Childhood friends Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt first started their musical careers when they were just 14 years old in Northern California back in 1989. The band, originally called Sweet Children changed it's name to Green Day when they added their first drummer Al Sobrante.
Their first album was called 1,000 hours and it performed well for the independent band. The bands sound was original, edgy and adaptive.
Many had never heard anything like the sound that this band had and the result was their explosion in the punk scene. While their first songs were very simplistic in nature they portrayed an honest message of the way of living for punks in northern California during that time.
The band then signed up with local independent label Lookout and produced their first album entitled 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hour. This album was very punk and roughed in, but holds many great songs.
The simple chord progressions and off the wall lyrics showcased the bands energy as performers. Highlighted on this album are "Green Day", "Knowledge", "409 in Your Coffee Maker", "Road to Acceptance", "At the Library", "Paper Lanterns", and "I Want to be Alone".
The album helped the band further gain influence in the area and they performed many shows during that time period. Shortly after the release of this album the band replaced drummer Al Sobrante with permanent drummer Tre Cool.
The band then continued to grow a cult-like following with Kerplunk! their 1992 release. This album housed such great hits like "Sweet Children", "Welcome to Paradise", "Christie Road", "Dominated Love Slave", "Who Wrote Holden Caulfield", and "Android".
The band continued to impress audiences with their no nonsense appeal and gritty sound. It was with this work they caught the attention of the major record labels and the band made the tough decision to leave the niche punk of northern California and expand to new horizons.
They signed with Reprise Records in 1994 and under the major record label released Dookie. The album almost instantly went to number one on the charts. The album won a Grammy that year for Best Alternative Music Performance for Dookie.
The album stayed on top of the charts for an astonishing seven weeks. It was during this time that people really discovered the band. They weren't just some niche punk band from California anymore, they had really hit the big time.
On this album the band releases some of their all time favored tracks including "Longview", "Basketcase", "Welcome to Paradise", "When I Come Around" and "F.O.D." The artists also included a hidden track on this album which is titled "All By Myself" and was the first album in this journalists collection which contained such a thing.
The band exploded on the scene and were in heavy rotation on MTV. Their style was viewed by some as very anti-establishment and contradictory to the norm of the music world of the time. They were the new and freshest thing to hit the scene for punk music since the Ramones or the Sex Pistols.
During this time, Green Day Fever really hit America and just about every teenager owned some scrap of memorabilia of the band. The album went on to sell well over 8 millions copies for the band. The band even played Woodstock that year and captivated audiences around the globe with a sterling performance.
Shortly after the release of Dookie, the band released a second album entitled Insomniac in 1995. This album contained a modified version of Led Zeppelins "Kashmir" in the form of "Brain Stew" and the song also appeared on the Godzilla Soundtrack that year.
Other tracks on the album include "Geek Stink Breath", "Walking Contradiction", and "Jaded" as well. This album rocked on many CD players that year and the band toured heavily during this time. In fact, they toured so much that they canceled their European tour in '96 due to exhaustion.
1997 brought forth the groups third album simply titled nimrod. . This monumental album was in everyone's disc changer. With raw, incredibly original masterpieces the band wowed fans across the globe.
Hits from this record include "Hitchin' a Ride", "Redundant", "Good Riddance" and "Nice Guys Finish Last". The bands voice shook stadium walls with massive musical force. Crowds awed at the heartfelt "Good Riddance" and thumped with hard core audacity to the rest of this album.
Warning was issued three years later in 2000. Tracks from this album include "Church on Sunday", "Castaway", "Warning", "Hold on", and "Deadbeat Holiday". With the self-titled track quickly gaining popularity among the masses.
Two years later the band releases Shenanigans which featured the tracks "I Don't Want to Fall in Love", "Sick of Me", "Scumbag", and a cover of the Ramones song "Ha Ha Your Dead".
It would be two more years before the band would release another album. The next album, however, would mark a historical time for the band as they reached the decade mark in their careers. American Idiot was released in September of 2004 and evaluated the bands popularity and fan-base to new heights.
This album could seriously melt a set of earphones. Tracks featured on this album include "St. Jimmy", "Jesus of Suburbia", "Holiday", "Are We The Waiting", "American Idiot", "She's a Rebel", "Homecoming", "Letterbomb", "Give Me Novacaine" and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams".
With this album the band has toured heavily and released the 2005's Bullet in a Bible on DVD to commemorate the journey they have undergone thus far. American Idiot went on to win the band two Grammys. One for Best Rock Album in 2004 and the other for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" in 2005 for Record Of The Year.
The band’s latest album is entitled 21st Century Breakdown and looks to be a very promising album so far. Featured tracks on this record include “Know Your Enemy”, “East Jesus Nowhere”, “Before the Lobotomy” and “21st Century Breakdown”.
As always, Green Day continues to both inspire and enlighten their fans with this album and it is definitely worth checking out.
UPDATE: At the Grammy’s this year Green Day Announced work on an American Idiot Broadway Production.
Some live footage of the popular awards show featured the cast of the production performing with Green Day during their performance.
I think this is cool idea if they pull it off correctly. I’m sure they will take some flack for their decision to make a Musical but the bands talents are many and I’m sure they would do just fine.
Personally, it reminds me something of “The Wall” by Pink Floyd where Floyd expanded on their album.
I think it’s good that Green Day has chosen to take action to show their art in a new light. I think more bands should do something like this as well.
I mean, can you image if they turned Metallica’s Black Album into a film? Or brought “Houses of the Holy” to the stage?
Anyway, I’ll keep you updated about the band and any new stuff they come out with. Be sure to watch the Cast version of 21 Guns at the top of this page.