This special edition focuses solely on the upcoming Operation Ivy tribute comp Mooorree Than Just Another Comp, due out in April via Sell The Heart Records and Lavasocks Records. Today we are speaking with Eric of Plush Palace. We rolled a FIVE.
1) Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions! The first one I'd like to ask is: It seems that almost everyone I meet has a story about the first time they heard OpIvy. Do you remember yours?
I think I was given a burned CD of Operation Ivy from one of my first bandmates. He thought I had bad taste in music and decided to show me what “real punk” sounded like. I don't think I had a particular epiphany at that moment, but I do remember as a young 14 or 15 or year old that the opening lines of “Knowledge” really hit me and drew me in. I remember feeling connected to the idea of an uncertain future as I was just becoming politically aware. As the record went on, I think I remember feeling that each song was better than the last, and it slowly became one of my favorite records as an angsty teenager. Being from the same towns that my friends and I grew up in I felt a kinship to them because they walked the same streets I did, even though they grew up in a different time.
2) What does OpIvy mean to you in particular, and in the broader pantheon of punk music?
I think Operation Ivy will likely go down as one of the more influential underground bands of all time, not only for ska punk but for music in general. They were part of a mythologized scene in the Bay Area with “soon to be rock star” members, also surrounded by “soon to be rock stars” as their peers. To me, the songs are still great, and the recording sounds so awesome. The band only existed for 2 years and yet people still find something in the music which makes it timeless. Hard to argue with that.
3) Why did you pick the song you chose to do?
We were asked if we wanted to do “Take Warning” as most of the other songs had already been claimed, to which we immediately said “Yes”.
4) A bit of a follow-up to question #3: if you ended up farther down in the pecking order and didn't get your first pick(s), which song did you really want to do?
My top Operation Ivy songs are “The Crowd” and “Freeze Up” so one of those would have been sick. “Take Warning” as a song is very different then we sound as a band and I think at first we were a little intimidated about what to do. We decided to treat it like how we would write a song and put together a unique version that feels like us and pays tribute to the original in a way I feel very excited about. I'm very glad that was the song we were offered!
We're also excited about hearing the Sad Snack track!
5) Aside from the comp, what can we expect from Plush Palace in the near future?
We feel really lucky to play music with some of our closest friends and do it truly DIY. Diz writes all these wonderful songs, Eric records us and releases our EP on his label, and Viggy does the artwork and booking. I think, in the spirit of op ivy, we want to preserve that. So if that means records and touring, great. If it means just getting together to practice, great. We just love making music.
Mooorree Than Just Another Comp is due out 07 Apr 2023. You can preorder digitally at the STHR Bandcamp. For physical releases on vinyl (inventory is going fast!) visit the Sell The Heart or Lava socks web stores.
Roll of the Dice is a short interview format with a variable amount of questions. A Pair of dice is rolled and the total, between 2 and 12, is the amount of questions we can ask. All questions are given to the interviewee(s) at once, and no follow-ups are allowed. The interview may be lightly edited for content and clarity.