Punk Legend Jesse Michaels

Author: Daniel Wolf Roda

This past Friday my friend and I forewent the fresh Middlebury derriere to witness the opening show of Asian Man Records' second annual Plea for Peace / Take Action Tour (PFP/TAT) in Worcester, Mass., featuring the return of modern punk legend Jesse Michaels to the public stage.
Michaels is the brain and frontman of Common Rider, which played an electrifying set on Friday. After anxiously twitching and nodding through several songs, the audience broke out into a good-old melee of collisional skanking, spinning, pushing and crowd surfing.
At times Michaels' presence seemed hardly necessary, with many mouths ecstatically belting out his tunes for him. It was a fitting vibe in the skankpit, and a safe one at that. Those who fell were lifted up and patted on the back. Even delicate schoolgirls and otherwise mellow hippies were moshing. The togetherness of Friday's show makes it a fitting spur to PFP/TAT and the debut of Common Rider's "This Is Unity Music".
Michaels began his noteworthy music career in the 1980s with San Francisco Bay Area ska/punk squadron Operation Ivy, which included current Rancid members Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman. Though Operation Ivy was unfortunately short-lived, producing only a small-sized handful of releases, every tune from Michaels and his fellows became an instant classic, a jewel in the heart of many a modern day punker.
While other punk rock projects of the time spoke directly of specific political events with explicit references, Michaels' lyrics conveyed an underlying philosophical message about change. His deep awareness changed the direction of punk from then on.
Barely had Michaels made his contribution to music history before Operation Ivy dismembered in 1989, and Michaels attempted for nearly a decade to live a life bereft of music. Having left the punk scene altogether, Michaels worked dead-end day jobs, returned to school and studied film and martial arts. Legend has it Michaels forsook the world for several years as a Buddhist monk.
Finally in 1999, Michaels returned to his former calling, thrusting himself thus into the studio under a new title, Common Rider, and released "Last Wave Rockers" on the Lookout label. Michaels had lured into his discipleship veteran punks Dan Lumley, bassist of Screeching Weasel, and drummer Dan Lumley of Squirtgun.
Though still unhappy with this production, Michaels persevered, drafting a new book of songs, one which resembled more clearly what he had intended to produce since his resurrection. Lacking a label nest wherefore to couch his darling fresh eggs of song, he called buddy and fellow punk-rock pioneer Jeff Ott of Crimpshrine and Fifteen, who told him about the Hopeless label. After the hope-filled rustle of ink and parchment, Hopeless became the new Common Rider label.
Shortly thereafter Michaels returned to bandmate Giorgini's Sonic Iguana recording studio in Indiana and made Common Rider's sophomore album, "This Is Unity Music," which was released on Sept. 3.
This new album is totally pumped with Michaels' signature style of strong philosophical lyricism delivered in the diverse interplay of punk, rock-steady, and ska/dancehall influences. "This Is Unity Music" may be Michaels' most relevant and creative release thus far.
Five percent of the proceeds of PFP/TAT go to the National Hopeline, a hotline for suicide prevention. The PFP/TAT CD also contains contains multimedia information on how to recognize the warning signs of and prevent a suicide.
The Plea for Peace Foundation was created by Mike Park in 1999 after the success of the Ska Against Racism Tour he created in 1997.
Park founded Asian Man Records in 1996 out of his desire to create an artistic outlet for himself and others to share their music. A tiny punk/ska label run from the confines of his parents' garage, Asian Man Records has, over the last six years, accumulated over 25 bands and provides a foundation for many upcoming bands looking for a jumpstart for their first release. Asian Man Records bears one noble intention: to put out good music at an affordable price while creating a positive environment for independent music.
And it was Park's pioneer status that left this aspiring journalist flabbergasted when, after meekly asking me what size T-shirt I wanted to buy, complimented the one I was already wearing, which donned the visage of one and only Bruce Lee. "You like Bruce Lee?" I replied, forgetting that the tributary Bruce Lee Band was Park's creation.
Oh well, this journalist didn't do his homework, but at least he has seen quite a historical night for ska and punk. Till my next chance to plumb the hearts of legendary musical persona, I guess the Punk Fairy Godmother and I will … nancy!