Green Day
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Green Day is a musical group consisting of three core members: Billie Joe Armstrong (guitar, lead vocals), Mike Dirnt (bass) and Tré Cool (drums). Their back up players on guitar, keyboards, and trumpet are Jason White, Jason Freese, and Ronnie Blake. Green Day is widely credited, along with fellow California bands The Offspring and Rancid, with reviving mainstream popular interest in punk rock in the United States during the mid 1990s.[1][2] Their success has influenced prominent pop punk bands like Sum 41 and Good Charlotte.[2]
The band has sold over 30 million albums in the United States, and over 70 million records worldwide, thus[3][4] making them the most successful punk band of all time.[5] Green Day currently has three Grammy Awards under their belt for Alternative Album for Dookie, Best Rock Album for American Idiot, and Record of the Year for their single "Boulevard of Broken Dreams".
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History
Formation and Lookout! years (1986–1992)
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- Sample of "Android" from Kerplunk!
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In 1986, childhood friends Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt (both 14 years old) formed the two person band Sweet Children. The first Sweet Children show was on October 17, 1988, at Rod's Hickory Pit in Vallejo, California where Armstrong's mother was working. In 1989, drummer Al Sobrante joined Armstrong and Dirnt after his band Isocracy broke up. The trio decided to form a new band[citation needed], allegedly they chose the name, Green Day, after a marijuana reference, and performed their first show in the courtyard of Contra Costa College, a junior college in San Pablo, California that Sobrante attended.
Larry Livermore, who played guitar for The Lookouts and ran the Berkeley, California independent label Lookout! Records, offered the band a record deal after hearing them play. The band, he said, played the show like "The Beatles at Shea Stadium"[6][7] In late 1989 they released their first EP, 1,000 Hours, and quickly followed it up with their first LP, 39/Smooth in early 1990.
I.R.S. Records made an attempt to sign Green Day, but the band made it clear that they were loyal to Lookout! Records, saying that I.R.S. was a cheesy and washed-up label[8] They recorded two more EPs later that year: Slappy and Sweet Children, the latter of which included some older songs for the Minneapolis, Minnesota indie label Skene! Records. In 1991, Lookout! Records released 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, a compilation of the 39/Smooth, Slappy, and 1,000 Hours EPs. In late 1990, shortly after the band's first nationwide tour, Sobrante moved to Arcata, California to attend college. Lookouts drummer Tré Cool began filling in as a temporary replacement, and when it became clear that Sobrante did not plan on committing to the band full time, Cool's position as Green Day's drummer became permanent.
In January 1991, Green Day wrote and recorded their second album, and first to feature Tré Cool on drums, Kerplunk!, it was released on Lookout! Records in 1992. The album included the track "Welcome to Paradise", which was re-recorded for Green Day's major-label debut, Dookie. The first track off of Kerplunk, "2000 Light Years Away", was also remixed with Reprise Records and was released on the Jerky Boys movie soundtrack. The band went on tour for most of 1992 and 1993, and played a stretch of shows overseas in Europe. The album sold about 50,000 copies in the U.S.,[9] which was considered quite a large amount for the independent punk scene in 1992. It eventually sold over 2 million albums worldwide.
Reprise Records and the '90s (1992–1999)
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- "Basket Case" from Dookie
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- "Prosthetic Head" from nimrod.
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The New Millennium (2000–Present)
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- "American Idiot" from American Idiot
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Future plans
The video of Jesus of Suburbia is stated to be a prequel to their upcoming film, American Idiot: The Motion Picture. In an interview with Billboard magazine, Billie Joe Armstrong revealed that the group are still considering turning their punk rock opera into a film, in much the same spirit as the Beatles' Yellow Submarine, Marillion's Brave, Pink Floyd's The Wall and the Who's Tommy and Quadrophenia. The band has stated they have no intentions to act in the movie, although they may make an appearance. Lou Taylor Pucci and Kelli Garner from the "Jesus of Suburbia" music video could make an appearance if the motion picture does go into production. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong has said "It's definitely unfolding. Every single week there's more ideas about doing a film for American Idiot, and it's definitely going to happen."[27]
The band's official website stated on September 2nd that the band was back from their "summer vacation" and was back in the studio working on new material. On, Friday, September 8th, 2006, Green Day's web site announced that Green Day would team up with U2 and with producer Rick Rubin to record a cover of the song "The Saints Are Coming", originally recorded by The Skids. The song is to benefit Music Rising (musicrising.org), to raise money for musicians' instruments lost during Hurricane Katrina and to bring awareness on the eve of the one year anniversary of the disaster. This collaboration currently appears as a single, and on the U2 compilation album U218.
Musical style and influences
Green Day's sound is often compared to first wave punk rock bands such as the Ramones, The Clash, and the Buzzcocks.[28][19] The majority of their song catalogue is composed of distorted guitar, fast, manic drums, and low, heavy bass. Most of their songs are fast-paced and under the average song length of four minutes (4:00). Billie Joe Armstrong has however said his biggest influences are seminal alternative rock bands Hüsker Dü and The Replacements, and that their influence is particularly noted in the band's chord changes in songs.[19] In fact, Green Day has covered Hüsker Dü's "Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely" as a b-side for the song "Warning", and the character "Mr. Whirly" in the song "Misery" is a reference to the Replacements song of the same name.[29] Armstrong's lyrics describe alientation, ("Jesus of Suburbia", "Reject"), hysteria ("Basket Case", "Panic Song"), girls ("She", "80"), doing drugs ("Geek Stink Breath", " Green Day") ; The Ramones had similar lyrical themes, like hysteria ("Anxiety", "Psycho Therapy"), alienation ("Outsider", "Something To Believe In"), girls ("I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend", "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker"), and drugs ("Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue", "Chinese Rocks"). Green Day covered their song Outsider on the tribute album We're a Happy Family and they have also covered the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop." Green Day's style also closely resembles that of other bands based around the 924 Gilman Street scene in the late 1980's and early 1990s, such as Crimpshrine, Screeching Weasel, and The Mr. T Experience.
Criticism and controversy
Beginning with the release of Dookie, and the subsequent explosion of MTV Airplay it received, Green Day has received considerable criticism from those who prefer to see the punk genre as a social movement independent of corporate sponsorship. With the release of American Idiot and the subsequent draw of many new fans, much of this criticism has been revived.
One of the more contentious issues is genre labeling. In reaction to both the style of music and the background of the band, some fans and musicians have taken heavy objection to the usage of the term "punk" when applied to Green Day. This is evidenced by the following comments issued by John Lydon, former front man of both the 70s punk band the Sex Pistols and 80s post-punk act, Public Image Ltd.. [30]:
"Don't try and tell me Green Day are punk. They're not, they're plonk and they're bandwagoning on something they didn't come up with themselves. I think they are phony.
"So there we are fending off all that and it [really annoys me] that years later a [terrible] outfit like Green Day hop in and nick all that and attach it to themselves. They didn't earn their wings to do that and if they were true punk they wouldn't look anything like they do."
Steve Diggle of the Buzzcocks commented on the band after meeting them:[31]
"I didn't have a clue who they were. And they're not punks."
Green Day are banned from 924 Gilman Street, a famous rock club in Berkeley that they used to play at frequently, because they left Lookout! Records to sign with major label Reprise.
Brandon Flowers of The Killers has recently gone on record claiming that Green Day's politically driven concept album American Idiot displays "calculated Anti-Americanism." He explained that he has problems with the album content itself and also the fact that the band's recent live DVD, Bullet in a Bible, was filmed overseas. Stating that he feels Green Day's DVD is a bit of a stunt, he went on to say that he feels The Killers' most recent release, Sam's Town, is a much more accurate representation of American culture.
Paul McPike, a grocery store clerk, recently filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Green Day claiming that he wrote the song "American Idiot" almost 15 years ago. He alleges that he performed the song at a high school and a recording of the song made it into the hands of Green Day. McPike is currently seeking a share of the album's profits. U.S. Magistrate Judge John Cooney attempted to dismiss the case in early November 2006, but it is expected that McPike will file an amended lawsuit, with additional evidence. [32]: This is not the first time McPike has filed a lawsuit against a band, as he also claimed blink-182 stole his song 'Feeling This'. This case was again dismissed.
Related projects
Members
- Billie Joe Armstrong: Guitar, Lead Vocals (1989-present)
- Mike Dirnt: Bass, Backing Vocals (1989-present)
- Tré Cool: Drums, Backing Vocals (1990-present)
- Jason White: Guitar, Backing Vocals (1999-present)
Although not an official member, Jason White has been providing backing vocals and guitar since 1999 for the Warning: and American Idiot tours. Jason also was featured in Bullet in a Bible. White can also be seen in the videos for "When I Come Around" and "Wake Me Up When September Ends".
Touring members
- Jason Freese: Piano, Keyboard, Trombone, Saxophone, Accordion, Acoustic Guitar, Background Vocals (2004-present)
- Ronnie Blake: Trumpet, Timpani/Percussions, Background Vocals (2004-present)
Session Members
- Rob Cavallo: Piano (For the American Idiot recording sessions)
- Petra Haden: Violin (For the nimrod. recording sessions)
Former members
- Al Sobrante: Drums (1989-1990)
Discography
Date of release Title Record label April 1990 39/Smooth Lookout! Records January 7, 1992 Kerplunk! Lookout! Records February 1, 1994 Dookie Reprise Records October 10, 1995 Insomniac Reprise Records October 14, 1997 Nimrod. Reprise Records October 3, 2000 Warning: Reprise Records September 21, 2004 American Idiot Reprise Records
See also
References
- Cohen, Johnathan (2004). Green Day's 'Idiot' Fueling Banner Year (http). Billboard.com. Retrieved on July 27, 2005.
- Cohen, Johnathan (2005). Green Day not ready to rest 'Idiot' (http). Billboard.com. Retrieved on July 27, 2005.
- The Green Day Story (Broadcast on Radio 1 Mon 20 June 2005) (Alternate Link)
- Green Day Biography
- Green Day Info
Notes
- ^ DeRogatis, Jim. Milk It!: Collected Musings on the Alternative Music Explosion of the 90's. Cambridge: Da Capo, 2003. Pg. 357, ISBN 0-306-81271-1
- ^ a b D'Angelo, Joe (2004). How Green Day's Dookie Fertilized A Punk-Rock Revival. MTV.com. Retrieved on July 26, 2006.
- ^ Myers, Ben. "Green Day: American Idiot and the New Punk Explosion" April, 2006.
- ^ "Online Data Status" mp3.com Retrieved on August 29, 2006
- ^ "Kerrang- Green Day: The Biggest Punk Band of All Time" Greenday.net. Retrieved on August 31, 2006.
- ^ Interview with Lawrence Livermore: An inside look at Green Day's early years. greenday.net. Retrieved on July 26, 2006.
- ^ Livermore, Larry. "Green Day's early history"
- ^ (their letter of response to I.R.S. is printed on the lyrics sheet of 39/Smooth').'
- ^ Thompson, Dave. "Green Day". Alternative Rock. San Francisco: Miller Freeman Books, 2000.
- ^ a b Guitar Legends. "What Happened Next...". Retrieved on September 26, 2006
- ^ Smith, RJ. "Top 90 Albums of the 90's". SPIN. August 1999.
- ^ a b "Green Day". Behind the Music. Vh1, 2000.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen. "Dookie Overview". All Music Guide. August 1994.
- ^ Dimery, Robert. "1,001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die listing". "Cassel Illustrated". 2005.
- ^ Various Music Professionals. "The Rolling Stone 500 - 101-200". "Rolling Stone Magazine". November, 2003.
- ^ Green Day Authority. "Band Awards - Dookie" "Green Day Authority".
- ^ Coleman, Mark. "Insomniac". Rolling Stone. November 1995.
- ^ Green Day Authority. Band Awards - Insomniac "Green Day Authority".
- ^ a b c Di Perna, Alan. "Young, Loud, and Snotty". Guitar World. August 1996.
- ^ Green Day Authority. Band Awards - nimrod. "Green Day Authority".
- ^ Green Day Authority. "Band Awards - Warning:" "Green Day Authority".
- ^ Hendrickson, Matt (2005). Green Day — How the brats grew up, bashed Bush and conquered the world. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on November 24, 2005.
- ^ Di Perna, Alan. "Combat Rock". Guitar World. Holiday 2004.
- ^ Green Day Authority. "Band Awards - American Idiot" "Green Day Authority".
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003380303
- ^ "Green Day's Grammy Awards" Grammy.com.
- ^ Green Day album update: The US trio speak out. NME.com (2006). Retrieved on June 15, 2006.
- ^ Azerrad, Michael. Our Band Could Be Your Life. Little Brown and Company, 2001. Pg. 496. ISBN 0-316-78753-1
- ^ Di Perna, Alan. "Far From The Maddening Crowd". Guitar World. December 2000.
- ^ GIGWISE "John Lydon Calls Green Day "Plonk" Not "Punk"" Retrieved on September 11, 2006.
- ^ Steve Diggle of Buzzcocks comment on Green Day at ContactMusic.com
- ^ Yahoo! Music "Grocery clerk sues Green Day" Retrieved on November 8th, 2006.
External links
- Green Day Official site
- Green Day on the Ongoing History of New Music
- Green Day Concerts
- Green Day at MusicBrainz
- Green Day at All Music Guide
- RIAA Top Bestselling artists
Categories
Articles with unsourced statements | Green Day | 1989 establishments | 1990s music groups | 2000s music groups | Warner Music Group artists | Alternative musical groups | American rock music groups | California musical groups | Grammy Award winners | Juno Award winners | Kids' Choice Awards winners | Rock trios | Pop punk groups | Punk rock groups
