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Interview with Jesse Michaels from Classics of Love/Common Rider/Big Rig/Operation Ivy on Giant Robot

On the upcoming, self-titled Classics of Love LP, Jesse Michaels declares, “Life is a game where you see who gets the most money/Life is a game where you see who gets the most power.” Those are some cool punk lyrics on their own but the ex-frontperson of Common Rider, Big Rig, and Operation Ivy backs up the sentiments by starting rad bands that never get played on the radio, play huge tours, or cash in. Instead, Michaels just makes totally honest, somewhat trashy, energy-packed, and supremely melodic ’70s punk-inspired music with touches of hardcore and ska. So I was stoked when our mutual friend Mike Park asked me if I wanted to contact Jesse about his band’s latest release on Asian Man Records. Cramming 13 songs into 23 minutes, it’s loaded with raging punk with touches of The Specials (“Castle In The Sky“) and Bad Religion (“We Need a Change”). Of course, the breathless, humanist, blue-collar lyrics are pure Jesse Michaels. Here’s how the conversation went…

Click here to read the rest of the interview with Jesse at GIANT ROBOT.