Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their major-label debut Dookie, released through Reprise Records, became a breakout success and eventually shipped over 10 million copies in the U.S. Alongside fellow California punk bands Bad Religion, the Offspring, Rancid, NOFX, Pennywise and Social Distortion, Green Day is credited with popularizing mainstream interest in punk rock in the U.S.
Billie Joe Armstrong is an American musician who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Green Day, which he co-founded with Mike Dirnt in 1987. He is also a guitarist and vocalist for the punk rock band Pinhead Gunpowder, and provides lead vocals for Green Day's side projects Foxboro Hot Tubs, the Network, the Longshot and the Coverups. Armstrong has been considered by critics as one of the greatest punk rock guitarists of all time.
Insomniac is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Green Day, released on October 10, 1995, by Reprise Records. It was recorded at Hyde Street in San Francisco, and the band prioritized high-energy takes during the recording sessions. Released as the follow-up to the band's multi-platinum breakthrough Dookie, Insomniac featured a heavier, hardcore punk sound, with bleaker lyrics than its predecessor. Lyrically, the album discusses themes such as alienation, anxiety, boredom, and drug use. Insomniac also served as a reaction to many early fans who had turned their backs on the band after it achieved mainstream success with Dookie.
Michael Ryan Pritchard, better known by his stage name Mike Dirnt, is an American rock musician who is the co-founder, bassist, backing vocalist, and occasional lead vocalist of Green Day. He has also played in several other bands, including the Frustrators. His stage name Dirnt was originally a nickname that his friends from grade school gave him, as he constantly played "air bass/guitar" and made a "dirnt, dirnt, dirnt" noise while pretending to pluck the strings.
Woodstock '94 was an American music festival held in 1994 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original Woodstock festival of 1969. It was promoted as "2 More Days of Peace and Music". The poster used to promote the first concert was revised to feature two catbirds perched on the neck of an electric guitar, instead of the original one catbird on an acoustic guitar.
Dookie is the third studio album by the American rock band Green Day, released on February 1, 1994, by Reprise Records. The band's major label debut and first collaboration with producer Rob Cavallo, it was recorded in late summer 1993 at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California. Written mostly by frontman and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, the album is largely based on his personal experiences and includes themes such as boredom, anxiety, relationships, and sexuality. It was promoted with four singles: "Longview", "Basket Case", a re-recorded version of "Welcome to Paradise", and "When I Come Around".
Nimrod is the fifth studio album by the American rock band Green Day, released on October 14, 1997, by Reprise Records. The band began work on the album in the wake of the cancellation of a European tour after the release of their previous album, Insomniac. Recorded at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles, the album was written with the intent of creating a set of standalone songs as opposed to a cohesive album. Retrospectively, Nimrod is noted for its musical diversity and experimentation, containing elements of folk, hardcore, surf rock, and ska. Lyrical themes discussed include maturity, personal reflection, and fatherhood.
Slappy is the second EP by American rock band Green Day. It was released in 1990 through Lookout! Records. Upon its release, several different colors of vinyl were available in limited quantities. Billie Joe Armstrong cited the extended play as the one on which Green Day began to find its sound.
"Basket Case" is a song by rock band Green Day, released on August 1, 1994 by Reprise Records as the second single from the band's third studio album, Dookie (1994). The song spent five weeks at the top of the US Billboard Alternative Songs chart and garnered a Grammy Award nomination in the category for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. Its music video was directed by Mark Kohr and filmed in an abandoned mental institution in California. In 2001, the song appeared on their greatest hits album International Superhits!. In 2021, "Basket Case" was ranked number 150 in Rolling Stone's updated list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". As of March 2024, "Basket Case" is the most streamed song by the band on Spotify, with over 1 billion streams.
Kerplunk is the second studio album by the American rock band Green Day, released on December 17, 1991, by Lookout! Records. Kerplunk was Green Day's last independent release on the Lookout Records label, and was also the first album to feature Tré Cool on drums. Kerplunk officially includes only 12 tracks, but the versions released on CD and cassette also include the four tracks from the Sweet Children EP. One of those tracks is a cover of The Who's "My Generation". Green Day guitarist and singer Billie Joe Armstrong stated in a 2021 Vulture magazine interview that Kerplunk is his favorite album, describing it as "kind of autobiographical".
"Longview" is the debut single by American rock band Green Day. It is the fourth track on the band's third studio album, Dookie (1994), released on February 1, 1994. The song was the band's first single to top the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in the U.S. The music video for the song received heavy airplay on MTV and is largely credited for breaking Green Day into mainstream popularity. It was directed by Bay Area music video director Mark Kohr, who later collaborated with the band on future music videos.
"Welcome to Paradise" is a song by the American rock band Green Day. It first appeared as the third track on the band's second studio album, Kerplunk (1991). It was re-recorded and rereleased as the fifth track on the band's third studio album, Dookie (1994), and released as the album's third single. Its physical release was exclusive to the United Kingdom on October 17, 1994, though the song still saw radio airplay in the United States. The song peaked at number 56 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart. The Dookie version is more popular and was later included on the band's 2001 compilation album International Superhits!.
John Kiffmeyer, known professionally as Al Sobrante, is an American cinematographer and retired musician and songwriter. He is best known as the first drummer for the punk rock band Green Day. His stage name is a reference to his hometown, El Sobrante.
"Know Your Enemy" is a protest song by American rock band Green Day. It is the third track on their eighth album, 21st Century Breakdown, and it was released as the lead single through Reprise Records on April 16, 2009, and the group's first single since "Jesus of Suburbia", released 4 years earlier. Billboard described the song as being lyrically "just as politically charged as last time ", having a "Modern Rock radio-ready chorus", whilst the song's producer Butch Vig "brings enough punk sheen for mass appeal." It was the first, and one of only three songs, to top the Rock Songs, Alternative Songs and Mainstream Rock Tracks Billboard charts at the same time. "Know Your Enemy" has been certified Gold by the RIAA and has sold 798,000 copies as of August 2010.
Frank Edwin Wright III, better known by his stage name Tré Cool, is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Green Day. He replaced the band's former drummer, John Kiffmeyer, in 1990. Cool has also played in the Lookouts, Samiam, Dead Mermaids, Bubu and the Brood and the Green Day side projects the Network and the Foxboro Hot Tubs.
¡Tré! is the eleventh studio album by the American rock band Green Day. It is the third and final installment in the ¡Uno!¡Dos!¡Tré! trilogy, a series of studio albums that were released from September to December 2012. Green Day started recording material for the album on February 14, 2012, and finished on June 26, 2012. ¡Tré! follows the power pop style of ¡Uno!, and the garage rock feel of ¡Dos!. The album's title is a nod to the band's drummer Tré Cool, who turned 40 years old two days after the release. Cool is also featured on the album's cover. It is the band's last album with touring guitarist Jason White joining the band in the studio as a session member.
"X-Kid" is a song by American rock band Green Day. It is the fifth track on their eleventh studio album, ¡Tré! (2012), and was released as the second single from the album on February 12, 2013, and is the sixth and final single from the ¡Uno!, ¡Dos! & ¡Tré! trilogy.
Demolicious is a compilation album by American rock band Green Day. It was released on Record Store Day on April 19, 2014. It is a collection of demo versions of songs from their ¡Uno! ¡Dos! ¡Tré! album trilogy. The album also includes the previously unreleased "State of Shock" and an acoustic version of "Stay the Night". It was released on double vinyl, CD, and cassette tape. The cover art was designed by comic book artist Tom Neely with Kristina Collantes.
"Bang Bang" is a song by American rock band Green Day, released as the lead single from their twelfth studio album, Revolution Radio (2016), on August 11, 2016. Regarded as combining elements of the band's early punk rock days with themes from their politically motivated later albums, the song was inspired by the events of mass shootings in the United States and is written from the viewpoint of a mass shooter.
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