Hey, remember when the two main members of Operation Ivy started a new band together? What's going on with that? Berkeley ska-punk heroes Operation Ivy famously started in '87 and ended in '89, and their raw, scrappy, hectic sound inspired countless imitators. People have been wanting an Operation Ivy reunion for many years, and we got something a bit like that in 2023, when Tim Armstrong, the Op Ivy singer/guitarist who went on to form Rancid, got together with singer Jesse Michaels to form a group called Bad Optix, who released exactly one single. That project seems to be lost in the mysterious ether, but now Armstrong and Michaels are working on something else together.
In the years before working with Tim Armstrong again, Jesse Michaels has been singing for smaller bands like Classics Of Love. Earlier this month, he confirmed that the classic Operation Ivy skanking-guy logo, which I've seen tattooed on lots of people, was based on the cover of a 1987 Spider-Man comic. Michaels and Armstrong got back together to perform Operation Ivy songs at a 2022 benefit and a 2023 tribute to the late Specials founder Terry Hall. The two of them formed Bad Optix with Trash Talk bassist Spencer Pollard and Circle Jerks/Bronx drummer Joey Castillo to release the 2023 single "Raid," and then they apparently had to change their name to Doom Regulator. They haven't released any music since then, but now they're both "additional creative collaborators" on the debut album from a new ska collective called the Family Business LTD.
Tim Armstrong launched the Epitaph imprint Hellcat in 1997, and one of the acts on its roster is Jordan Cardy, the British musician who records under the name Rat Boy. Rat Boy, who has nothing to do with Ratboys, is a 30-year-old Armstrong protege with a sound that fuses ska-punk with rap. (His most recent album Crash! came out in June.) He recently formed a new group called the Family Business LTD with Samuel Preston, leader of UK ska band the Ordinary Boys and former Celebrity Big Brother competitor, and Antonee First Class, the toaster who currently stands in for the late Ranking Roger in the English Beat, the legendary second-wave UK ska hitmakers.
The Family Business LTD's self-titled debut album, set to come out on Hellcat next month, aims to resurrect the two-tone ska sound that flourished in the UK in the late '70s and early '80s. The group came together while working with Tim Armstrong in the studio in 2023. In a press release, Rat Boy says, "Everything clicked straight away in the studio, and the songs came together so naturally. Tim suggested bringing in Antonee, and before we knew it, the album was written and recorded in two weeks." The Calamatix, another Hellcat band, came in to back the trio up on record, and Armstrong and Jesse Michaels were around to help.
Michaels isn't on "Floor Burner," the album's opening track and lead single, but you can damn sure hear Armstrong, who produced the song and who sings and plays guitar. It's a fast, fired-up ska stomper, and it's a lot of fun. Check it out below.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Floor Burner"
02 "Shakedown"
03 "Detonator"
04 "Still A Jamaican"
05 "Armageddon"
06 "Bambi"
07 "No Vacancy"
08 "Transistor"
09 "Dead Boy"
10 "A.S.B.O"
The Family Business LTD is out 9/25 on Hellcat. Now, could we please get a Bad Optix album, or I guess a Doom Regulator one?
