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F.A.Q.

    1. Will Nimrod be Green Day's last album? Nope...despite the rumours, Green Day have no plans of breaking up. The band claims "we will never break up".
    2. Does Billie really have his own record label? Yes he does, it's called Adeline Records and their official site can be found here at GreenDay.net.
    3. When will the next Green Day album be released? Green Day typically leaves about two years (give or take a couple months) between albums. Since Nimrod was released in the fall of 1997, a new album probably won't be released until the summer of 1999.
    4. What does F.O.D. stand for? It means "Fuck off and die".
    5. Where can I buy Green Day merchandise such as imports? You can buy all of Green Day's singles and imports at  CDnow.
    6. What Green Day songs went to #1 on the charts? Off of Dookie - Longview, Basket Case and When I Come Around hit top spot, their next hit was J.A.R. off the Angus soundtrack and their last number one hit was Insomniac's Brain Stew/Jaded. Since then their highest has been Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) which was at number 2 for more than 15 weeks.
    7. How many albums have each of Green Day's albums sold? The bands first to albums from Lookout Records (39/Smooth, Kerplunk) have sold over 500,000 copies each. Worldwide, Dookie has sold 12 million (8 million in North America) and Insomniac has sold 8 million (4 million in North America). So far Nimrod has sold close to 2 million copies.
    8. Are Green Day going to tour with Weezer? At this point nothing has been confirmed. It is rumoured they may tour together in November..
    9. Do Green Day use drugs or drink? The band admits to using speed in their younger days but since they have had children they have cleaned up a bit. The band does not hide the fact that they smoke pot quite frequently. Billie has said that he drinks a lot and it's not rare to see one of the band members with a beer in their hand.
    10. When/where can I buy tickets to Green Day concerts? This vary's from city to city so you would have to call and ask the venue they are playing these questions. Another good bet is to call your local Ticketmaster.
    11. Do Green Day use the internet? I'm not sure about Mike and Tre but Billie and Adrienne are online. Adrienne uses the net quite frequently and I think that she checks out a lot of the Green Day sites.
    12. Will there be a live video and CD coming out in 1998? According to Reprise, the live video never completed to production phase and is on hold for the time being. As for the CD, a couple concerts where recorded and the live CD is a possibility but probably not until the band is done supporting Nimrod and are working on a new album. You can buy bootleg live video's of Green Day from Brownlabel.
    13. What is the meaning behind the album names? I don't know about 39/Smooth or Kerplunk but Dookie was originally going to be called "Liquid Dookie" but the band decided that was a little to gross, in case you don't know, dookie is shit. They called their next album "Insomniac" because it fit in with the mood in which Billie wrote the album. BJ's son Joey often kept him up at night crying and so he wrote most of the songs in the middle of the night (ex. "I'm having trouble trying to sleep, i'm countin' sheep but running out" - Brain Stew). Another reason for the name is described below by Winston Smith. As for Nimrod, Billie explains, "There's this guy named Nimrod in the Bible who tried to fool God in Babylon, or something like that," Armstrong said. "It fits.We're kind of moronic."
    14. What is the painting on Insomniac? The title of the artwork on Insomniac is "God Told Me to Skin You Alive." It was created by Winston Smith. Here's what Winston told me about making the Insomniac cover: "I knew Tre back  when he was a teenager up in Mendocino County where my ranch is, not far from Lawrence's (Livermore) place up near Willits.  The original title for that LP (Insomniac) was Tightwad Hill.  Then I did the cover, staying awake over 48 hours to assemble it.  By the time I delivered it to the green boys I was a zombie.  Bill asked me how I could stay awake all that long and I said, "It's easy for me, I do it all the time.  I have no choice.  I'm an insomniac."
    15. Did Mike and Tre divorce from their wives? Yes, unfortunately they are both no longer with their wives.
    16. Is there a Green Day emailing list? Yes there is, get more information about it here. If you decide to sign up though, you may receive up to 80 emails a day.
    17. How about the real names and some personal info about the band members? Check out the member pages. The links can be found on the index.
    18. Could you tell me more about Adrienne (Billie's wife)?
      [sent in by Adrienne]: "Billie Joe and I met on the very first Green Day tour when Al Sobrante was in the band. I was one of only ten people at a Green Day gig and me and Billie ended up hitting it off. So, I moved out to California in the heat of Dookie. Thats when we got married, a month later. I had been working in the this small town in Minnesota called Mankato as a manager for Pier 1 imports. I had graduated with a degree in sociology from Mankato State University and stayed there till Billie Joe finally convinced me to move out to Cali. I work now, occasionally, at Cinder Block Printing. They do music merch. for band like Screeching Weasel, OP IVY, Mr. T -Experience, first GD shirts for kerplunk, tons of other great bands. But mostly Joey's my full time job."
    19. Does Adrienne ever take offence to lyrics Billie writes? No, according to Adrienne she does not take offence to them. She says the he writes about what he feels at certain times in his life, and he's just being honest.
    20. Where did they go to high school? Mike and BJ went to Pinole Valley High in Pinole because Rodeo has no public school system of its own. FYI -- Pinole is a boring, working class suburbabout 15 miles north of Berkeley. It lacks both the cosmo- politanatmosphere and the progressive politics of Berkeley. Pinole (and ElSobrante, its neighbor) is a town of small, older single family homesand a heck of a lot of churches. There is no place for ki ds to hangout other than Hilltop Mall in nearby Richmond. The big news recentlywas the opening of Mervyn's -- no kidding. Pinole is a town with all ofthe disadvantages of suburban life (you need a car to escape, there'snothing but chain stores, college radio is out of reach. . .) and noneof the advantages (money). The most amazing thing about Green Day ishow they were able to make some- thing from this total vacuum. Oh yeah,Green Day played at Pinole Valley HS in the central courtyard area(called "the Mall" -- helps you understand the whole culture, doesn'tit?) in the Spring of 1990 . The occasion was "Foreign Foods Day," aschool event during which clubs sell ostensibly foreign food and bandsplay. Green Day played first. They were followed by Separate Ways (whoare still together and playing in the Bay Area). Most faculty membershated Green Day and said, "Now that's more like it" when Separate Wayscame on. Just shows what they know.
    21. Why did they cut the Insomniac tour short? They cut the last tour short because they were totally wiped out from so much time on the road. They went on a break for about a year to relax and spend more time with their families. After two years of almosy non-stop touring, they just needed a good long break.
    22. Who is John Kiffmeyer a/k/a Al Sobrante? John Kiffmeyer (not Kiftmeyer, as has been printed in some publications), played drums for the band while they were Sweet Children. He used to go by the name Al Sobrante, which was a play on his hometown El Sobrante. John also drummed on 39/Smooth and several EPs, and was executive producer on Kerplunk (the album on which Tre Cool became Green Day's drummer). (from Lawrence Livermore) "John is living in San Francisco with his wife Greta (they were married in the summer of '94). I haven't seen him in about nine months, though." (from Gustav) "Al Sobrante was in Ne'erdowells after Green Day. He left Green Day to go to college. The Ne'erdowells changed their name to the Hi-Fives and Al no longer plays for them."
    23. What bands have the guys played with?
      BJ has played with Pinhead Gunpowder, Goodbye Harry, Blatz, and one Lookouts track. Plus a couple others.
      Mike has played with Screeching Weasel and Corrupted Morals.
      Tre has played with the Lookouts.
      Billie, Mike, and John formed Sweet Children prior to changing their name to Green Day.
    24. Where can we get Sweet Children music? There were 6 songs written while BJ, Mike, and John were called Sweet Children, but only 4 are on the Skene! Sweet Children EP:
      Sweet Children
      Best Thing in Town
      Strangeland
      My Generation

      The only Sweet Children EP that exists is the one on black vinyl from Skene! Records. It is no longer in print. The Flipside "Big One" compilation is still in print. The songs from that EP appear at the end of the Kerplunk CD. 

    25. Why do they sound British? Why do they sound like a lot of other bands? They like to have fun, and they like to emulate the sounds that they enjoy. It's all for having a good time. And yes, they do like to parody the stereotypical "punk rock" genre and look. Billie Joe admitted to MTV-Europe, "I sound like an Englishman impersonating an American impersonating an Englishman."
    26. Why are they called Green Day? The phrase GREEN DAY is Bay-area slang for a day with lots of green bud where you just sit around taking bong hits, hanging around. Billie Joe picked the phrase up from friends while chilling in his "habitat" (in the basement of a Berkeley University building), and wrote the song Green Day about his first pot experience. The group changed their name from Sweet Children to Green Day in 1990. Note too that Ernie from Sesame Street has also uttered the phrase Green Day (Ernie also appears on Dookie... coincidence?).
    27. When did Billie Joe write his first song? Billie first sang Looking for Love when he was just 5 years old! However, the first song he wrote and then recorded was Why Do You Want Him? when he was 12.
    28. How did Tre Cool get his name? He was dubbed "Tre Cool" by Lawrence Livermore, founder of Lookout! Records when he signed 12 year-old Frank Edwin Wright III to be the drummer in his band, The Lookouts. Tre was born in Willits, CA. His father was a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam war. He moved to Willits to escape the pressure in San Francisco. Tre was also the DJ for his high school.
    29. Where do Green Day live? They live in Berkeley, California, USA. If you're not too technical, it's a part of San Francisco.
    30. Is the story by Laurie L inside the Kerplunk CD bogus or for real? Laurie L.'s story is purely fiction - in fact, "Laurie L" is a homage to "Larry Livermore". The author wrote the story for Tales from Blarg!, a punk 'zine that's really good and run by this really cool girl named Janelle.
    31. Is Tim Armstrong of Rancid related to Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong? Actually, Tim Armstrong is not Billie Joe's brother, nor are they cousins, even though they have the same last name. However, Tim and BJ do get along. FYI, Tim was in Operation Ivy (he went by the name Lint), the band that wrote Knowledge which Green Day covered and plays at many of their concerts. Billie also helped Tim write the song "Radio" on Rancid's "Let's GO!" album.
    32. What make and model of guitar does Billie Joe play? BJ has a Fernandes, that his mother bought for him when he was 11, although he has used other guitars on the Nimrod album to attain a better sound. See the next question for description of Billie's guitar and amps, but briefly... "Blue" was given to him by his mother so it's very special to him. It's also the first guitar he ever owned. He is so used to it, that it is like a part of him. Billie owns several guitars (about six or so), but "Blue" is by far his favorite!
    33. What kind of distortion does Billie Joe use? (from Jerry Finn, the mixer on Dookie and Insomniac) Now the distortion question. ( I get this one all the time ) The main thing to remember about Billie's sound is that 70% of it comes from the way he plays. If you came to the studio and played "Blue" , his favorite guitar, you still would not sound anything like him. His style is truly unique. But there are some things I can tell you to get your sound pretty close to his. In the most basic sense Billie's sound is a Strat guitar plugged into a Marshall amp. He doesn't use any pedals, all the distortion comes from the amp. On "Dookie" the amp he used was an old 100 watt Marshall that had been modified in L.A. This amp belongs to their producer Rob Cavallo. We now call it the "Dookie" amp. I also used this amp for all of Lint's guitars on "And out come the Wolves." When GD went on tour Billie had a clone amp made to copy the sound of the Dookie amp. That amp is called the "Pete" amp. If you look at footage from Woodstock you can see that it has "Pete" spray painted on it. For the new album (Insomniac) Billie decided he wanted a little chunkier sound so he played through two amps at the same time. One was the "Dookie" amp, and one was a new modified Marshall that Rob had gotten that we called the "Meat" amp. The combination of the Meat and Pete amps is what Billie will be playing on the "Insomniac" world tour. The exact Marshall amp Billie plays is called the 59 SLP. You can get one anywhere, but keep in mind that his have been modified. His main guitar "Blue" is a Fernandes stratocaster copy with a Seymour Duncan "Jeff Beck" pickup in the bridge position. Billie only plays through one pickup, the front two in the guitar are never even turned on. On an interesting side note, before the making of "Insomniac" Billie had Fernandes make him a copy of "Blue", he wanted to have a backup guitar. When they sent it over he started playing it in order to get used to it. After a couple of weeks he decided it didn't feel right and smashed it to pieces. There's just nothing that can match the feel of his beloved "Blue" !
    34. What's the size of Tre's ride cymbal? Tre has dozens of cymbals. His Zildjian ride cymbals vary from 18" to 21".
    35. Where can I get the song "J.A.R."? The song "J.A.R." was released on the Angus soundtrack and is available at most music stores.. J.A.R. stands for Jason Andrew Relva, a friend of Green Day's who died (Mike wrote the lyrics, Green Day wrote the music).
    36. Who sings "I Wanna Be Billie Joe"? I Wanna Be Billie Joe is a single by Wat Tyler of Britain, featuring a pic of BJ wearing just pink boxers and a pink tie on the cover.
    37. What are GD like in the studio? (from Jerry Finn) "For the most part they are a lot of fun. We spend 14 hours a day, 6 days a week together when we're mixing and they never get on my nerves. I must say that to work with them is a total pleasure. They are constantly joking around and playing pranks on people ( Tre' locked me and Rob Cavallo in a storage room once! ) "
    38. What is Pulling Teeth about? Pulling Teeth is about Mike and his (ex) wife Anastasia. Back around the time of Kerplunk! they were at a friends house having a pillow fight. Mike ran around a corner and hit his head on a low ceiling beam. He fell backwards and broke both of his elbows. So now if you read the lyrics it all makes sense! The name Pulling Teeth was stolen from Metallica. They have a song called Anesthesia Pulling Teeth, and since the song was about Mike's girlfriend Anastasia ( pretty close to anesthesia ) Billie named the song Pulling Teeth.
    39. Where's "Stuart and the Avenue" in Stuart and the Ave.? The corner of Stuart Street and Telegraph Avenue. It's in Berkeley, CA.
    40. Where is Tight Wad Hill? Tight Wad Hill is a hill in Crockett, CA where all the druggies would hang out and watch all the John Swett High School football games for free.
    41. Were people in the studio during All by Myself? That song was actually recorded at someone's house with a four-track recorder, not in a studio. There were a bunch of people (very stoned) hanging around while they recorded it.
    42. Why don't we ever see Adrienne? She's not a spotlight grabber. She's medium sized with dark brown hair (when it's not dyed).