By now, nearly all of us have heard the Pepper/LAW Records-helmed compilation album, Operation Irie. (If you haven’t, you owe me a spliff because, trust me, I just made your day.) Instant classic albums are few and far between these days, but this one definitely breathes that rarefied air. 

Compilation albums are in the DNA of both punk and reggae. Before the suits realized there was money to be made from these homegrown genres, it was a no-brainer (both from a financial and a promotional standpoint) to collaborate with your brethren to get your music out there. With the Fat Wreck Chords compilations and Epitaph’s Punk-O-Rama series on the punk side, along with Greensleeves Rhythm Albums, the Reggae Gold series and endless riddim comps on the reggae side, compilation albums trigger the best memories of discovering new music and artists for a lot of us.

So the idea of a compilation where punk tunes are flipped into reggae feels like…well, home, honestly. Listen, I know NOFX’ cover of Rancid’s “Radio” on that BYO Split album is very tongue-in-cheek. But if you’re gonna stand there and try to tell me it’s not a BANGER, you, sir, are a stranger to the truth. More recently, heavy rock/reggae mad scientist Nathan Aurora and Ineffable Records gave us the excellent Pop Punk Goes Reggae Vol 1. (Hey Nathan! When we getting Vol. 2, goshdarnit???). 

Da boys tearing it up in Boulder CO

Nuff respect to everything that came before, but there’s something special about this one. Here’s my hypothesis. By covering bands like Bad Religion, The Offspring, NOFX, No Use For a Name and Fugazi, the artists on this compilation are covering bands that shaped them as musicians. With the reverence we as musicians hold for those bands, it’s a foregone conclusion that you’re going to dig deep—possibly to a place you didn’t know existed—in order to modify this tune you adore without fucking it up. 

It shows, man. And while I have my favorites, I’m not going to highlight any one track over the other. Every single cover on here is genius—it’s honestly that good. The one thing I will point to is how perfectly the tracks that bookend the album (Bad Religion’s “Generator” and NOFX’ “Linoleum,” both performed by Pepper) encapsulate the feel of this compilation. 

We all know what monster musicians them three braddahs are. But for both these legendary songs, you can tell the focus was capturing the feeling and intent of those tunes while playing them in a style that some would argue is the diametric opposite of punk. Listen closely—every hook (vocal and instrumental) and every important “moment” is intact. I dunno how, but they (and all the other bands here) somehow pulled it off. 

I know that Operation Irie is going to be listed in a lot of folks’ top 5 albums of 2025, and I have no doubt it’ll be sitting in many of our “favorite compilations ever” lists, but perhaps most importantly, a bunch of kids added Descendents to their Spotify this summer and now know who Tony Sly is. 

I frickin’ love this album, and am super stoked to have been able to chat with Pepper drummer, Yesod Williams, about it.

Yesod Williams – man of the people dem

RF: I don’t even know what to say, man. This compilation was so beautifully curated. All the bands knocked it out the park, and it is now one of my favorite things. Was this something that’s been percolating for some time and things just happened to come together this year, or was it a recent idea that popped up and you guys just ran with it?

YW: Yes and no. Epitaph and Fat Wreck Chords basically raised us in the 90’s and we were always such huge fans of their comps—Punk-O-Rama and all the Fat comps to be specific—so the inspiration for the idea has always been on our minds. A few years ago, Jeff (Nisen) from the band and I started playing around in our studio (Kona Town Recording) and doing snippets of covers of some of our fave punk tunes (Bad Religion, Descendents, NOFX) that we posted on our socials. Then one day, we decided we should record one in our style, which led us to “Generator.” After Kaleo laid the vocals down, it came out so rad that we figured we’d throw gas on the fire and start asking all our friends’ bands if they wanted to get in on the fun. Next thing we knew we had 18 glorious tracks, and Operation Irie was born! The production process was basically the same protocol for the Bradley’s House comp we put together to benefit the Nowell Family Foundation during the pandemic, so we had a solid grasp on the path forward. We basically just let fun and the magic of music lead the way.

RF: How did you pick the bands that ended up playing on Operation Irie? Reaching out to your buddies, tossing out the idea in festival green rooms, all of the above and more? And did each band pick their own cover, or was it a collaborative decision between you and them?

YW: All of the above and more, sometimes we would toss ideas for songs out but the decision was each respective band’s, ultimately. 

RF: While it means a lot to all of us that love both the artists on the compilation and the punk bands that penned the tunes, I’m guessing Pepper actually gigged and interacted with some of them. Did it transport you back to those times, and was it pretty trippy recognizing you’re now among the leaders of a scene and can use that position to spotlight some of your heroes?

YW: Ya, that was probably the most epic part, we’ve done tours and warped tours and been lucky enough to become friends with some of our heroes like Bad Religion, Pennywise, The Offspring etc. So when the covers were done, being able to send them to the legends who wrote these tunes and have them all digging the versions was the sweetest icing on the cake ever! Major pinch me moments! 

Being leaders of the scene never really registers, we’re just so grateful to be even a comma in the overall story of music, so any chance we get to perpetuate music that we love, we jump at the chance—at the end of the day we are music fans, first and foremost. 

And the time machine [effect] was actually twofold. It first brought us back to being groms and having our mind blown discovering all this DIY music in Hawaii via surf movies, specifically Taylor Steele’s movies. Then, it brought us back to all those amazing tours where we got to share the stage with our heroes…the gratitude is humbling and overwhelming. 

RF: I honestly think each track on this thing is a 10 or pretty damn near, and wouldn’t dream of asking you to choose a favorite. But just on an emotional level, was there one particular track that hit you or the band particularly hard when the finished version came in for whatever reason?

YW: Ah man, definitely can’t choose just one…they’re like our children. I love them all so much, but Passafire’s version of “Come Out and Play” definitely blew me away. Ted’s vocals are always a dream to me and those boys never miss – one of the most underrated bands around. Their take on that song is brilliant, and the Offspring guys dig it too!

RF: I have to ask. At any point, did you guys consider being the ones to cover Butthole Surfers’ “Pepper,” but then go “Nah, we can’t, bro—too on the nose”? 😂

YW: (Laughs heartily) Honestly no. We have worked with Paul Leary from the Butthold Surfers many times over the years, specifically on No Shame and Pink Crustaceans, so we crossed that bridge many many years ago.

RF: Nearly every young band starts off by getting the ultimate stoke of jamming on their favorite tunes. What were some of the first songs them li’l baby Peppers started off by covering in the band room, or in your case, Bret’s garage?

[See Yesod’s reply in the video below—it’s a great story!]

We had an amazing half-hour chat with Yesod – make sure to follow Rootfire on Instagram to check out snippets of the interview. You can watch the whole thing on our YouTube—don’t forget to subscribe, we’ll be posting full videos of all our bonus question sessions!