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title: Lookout Records created: 2026-04-07 updated: 2026-04-07 type: label tags: [label, pop-punk, era-1990s] sources: [raw/articles/lookout-records-history.md]

Lookout Records

Berkeley, California. Founded 1987 by Larry Livermore (David Hayes) and David Hayes (initially as a 7“ label). The label that launched Green Day, Operation Ivy, and the East Bay pop-punk explosion. Closely associated with the 924-gilman-street scene.

Key Artists

  • green-day — 39/Smooth (1990), Kerplunk (1991). Left for Reprise in 1993.
  • Operation Ivy — Energy (1989). Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman later formed Rancid.
  • Screeching Weasel — Ben Weasel. My Brain Hurts (1991), Anthem for a New Tomorrow (1993). Ramones-worshipping pop-punk.
  • The Queers — Joe King. Beat Off (1990), Love Songs for the Retarded (1993).
  • The Mr. T Experience — Dr. Frank. Our Bodies Our Selves (1993). The most literary pop-punk band.
  • Jawbreaker — Bivouac (1992). Left for DGC.
  • Crimpshrine — Aaron Cometbus. Gilman’s house band.
  • The Riverdales — Ben Weasel side project.
  • Pansy Division — Queer pop-punk.

Larry Livermore

Larry Livermore was the scene’s connective tissue — he ran the label from his house, wrote for Maximum Rocknroll, and was a fixture at Gilman. His zine Lookout! gave the label its name. He was an archetypal punk patriarch — involved in everything, opinionated about everything, genuinely committed to the scene.

The Rise and Fall

Lookout’s 1990-1995 era was its peak — Green Day, Operation Ivy, and Screeching Weasel were all massive in the punk underground. But the label had financial management problems. When Green Day left for Reprise, Lookout lost their biggest act. Larry Livermore left the label in 1997 (to Chris Appelgren). The label struggled with royalties and artist relations through the 2000s.

In 2005, Green Day and Operation Ivy took back the rights to their catalogs from Lookout — a major blow. The label effectively ceased operations in 2012.