''Hectic'' is the debut EP by the American

ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music. Ska punk tends to feature brass instruments, especially Horn (instrument), horns such as trumpets, trombones and woodwind instruments like saxophones ...

band

Operation Ivy Operation Ivy was the eighth series of American nuclear tests, coming after '' Tumbler-Snapper'' and before '' Upshot–Knothole''. The two explosions were staged in late 1952 at Enewetak Atoll in the Pacific Proving Ground in the Marshall I ...

. It was released in January 1988 through

Lookout! Records Lookout Records (stylized as Lookout! Records) was an independent record label, initially based in Laytonville, California, and later in Berkeley, focusing on punk rock. Established in 1987, the label is best known for having released Operatio ...

(LK 003). ''Hectic'' is credited as one of the first ska-core records. In 1991, all 6 tracks from ''Hectic'' were later released on the self-titled compilation album, which also featured all the tracks from ''Energy'' and two tracks from the ''

Turn It Around! ''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 (known as the Gilman Stree ...

'' compilation. ''Hectic'' was re-released on 12-inch vinyl by

Hellcat Records Hellcat Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. The label, an offshoot of Epitaph Records, was started as a partnership between Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion, the owner of Epitaph, and Tim Armstrong of Rancid ...

on April 18, 2012.

Larry Livermore Lawrence Hayes (born October 28, 1947), better known by his stage name Larry Livermore, is an American singer, musician, record producer, and author, best known as the co-founder of Lookout Records. Biography In 1977, Hayes began to attend punk ...

, founder of Lookout! Records, has said that Lookout! was founded solely to release an Operation Ivy record. Lookout! Records was in fact started with simply a PO Box in order to release records by Livermore's own band,

The Lookouts The Lookouts were an American punk rock band that existed from 1985 to 1990 on Iron Peak, a remote rural mountain community outside Laytonville, California. The members were Larry Livermore on guitar and vocals, Kain Kong (Kain Hanschke) on ...

. This was said to emphasize Operation Ivy's importance in Lookout! Records' catalog.

Influence

''Hectic'' is often overshadowed by ''Energy'', mainly because the songs on ''Hectic'' are included on ''Energy''. However, ''Hectic'' is widely regarded as the first ska-core record.

Track listing

Personnel

Jesse Michaels Jesse Michaels (born April 1, 1969) is an American songwriter, painter, illustrator, musician, singer, and author from Berkeley, California. His lyrics deal with politics, racism, and general social issues. He is most well known as the vocalist ...

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

* Lint –

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

, lead vocals on intro of "Here We Go Again" * Matt McCall –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

, backing vocals * Dave Mello –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, backing vocals Additional musicians * Pat Mello – backing vocals Production * Kevin Army – producer,

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

* Operation Ivy – producers * John Golden – mastering * Jesse Michaels – cover art, booklet * David Hayes (credited as “Sprocket”) – back cover, labels * Murray Bowles; Cammie Toloui; Cesar Rubio; Vivian Sayles – photography

References

1988 debut EPs Lookout! Records EPs Operation Ivy (band) albums Ska punk EPs {{1980s-punk-album-stub