Green Day

Green Day is an American rock ^{Rock music} trio formed in 1987. The band has consisted of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tré Cool for the majority of its existence. The band is credited as one of the two main bands, along with The Offspring, who put the punk revival ^{Punk rock#Punk revival} into process, though they have been described as a "sell out" band by notable members of the punk rock ^{Punk rock} community.

Green Day was originally part of the punk scene at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley, California. The band's early releases for independent record label Lookout! Records earned it a grassroots fanbase, some of whom felt alienated when the band signed to a major label. Nevertheless, its major label debut Dookie (1994) became a breakout success and eventually sold over 10 million copies in the U.S. and 15 million worldwide. As a result, Green Day was widely credited, alongside fellow California punk ^{Punk rock in California} bands The Offspring and Rancid ^{Rancid (band)} , with reviving mainstream interest in and popularizing punk rock in the United States. Green Day's three follow-up albums, Insomniac ^{Insomniac (Green Day album)} , Nimrod ^{Nimrod (album)} and Warning ^{Warning (Green Day album)} did not achieve the massive success of Dookie, but they were still successful, reaching double platinum, double platinum, and gold status respectively. Green Day's 2004 rock opera American Idiot reignited the band's popularity with a younger generation, selling five million copies in the U.S. The band's eighth studio album, 21st Century Breakdown, was released on May 15, 2009.

Green Day has sold over 22 million records in the United States. They have won four Grammy Awards; Best Alternative Album ^{Best Alternative Music Album} for Dookie, Best Rock Album for American Idiot, Record of the Year for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams ^{Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Green Day song)} ", and Best Rock Album for the second time for 21st Century Breakdown.

 
Formation and Lookout years: 1987–199
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In 1987, friends Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt, 15 years old at the time, formed a band called 'Sweet Children'. The first Sweet Children show took place on October 17, 1987, at Rod's Hickory Pit in Vallejo, California where Armstrong's mother was working. Rolling Stone was more critical, giving it 3/5, and saying "Warning... invites the question: Who wants to listen to songs of faith, hope and social commentary from what used to be snot-core's biggest-selling band?" The span of nearly five years between American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown was the longest gap between studio albums in Green Day's career. The band had been working on new material since January 2006. By October 2007, Armstrong had 45 songs written, but the band showed no further signs of progress until October 2008, when a video of the group recording with producer Butch Vig in the studio was posted on YouTube. Two videos showing the band in the studio were posted on YouTube. In the tour section of the band's official website, the message "World Tour coming soon!" is shown.
The new album, titled 21st Century Breakdown, was released in 2009. The album had mainly positive reception from critics, getting an average rating between 4 and 5 stars. After the release, the album hit #1 in fourteen different countries, hitting Gold or Platinum in each. 21st Century Breakdown achieved Green Day's best chart performance to date. The band started playing shows in California in April and early May. It was their first live show in about 3 years. Green Day is currently on a world tour that started in North America in July, 2009 and continuing around the world throughout the rest of 2009 and early 2010.

It has also been announced that Green Day will be getting their own Rock Band video game entitled Green Day: Rock Band. A trailer of the game was shown during the Spike TV Video Game Awards 2009 ^{Spike Video Game Awards} . It is set to release June 8th 2010.
Green Day do plan on having a follow up album within the next couple years, but no specific dates have been stated. They have said that they are writing new material. down in some early form."Green Day's sound is often compared to first wave punk bands such as the Ramones, The Clash, *** Pistols, The Jam, and the Buzzcocks. proto-punks The Who, and power pop pioneers Cheap Trick. Armstrong's lyrics commonly describe alienation, ("Jesus of Suburbia", "Boulevard of Broken Dreams ^{Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Green Day song)} ", "Road to Acceptance", "Disappearing Boy", "Castaway ^{Castaway (song)} ") hysteria ("Basket Case ^{Basket Case (song)} ", "Panic Song", "American Eulogy ^{21st Century Breakdown} "), girls ("She ^{She (Green Day)} ", "80 ^{80 (Green Day)} " "Only of You","Maria ^{Maria (Green Day song)} " "She's a Rebel"), growing up ("Longview ^{Longview (song)} " and "Welcome to Paradise"), and the effects of doing drugs ("Geek Stink Breath", "Green Day", "Give Me Novacaine ^{American Idiot} "). The Ramones had similar lyrical themes such as 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 has covered Ramones songs several times, including recording "Outsider" for the tribute album We're a Happy Family, and performing "Blitzkrieg Bop" and "Teenage Lobotomy" when the Ramones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

In reaction to both the style of music and the background of the band, John Lydon, former front man of the 1970s punk band the *** Pistols commented: So there we are fending off all that and it pisses me off that years later a wank 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.

In another interview, Lydon stated that: Look, I'm sorry, they're a bit fake for me. They change their image. Fake mockneys. The London twang and vocal is a little out of place. Enjoy your own culture and stick with what you know.

British rock musician Noel Gallagher of Oasis ^{Oasis (band)} also complained about the band semi-jokingly, claiming that they ripped off his song "Wonderwall ^{Wonderwall (song)} " with their song "Boulevard of Broken Dreams ^{Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Green Day song)} ". Mashup ^{Mashup (music)} DJs Party Ben and team9 would later release a mashup of the two songs called "Boulevard of Broken Songs" under the spoonerism Dean Gray.

Cool mentioned in a July 2009 interview that while Armstrong is the primary songwriter, he looks to the other band members for organizational help.Ever since 1991, some members of the band have branched out past Green Day and have started other projects with other musicians. Notable related projects of Green Day include Billie Joe Armstrong's Pinhead Gunpowder (which also features Green Day's live backup guitarist Jason White), The Frustrators in which Mike Dirnt plays bass, and The Network, in which all three members of Green Day play under fake stage names. Billie Joe Armstrong has also confirmed that the main members of Green Day are in the band Foxboro Hot Tubs. A Foxboro Hot Tubs album titled Stop Drop and Roll!!! was released on 2008-05-20.
In September 2006, Green Day teamed up with U2 and producer Rick Rubin to record a cover of the song "The Saints Are Coming", originally recorded by The Skids, with an accompanying video. The song is to benefit Music Rising, an organization to help raise money for musicians' instruments lost during Hurricane Katrina, and to bring awareness on the eve of the one year anniversary of the disaster.


In December 2006, Green Day and NRDC ^{Natural Resources Defense Council} opened a web site in partnership to raise awareness on America's dependency on oil.

Green Day released a cover of the John Lennon song "Working Class Hero", that was featured on the album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. The band performed the song on the season finale of American Idol. The song was nominated for a Grammy in 2008, but lost to The White Stripes' "Icky Thump".

That summer, the band appeared in a cameo role in The Simpsons Movie, where they perform the show's ^{The Simpsons} theme song ^{The Simpsons Theme} . Their version was released as a single on July 24, 2007.

In 2009, the band adapted their album American Idiot in to a one-act stage musical ^{American Idiot (musical)} that premiered at the Berkeley Rep on September 15, 2009.

In October, a Green Day art project was exhibited at StolenSpace Gallery in London. The exhibition showed artworks created for each of the songs on 21st Century Breakdown, was supported by the band, and led by their manager Pat Magnarella. He explained in an interview that "[Artists are] basically like rock bands. Most are creating their art, but don't know how to promote it." For Billie Joe Armstrong,
"Many of the artists... show their work on the street, and we feel a strong connection to that type of creative expression.”;Current members
* Billie Joe Armstrong – lead vocals ^{Lead vocalist} , guitars (1987–present)
* Mike Dirnt – bass ^{Bass guitar} , backing vocals ^{Backing vocalist} (1987–present)
* Tré Cool – drums ^{Drum kit} , percussion ^{Percussion instrument} , backing vocals (1990–present)
;Current touring members
* Jason White ^{Jason White (musician)} – guitars, backing vocals (1999–present)
* Jason Freese – keyboards ^{Keyboard instrument} , piano, acoustic guitar, trombone, saxophone, accordion, backing vocals (2003–present)
* Jeff Matika – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2009–present)
;Former members
* John Kiffmeyer – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1987–1990)
;Former touring members
* Timmy Chunks – rhythm guitar (1997–1999)
* Garth Schultz – trombone, trumpet (1997–1999)
* Gabrial McNair – trombone, tenor saxophone (1999–2001)
* Kurt Lohmiller – trumpet, timpani, percussion, backing vocals (1999–2004)
* Mike Pelino – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2004–2005)
* Ronnie Blake – trumpet, timpani, percussion, backing vocals (2004–2005)* 39/Smooth (1990)
* Kerplunk ^{Kerplunk (album)} (1992)
* Dookie (1994)
* Insomniac ^{Insomniac (Green Day album)} (1995)
* Nimrod ^{Nimrod (album)} (1997)
* Warning ^{Warning (Green Day album)} (2000)
* American Idiot (2004)
* 21st Century Breakdown (2009)