rider". AMG. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p370855. Retrieved 12 May 2010. 
3. ^ "Jewcy Interviews: Jesse Michaels of Operation Ivy". http://www.jewcy.com/post/jewcy_interviews_jesse_michaels_operation_ivy. 

External links

• The Roots of Rebellion Show Interview with Jesse Michaels
• The official Myspace of Jesse Michaels
• Jewcy Interviews: Jesse Michaels of Operation Ivy

Persondata
Name	Michaels, Jesse
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Date of birth	April 2, 1969
Place of birth
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