is an american rock band formed in rodeo, california in 1987 by lead vocalist + guitarist billie joe armstrong and bassist + backing vocalist mike dirnt. originally known as sweet children, they attracted a following by playing shows at the local punk club 924 gilman street in berkeley, california. after playing a show with the lookouts, they caught the attention of larry livermore - who then signed them to lookout! records. they changed the band's name to green day in 1989, right before their debut EP 1000 hours. in 1990 they released their first studio album 39/smooth, releasing two other EPs not too long after (slappy, sweet children). this was the same year their current drummer, tré cool, joined the band - their original drummer john kiffmeyer leaving to focus on college. they would go on to release their second studio album kerplunk! in 1991 with tré as their drummer.
in 1994, after signing to the major label reprise records, they released their third studio album dookie, which was a commercial success and is often credited as reviving mainstream interest in punk rock. in the following years, they would go on to release insomniac (1995), nimrod. (1997), and warning: (2000).the band would take a break for a while - and in 2004, they would go through a major image change with their release american idiot,a concept record, and their second-best-selling album, dubbed a "punk rock opera" by the band members. the album revived their popularity with a younger generation and shows began to take a more "theatrical" approach - in 2005 they would play their, at the time, largest gig ever, at the national bowl in milton keynes. the arena sold out with a capacity of 65,000 - the show was recorded and turned into a cd/dvd documentary. in 2009 they would follow up with 21st century breakdown, another concept record, also having an accompanying cd/dvd performance awesome as fuck (2010). notably, the album was produced by butch vig.
in 2009, michael mayer approached the band with an interest in giving the album american idiot a stage production. the band agreed to a collaboration. the stageplay premiered in berkeley, california and moved to broadway in 2010. from september 28th to october 3rd, billie joe armstrong made his broadway debut playing the character st. jimmy.
in 2011, the band would play several secret shows, some under the alias foxboro hot tubs, the setlists consisting mostly of previously unreleased material. in 2012, they entered the studio,and those songs would later appear on their trilogy of albums ¡uno!, ¡dos!, and ¡tré!, releasing seperately in september, november, and december, respectively. the dvd ¡cuatro! released alongside it, documenting the production of the albums. they would release demolicious in 2014, a collection of demos from the trilogy recording sessions. THIS ISNT DONE IM GONNA WRITE MORE BUT IM TIRED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
green day found me during a very dark time in my life and has been my reason for living for nearly 2 years now. they're my favorite band of all time and i wouldn't be the person i am today if it weren't for them.
around january of 2024, my parents bought tickets to their saviors tour, where they would be playing the albums dookie and american idiot in full. at the time - i wasn't into them. in fact i kind of had something against them as i really hated mainstream music. but this was around the time i was finally starting to get into 90s alternative, so i thought, okay. whatever sure i'll give them a chance.
i thought they were alright, it wasn't anything special to me at the time and there were other bands i would've rather been listening to. but i wanted to get into them so i'd be able to appreciate the show. so i was a very surface level fan - i interacted with the community on twitter some, but it didn't go very far as i was very hyperfixated on other things.
but when i went to the saviors tour and the show finally passed, their music just clicked for me. i don't know what it was, honestly - because even now, this isn't the usual stuff i would be listening to. i still have an aversion to mainstream pop punk, but this band is my one exception.
i just love them with all my heart. throughout their whole career they've stayed true to themselves, fighting for what they think is right, and have done whatever the hell they wanted without trying to fit a mold - and seeing that has really helped me accept myself. i've struggled with self hatred and identity issues for years now, and it was only with this band, their songs (16, no one knows, burnout, basket case, coming clean, panic song, king for a day, minority, macy's day parade, bobby sox...), their performances, the experiences they've talked about in interviews - did i really find out how to take pride in myself. i still struggle with it. but i can always come back to this band and this community and find acceptance. i've met some really amazing people through love of this band and i'm grateful for all of them too.
people say they "sold out" with the release of dookie being under a major label but that's just such bullshit to me. they built their career playing small clubs and random house parties - they were broke kids who took the opportunity of a lifetime.
billie joe armstrong is my idol and im proud to say that despite how cringe it comes off as because i wouldn't still be alive if it weren't for him and his music. hearing him talk about his life experience, his struggle with addiction, his own self acceptance with his sexuality and femininity, what got him into music, it inspires me a lot, just in general - to make something, do something, to live for myself and not give a fuck about what other people think. that's what the band has taught me - and if people think that's stupid they can fuck off.
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