Rollicking California ska-punk outfit the Interrupters carry the West Coast flame for the brisk, upbeat strain of the storied Jamaican genre. Their tight, forceful sound and instrumental command spring from the exacting execution of siblings Kevin, Justin, and Jesse Bivona, while frontwoman Aimee Interrupter layers her sharp, street-smart presence onto the shows; the whole fuses the coiled drive of SoCal punk with the skanking pulse of modern ska. Formed in the 2010s, the band linked up with Rancid’s Tim Armstrong to produce 2014’s The Interrupters, a set that nodded to the vintage 2-Tone Records aesthetic yet infused it with fresh punk force. “She’s Kerosene” from 2018 climbed to a Top Five Alternative chart peak, and the group has appeared onstage alongside punk stalwarts Green Day, blink-182, and Bad Religion. After documenting their explosive live approach on 2021’s Live in Tokyo!, they delivered the 2022 studio release In the Wild, an album balancing brash assurance with themes of endurance.
The members brought prior music-business experience when they launched the Interrupters in 2011, following Aimee Interrupter’s backstage introduction to the Bivona brothers—guitarist Kevin, bassist Justin, and drummer Jesse—during a gig shared with the Bivonas’ prior group the Telecasters. Aimee had already contributed to the Hairspray soundtrack, recorded vocals for Jimmy Cliff and Sublime with Rome projects, and issued a solo album in 2009; Kevin Bivona worked as a sought-after studio engineer, while Justin and Jesse performed in Sugar Ray’s touring lineup.
Pooling their ska-punk foundations, they soon attracted Rancid’s Tim Armstrong, who recruited the Interrupters for his Tim Timebomb and Friends solo endeavor; they subsequently performed live with Armstrong and featured on his recordings. He returned the gesture by placing them on Hellcat Records, where they issued the Armstrong-produced singles “Liberty” and “Family” in 2013 and their self-titled debut full-length The Interrupters in 2014. As a busy support act they toured with Rancid, blink-182, and Bad Religion; album track “Take Back the Power” appeared in advertisements and video games and closed Michael Moore’s 2015 film Where to Invade Next.
Reuniting with Armstrong, the band tracked its second album Say It Out Loud, issued in June 2016. Worldwide headline dates and support runs with Green Day followed, as the record registered on several Billboard tallies including Heatseekers and Top Rock Albums. Their next effort, 2018’s Fight the Good Fight—again produced by Armstrong and mixed by Tom Lord-Alge—was captured straight to tape, preserving the road-honed live energy refined across seven years of performances. The set earned further acclaim and sales, highlighted by single “She’s Kerosene,” which reached number four on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart. The band joined the Warped Tour that summer; keyboardist Billy Kottage, ex-Reel Big Fish, had by then entered their touring configuration. In 2019 they released a ska-punk rendition of Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy.” Live in Tokyo! arrived in 2021, documenting their 2019 set at Tokyo’s Summer Sonic Festival, and they opened select stadium dates on the Hella Mega Tour with Green Day, Weezer, and Fall Out Boy.
“In the Mirror” served as the lead single for 2022’s In the Wild. Cut in a home setup inside Kevin Bivona’s garage during COVID-19 isolation, the album was largely composed and tracked under pandemic conditions, its songs conveying resilience and a drive to surmount obstacles. Alongside mentor Tim Armstrong, guests included Rhoda Dakar of classic 2-Tone act the Bodysnatchers, Hepcat’s Alex Desert and Greg Lee, and U.K. ska-punk group the Skints. The album appeared in August 2022 on Hellcat.
