This is the biography for Green Day Online, Written By Lewis Cornwell.
It all started in the year 1987, In a school canteen fifteen miles north of Berkeley California. With two guys;
Billie Joe Armstrong, born in Oakland, California February 17th 1972. He was the youngest of six children in a family of wide musical talent. His mother worked as a waitress in local diner, Rod's Hickory Pitt and his father as a truck driver/jazz musician. Billie Joe got his first guitar from his dad, He named it blue because of its colour. He lost his dad at the age of 10.
The other guy being Mike Pritchard, born on May 4, 1972. Mike's mother was a heroin addict. He was given up for adoption when he was a baby, to a Native American mother and a white father.
The two friends shared a similar interest in music and humor, and soon become inseparable. They spent a lot of time Listening to records borrowed by Billie’s six older siblings and jamming together. They played heavy metal songs, such as Ozzy Osborne and Van Halen. They also spent a lot of time hanging around outside Berkeley's 924 Gilman Street, A venue where local rock bands played.
After a few years Jamming together the two decided to get a drummer and start up a garage band. They got John Kiffmeyer most commonly known as Al Sobrante. The trio named themselves Sweet Children as that’s what many of the older bands called them.
The three Jammed together and started writing songs in Billie’s garage. Their first show was in the diner which Billie Joes mother worked in. It was to an audience of about 30, Mainly school friends. The band then got to play in Berkeley's 924 Gilman Street to a much larger audience, They were liked by many people and got the attention of the record label ‘Lookout Records’ Which signed them up in 1989. This was when they recorded their first album 1000 Hours, They also changed their name from Sweet Children to Green Day. They chose the name as it was their day smoking pot, They got the idea from Sesame street.
In 1991 all the songs from 1000 hours were reissued onto ‘1039 / smoothed out slappy hours’ Most songs were about girls and relationships they had been in. Just after the release of their first album and a few weeks before Graduation Billie Joe left high school to concentrate on the Bands first tour. However, John quit the band for college education. This put both Mike and Billie in a tricky situation. This is when Tre Cool come along, Tre cools sense of humor was extreme, fitting in will with Billie and mike. He was already in the punk scene and had played at many shows in Berkeley for the band ‘The Lookouts’ Tre was a great drummer and was the missing puzzle piece for the band.
The band wrote and recorded their second album, Kerplunk in 1991. Tre cools drumming tightened the rhythm and the band could play much faster and energetic songs, such as ‘Welcome to paradise’. They played their music anywhere and everywhere getting known and becoming liked. They started their first tour which totaled around fifty shows in just three months. They spent nights sleeping on floors and living it rough hardly getting paid for playing.
Look Out records did hardly nothing to promote the band. The band promoted themselves reaching 50,000 sales in both kerplunk and 39/smooth each. The band needed a better record label, They got in contact with many and after a few months they signed up with Reprise records. A much more popular and well known record company. Many of Green Days fans become angered that Green Day got a bigger label and stopped going to shows. However Green Day did what they wanted and went on to record another album. In 1994 Green Day recorded Dookie taking a total of 17 days to record. The single Basket case went straight into the American single chart at 141.
Green Day now become well known, with their videos playing all the time on MTV and their tour. Record sales were great. Helped by their performance in Woodstock where the band started a mud fight. They made headlines and were on the news all over America. This helped their record sales and they gained many new fans. At the end of 1994 Dookie had reached over ten million copies making the trio millionaires at the age of 22.
Their next album was Insomniac, The band stayed up late at night to write this album using speed and alcohol to help them. A few songs on the album relate to this. For example, geek stink breath and Brain stew. This album entered the America Album chart at number two.
After the release of insomniac the band toured again. However, they started getting panic attacks and played too fast. Therefore the band canceled their European tour, The first and only tour Green Day have ever canceled.
In the summer of 1997 the band then recorded Nimrod. And was released in mid October the album reached 80,000 sales in the first week. The most well known song on the album was good riddance, It was played everywhere across the world. Including funerals, proms and parties. Nimrod was a success and put the band where they should have been. The band won best live performance at that years karrang awards.
The band then went on to record warning, after a long time off. Billie Joe saw this album as the last album. And during the recording Mike and Tre were getting annoyed at Billie Joe for his bossiness. There was soon an atmosphere in the band, their live performances weren’t the same and the band didn’t get a lot with each other. Reprise records released International super hits, A collection of songs from other albums and two which were recorded in studio. Then Reprise released shenanigans, a collection of songs which has been recorded but never used. To the press this was an obvious sign that the band were going to part. However, after some band counseling suggested by Billie the band got o n their feet and started to record and write again. Billie agreed that he would be less bossy and would let them voice their opinions a lot more.
After recording like crazy working long hours and nights the band was almost ready to release another album. However, the studio got burgled and all their work had been stolen. This didn’t stop the band though, they got straight back to work recording other songs.
When they were done they released American Idiot, An album about American politics following 9/11. This album was a huge success, reaching 10Million copies worldwide.
Billie Joe got approached by a film company wanting to turn the album into a film, He is now working on a script. However the band will not be staring in the film.
The Network is a band which is believed to be Green Day masked, However the band refuse to own up to this. The Network recorded in the exact same studio as Green Day did and sound very alike. So, it is very obvious. Still, the band won’t own up.
Biography written By Lewis Cornwell. This biography can be used on any fan site regarding you credit GreenDayOnline.com Do Not suggest this is your own work.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 25 March 2009 20:24 |
