In Defense of Ska ep 185 Operation Ivy's Dave Mello (Schlong, Jewdriver)

There is little dispute that Operation Ivy are one of the greatest ska bands to ever do it. This week on In Defense of Ska, the crew sits down with the legendary outfit's drummer Dave Mello to chat about their history and legacy. Listen to the conversation.

Mello discusses the early days of the band, touching on what made the act so special and why they decided to bring it to an end. He recalls their first shows, their one and only American tour, and the long recording process of Operation Ivy's Energy, their only album. He also talks about playing with bands like Fugazi and The Dead Milkmen, as well as the band's ultimate impact on ska culture. That includes getting name-dropped in Green Day's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame acceptance speech.

If you want to hear Dave Mello’s take on an Op Ivy reunion, sign up to the IDOS Patreon and listen to our extended interview. We also talk about his other bands Jewdriver and Schlong (specifically their Punk Side Story album).

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If you’d like to support us and listen to early access, ad-free episodes with bonus content, check out our Patreon! 

If you like our theme song, go download the EP Lives by Slow Gherkin. They wrote the opening and closing songs for our podcast. You can get both tunes from their Lives EP. Also, check out Dan P and the Bricks two LPs. They provided the mid-roll ad transition music. 

Support the In Defense host Aaron Carnes by purchasing a copy of his book, In Defense of Ska. The 2nd, expanded edition of In Defense of Ska will release in Oct 2024. 

Co-host Adam Davis has a band called Omnigone. Their latest record, Against The Rest released on March 31, 2023. 

The In Defense of Ska editor Chris Reeves runs a record label called Ska Punk International. They have new releases coming out all the time.