Did You Know....
Band Information and Facts
The Kerplunk inlay thanks someone named "Osama," Adrienne Nesser (now Adrienne Armstrong, Billie's wife), Frank & Linda (Tré's parents), Ollie & Andy (Billie's parents), Cheryl & Patrick (Mike's parents), and all of their siblings. Along with Brainstew (James Washburn), Jesse Michaels (from Operation Ivy), Tim Armstrong (from Operation Ivy and Rancid) and others.
It also says "In memory of Gravy..." Gravy was Mike's cat that died
Dookie's original name was Liquid Dookie, but they changed it because it was too gross
Billie and Mike are vegetarians
Insomniac got its name because most of the songs were written by Billie Joe on the nights that he couldn't sleep. It was released the same year that his first son (Joseph) was born, and he was up all night because of Joey's crying.
The Insomniac cover art is called "God Told Me To Skin You Alive"
The song "The Grouch" on Nimrod. was originally called "Happy Grouch"
The song "Haushinka" on Nimrod was originally written for Kerplunk!
The song "Good Riddance" was written by Billie Joe around the time that Dookie was written
Billie Joe and Mike recorded the vocals for "1039/ Smoothed Out Slappy Hours" at the same time, because they needed to save money.
Green Day hates ska except for Operation Ivy
If they could play any role in a movie, Mike and Billie would be Austin Powers. Tré, on the other hand would be Cat Woman
The "My Adventure with Green Day" story in Kerplunk! says it was written by Laurie L. but is a tribute to Lawrence Livermore
In the story "My Adventure with Green Day" it mentions Eggplant and Claude. They are both real people and friends of the band
The song "Who Wrote Holden Caufield" on Kerplunk! is about the character Holden Caufield from one of Billie's favorite books, "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger
The intersection shown in the "Walking Contradiction" video is Centre St. and 7th Street in L.A.
Green Day cursed the second most times on Behind the Music...27 times, 50 less than the leader, Oasis.
There is the song "Who Wrote Holden Caufield" on Kerplunk. On "How to Make Enemies and Iritate People" wy Screeching Weasel, there is a song called "I Wrote Holden Caufield"
To raise money to go on tour, Billie Joe flipped pissas, Mike shucked clams, and John drove a diaper truck
If you take out one "e" in "Green Day" the letters can be re-arranged to spell "Gay Nerd"
Insomniac, Nimrod, and Warning all came out in October
Dookie covers were re-printed without Ernie, because parents got angry, because they felt tricked into thinking that Dookie was a children's album, and were shocked to hear the material. Afraid of the bad publicity, Sesame Street threatened to sue them
The guitar chords to "What's My Age Agian" by Blink 182 and "When I Come Around" are exactly the same.
1039/ Smoothed Out Slappy Hours was recorded in 2 days. Kerplunk! was recorded in 3.
The song "Dry Ice" on 1039/ Smoothed Out Slappy Hours took about 20 takes to get right. At the end, if you listen very closely you can hear Billie Joe, Mike, and John yelling "yes!" and "we did it!" because they finally got it right.
Each band member takes a shot of Vodka before a gig
Mickey was the name of the dog on the "Slappy" cover, but was given the nickname "Slappy" by Jason Relva
Green Day has 14 transitional songs. They are Chump/Longview, Brain Stew/Jaded, Uptight/Last Ride In, and Jinx/Haushinka, Holiday/Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Are We the Waiting/St. Jimmy, and Give Me Novacaine/She's a Rebel
Good Riddance was #2 on MTV's "Top 10 Songs To Break Up To"
The song 80 on Kerplunk! was written about Adrienne. Her nickname is "Adie" and "80" sounds like "Adie"
The lyrics to Dearly Beloved, during "Jesus of Suburbia" go "am I retarded or am I just overjoyed" When the band plays it live, however, Billie sometimes sings "am I retarded or am I just unemployed?"
Lawrence Livermore started Lookout! Records with his welfare money
In the Nimrod. inlay, all the crossed out sections say "delete this. delete this..." they were not actual lyrics that they decided to delete.
The guy and girl standing by the trashcan fire in the Boulevard of Broken Dreams video are supposed to represent St. Jimmy and Whatsername
In Longview, after Billie sings "call me pathetic call me what you will" someone (most likely Mike or Tré) yell "What you will" in the background. I guess it was funny at the time
Billie Joe Information and Facts
In the 2nd grade, two girls beat up Billie Joe so that he would date them
Billie Joe has an anxiety disorder and often has panic attacks
Billie used to have a nose ring, but it kept getting caught on his guitar strap so he took it out.
It has been rumored that Billie is a member of Poetry.com...under the name B. Armstrong
When he was 15, Billie Joe went to an Operation Ivy show, but wasn't let in. When one of the members heard that he wasn't allowed in, they came out an escorted him to the show.
Billie drives a 67 Ford Feirlane.
Billie Joe's cat, Zero, died in the washing machiene.
Billie Joe's trademark guitar is nicknamed "Blue" and he has several copies
Billie has a guitar made from several different parts that he calls Frankenstein
Billie Joe and Adrienne spent their honeymoon at Berkeley's Clermont Hotel, which isn't far from their house
The first time that Billie kissed Adrienne, he went home and wrote 2000 Light Years Away.
Billie's birthday is on National Cabbage Day
Billie thinks that Staind's lead singer sounds the Cher.
Billie Joe doesn't like Slipknot or Eminem
Billie Joe played footbal for John Swett High School his freshman year. He the quit because he got more into his music, and his older brother, David was already the "superstar athlete" of the family, and he knew he could never live up to that
Billie Joe's least favorite Green Day song is 1000 Hours, and favorite is Jesus Of Suburbia
Billie Joe has had his car for years. He talks about it in "Christie Road" in the line "standing on my beat up car". When he first earned enough money with his music, he had the car primered.
When Billie was asked about his future plans, he said he wanted to become his son's soccer team coach.
The first album that Billie Joe bought was "Sun Sessions" by Elvis Presley
Billie Joe likes to take books on tour
Billie Joe kisses a guy at about every one of Green Day's shows.
The electricians tape on Blue is there because someone knocked into him at a show, causing him to drop his guitar. So naturally, he taped it up.
In 2001, Billie Joe was mugged at gunpoint, so he is now terrified of guns
On December 9, 2000 (aka Tré's birthday) Billie Joe was on Howard Stern
Billie Joe got body lice in Germany in Green Day's early days
Shortly after a show that they played, Billie Joe's mom was not pleased to see her son butt-naked on Pay Per View
Billie Joe is related to a pro skater. Steve Nesser, brother to Adrienne Nesser is Billie Joe's brother-in-law. Steve Nesser's deck is white with the Kerplunk! flower.
Mike's Information and Facts
At Woodstock '94, Mike was mistaken for a fan jumping up on stage. He was takled by a security guard, landed on a monitor, and got about 2 of his teeth knocked out.
Mike broke both of his elbows while having a pillow fight with his now ex-wife. Billie Joe drove him to the hospital and they laughed the whole way there
There is a little spot of blood on his bass that he named "Stella" (after his daughter) because he accidentally hit himself in the face with it and broke his nose
Mike took the picture of himself in the Nimrod inlay.
Mike was born with a heart problem
Mike sometimes has panic attacks
Mike smoked his first joint with a friend of his mother
Mike wrote the bassline for Longview when he was high and forgot it the next day.
Mike lived in Billie Joe's garage during high school
Mike firmly believe that dogs are going to take over the world (hence the Dookie cover)
In inlay of the self-titled New Found Glory album, it thanks Green Day and the bass player says "...and Mike Dirnt for the influence..."
Mike completed a years worth of college work at a community college after high school
Mike dressed up as "Count Mikeula," a vampire for Halloween 2004.
In the back cover of the Dookie inlay, there is a picture of Mike looking in the mirror. If you look in the mirror, you can see part of the guy who is taking the picure
Mike loves coffee
Mike likes to have doughnuts on tour
Tré Information and Facts
Tré once milked a dog because he wanted milk for his coffee, but the house they were staying in didnt have any
Tré usually destroys his drumsets at shows.
Tré is the only person to ever climb the Universal Studios ball
Tré loves to golf
Tré dressed up a Benji from Good Charlotte for Halloween.....Trenji if you will
Tré has his left nipple pierced (but may have taken it out)
Tré was class president when he was in school
Tré used to play the violin but "no sound came out of it that was good" so he gave it up
In high school, Tré was riding a unicycle on a stage. The stage ended and he fell of and landed...on the unicycle. So, he now only has one testicle because the other had to be surgically removed.
Tré's dad built Lawrence Livermore's house
Tré once caught a shark by accident. After beating it several times with a baseball bat, it died when he hit it with the stump of the bat
Tré likes his shoes
Tré dressed as a priest at a gig, which may be a reference to Matt Skiba of the Alkaline Trio who is a big fan
Tré made his first records with the Lookouts when he was 12 years old
Tré is French for very, so his name means very cool
On AOL, for Green Day icons, if you hold your mouse over the icon of Tré, you can see that the title is 'Al Sobrante' aka the guy that hasnt been Green Day's drummer in over a decade.
*All pictures from Incredible Cool
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