Welcome to the Deep Dive, where we really get
into the details you need to be instantly up
to speed. Yeah, definitely. Today, we are strapping
in for a real deep look at the career, decades
long, really multifaceted, of Billy Joe Armstrong.
Right, the front man, you know. primary songwriter,
the guitarist for Green Day. Exactly. And we
really need to go beyond just, you know, the
surface level stuff, the big radio hits, the
three chord punk stereotype. Absolutely. Because
what we're looking at here is, well, it's a career
that stretches all the way from the East Bay
punk scene, like 1987. Right. Right up to today.
And he moves across genres so easily. Punk rock,
pop punk, new wave, even garage rock. It's quite
the range. That's really the core puzzle, isn't
it? I mean, he's not just a rock musician. Not
at all. He's an actor. He's had this big fashion
influence, a Broadway guy. Yeah, the Broadway
thing is wild. And on top of all that, a pretty
successful entrepreneur, like a small business
empire. And still hailed by critics as, you know,
one of the all -time great punk rock guitarists.
It's a lot. It really is. The work ethic is just
staggering when you lay it all out. Yeah. You
got Green Day, obviously, that he started with
Mike Dirnt. The main gig. The main gig, yeah.
But then there's... Pinhead Gunpowder, that really
aggressive punk side project. Right. The network,
that whole masked synth rock new wave alter ego
thing. Which was confusing for a while. Totally.
And Foxboro Hot Tugs, the garage rock band. So
our mission really is to unpack all of this.
This constant evolution artistically, entrepreneurially.
Yeah. Traits back where the angst comes from.
Look at the controversies and figure out what
happens when punk goes, oh. Yeah. Massively global.
Okay. Let's dive in. Let's unpack this. All right,
so to really get a handle on the intensity, the
melancholy you sometimes hear in Billy Joe Armstrong's
writing, you've got to start back in Oakland,
Rodeo, California. Yeah, his early life. He was
the youngest of six kids. Right, youngest of
six. And his childhood was hit hard by tragedy
really early on. He was only 10. That's the death
of his father, Andrew. Sources say he was a jazz
musician but also a truck driver. Yeah, a mix.
He died of esophageal cancer. September 1982.
And that specific loss, that month, it's not
just biography, is it? It's right there in the
music. Oh, absolutely. It's the core of Wake
Me Up When September Ends, one of their biggest,
most enduring songs. An acoustic ballad, which
was kind of unusual for them at the time. It
really captures something, doesn't it? Not just
loss, but how a specific time that month, September,
just keeps coming back around, reopening that
wound from childhood. Exactly. It's powerful
stuff. But, you know, even before that tragedy
sort of shaped his writing, he was already doing
music way early. Like super early. He recorded
his first song, Look for Love, when he was five
years old. Five. Yeah, on this tiny local label,
Fiat Records. Bay Area label. And his mom, his
mother, she provides this working class anchor,
right? She was a waitress. At Rod's Hickory Pit
in El Cerrito. Yeah. And that diner, that's not
just a detail either. That's where their first
band, Sweet Children. Before Green Day, yeah.
Played their very first gig back in 87. So it
really grounds his beginnings in that local scene.
And the partnership that defined Green Day started
super early too. Yeah. He met Mike Dernt. The
bassist. Longtime bassist, yeah. Yeah. In the
elementary school cafeteria, they were both 10.
Wow. Bonded immediately over music. Just obsessed.
And that friendship, that's the bedrock, really.
So Sweet Children, the first band. It started
as a four piece. Yeah. Originally him, Dernt,
Raj Punjabi on drums and Sean Hughes on bass
initially, though Dernt quickly switched to bass.
Okay. Punjabi and Hughes left. And then John
Kiffmeyer, better known as El Sobrante, came
in on drums. That's when they became that tight
power trio format. The classic punk setup. Exactly.
And then the name change. April 1989, they ditch
Sweet Children, become Green Day. And the name
itself. Kind of funny origin. Yeah, the sources
are pretty clear on this. It was Bay Area slang.
A green day was just, you know, a day spent doing
nothing but smoking weed. Which is hilarious
because later on, BJ himself said he thought
it was, quote, the worst band name in the world.
Huh. Yeah, but sometimes those are the ones that
stick, right? Yeah. Define the whole era. Definitely.
So their early success, that was all indie. Totally
outside the system. Look out. Records. Fiercely
independent label. They put out the 1 ,000 Hours
EP first. Yep. Then the album 39 Smooth. And
those got compiled later into 1039 smoothed out
slappy hours. Classic early stuff. And then a
drummer change. Kiffmeyer leaves. Yeah. Late
1990, he went off to university. That's when
Trey Cool joined. His first record with them
was Co -Plunk. Right, Co -Plunk. And that album,
that started to make waves, didn't it? Even on
an indie label? Big time. Selling 50 ,000 copies
in the indie punk world back then. That was huge.
Monumental, really. And that's what got the major
labels sniffing around. Immediately. It completely
changed their path. That's the big turning point.
They ended up signing with Reprise, part of Warner
Brothers. Yeah, apparently they were really impressed
with producer Rob Cavallo. He'd worked with the
Muffs, and they liked his sound. Felt like maybe
they could keep some artistic control. But signing
to a major? That was a massive deal in that scene.
Created huge friction. Oh, yeah. Foundational
controversy. especially concerning 924 Gilman
Street. The legendary DIY punk venue, all about
being anti -corporate, anti -major label. Exactly.
Gilman had this strict rule. No major label bands.
Signing was seen as like the ultimate betrayal
of punk ideals. So Green Day, who had been a
core Gilman band, they were out. Pretty much
instantly. The sources confirm it. They played
one last show there, September 3rd, 1993. Under
a fake name. Yeah, Blair Hess. And after that.
Permanently banned. Wow. It crystallized that
whole debate. Does punk stay pure, underground,
local? Or does it grab the bigger platform, risk
selling out to get the message out to more people?
And Green Day clearly chose the platform. They
did. And wow, did it pay off immediately. Their
major label debut, Dookie, 1994. It wasn't just
a hit. It was a phenomenon. A generational cultural
moment, yeah. Sold over 10 million copies in
the U .S. alone. Just massive. What was it about
Dookie, do you think? Why then? Well... Timing,
maybe grunge was getting really dark, kind of
nihilistic. Right. And Dookie comes along. Yeah.
It had angst. Sure. But also vulnerability. These
incredibly catchy hooks, relatable suburban frustration.
It just connected. MTV jumped all over it. Absolutely
dominated MTV. Longview Basket Case. When I come
around, they were. Everywhere. Modern rock radio,
too. It was this energetic, accessible kind of
rebellion. And with that massive fame came chaos.
Yeah, the perfect example is Woodstock 94, the
infamous mud fight. Oh, man. The footage of that.
Just spiral. Total mayhem. And then the story
about Mike Dirt getting punched. By a security
guard who thought he was a fan jumping on stage.
Yeah, knocked out some of his teeth. Crazy. That
image, the mud, the chaos broadcast globally.
It kind of cemented their new reality, didn't
it? Totally. Still punk rebels. Still anarchic.
Yeah. But now on this huge multi -million dollar
stage. So Dookie explodes, changes everything.
How do you even follow that up? The pressure
must have been immense. It really was. And the
response was interesting. Insomniac in 1995.
Yeah, that album felt different. Definitely.
It was like a direct reaction. Much darker, heavier,
way more frantic sounding. You can almost hear
the anxiety about the sudden fame in the tracks.
Did it sell as well? It did well. Went double
platinum. Sold like three million copies. But
nowhere near Dookie's numbers. It almost felt
like they were intentionally pushing back, you
know, refusing to just repeat the formula. Like
an artistic resistance maybe? Could be. Like
we're not just that catchy pop punk band. Almost
self -sabotage in a way. But then, just two years
later, they pivot again. Dramatically. 1997,
Nimrod. Yeah, Nimrod was where they really threw
everything at the wall. It was super experimental
for them. BJA songwriting just expanded hugely.
What kind of stuff was on there? Oh, man. A bit
of everything. Punk, sure, but also hardcore
blasts, actual folk songs, surf rock instrumentals,
straight -up pop tunes. It was all over the place,
but in a good way. And it had that song on it,
the acoustic one. Ah, yes. Good riddance. Time
of your life. The big surprise hit. Putting an
acoustic ballad on a punk album. That was a gamble
back then. Huge gamble. But it paid off massively.
That song became absolutely ubiquitous. Graduations,
TV show finales, Seinfeld, sports highlights.
Everywhere. Yeah, it proved they could reach
way beyond the punk audience. Though, you know,
some of the hardcore fans weren't thrilled. Saw
it as maybe too sentimental, too mainstream.
Right, the eternal sellout debate again. Always
lurking. But then the momentum seemed to shift
again. 2000, they release Warning. That one felt
different, too. More stripped down. Yeah, much
more folk punk influence. Apparently inspired
by bands like The Kinks. Very different feel.
How did that one do? Critically. Kind of divisive.
Some liked the change, others didn't. Commercially.
It only went gold, which after Dookie and Insomniac
and even Nimrod's big hit felt like a drop off.
So people start thinking maybe Green Day was
losing steam. Yeah, there was definitely that
perception among some observers, like maybe their
moment had passed as the 2000s began. And then
things got really weird. The lost album. Ah,
yes. The mystery of cigarettes and valentines.
This is a crazy story. So they had a whole album
ready to go. Pretty much. written and recorded,
apparently 16 tracks, sometime in 2002, 2003,
ready for release. And then? Poof. The master
recordings were stolen. Just vanished in the
studio. Seriously? Stolen? That's the story.
And instead of trying to re -record it all from
scratch or track down the tapes, they just scrapped
it. They abandoned the entire album, 16 songs.
Yep. Made this huge decision to just start over
completely from zero. Wow. That takes guts. Or
maybe desperation. Maybe both. But it speaks
to a real commitment to getting it right. and
maybe a feeling that what they had wasn't quite
it anyway. It paved the way for their biggest
comeback. But not immediately, right? There was
a detour first. The masked detour, yeah. The
network. Okay, explain the network. Right. Because
that was bizarre. Totally bizarre. So 2003, Billy
Joe's own record label, Adeline Records. He had
his own label? Yeah, co -founded it back in 97.
Anyway, Adeline signs this mysterious masked
six -piece band playing new wave synth -heavy
stuff. And they claim they weren't Green Day.
Vehemently denied it. Said they were from Sacramento.
They even cooked up this fake feud with Green
Day that went on for years. So what was the point?
Just a joke. Partly, maybe. But it seems strategic,
too. It let BJA and the guys experiment with
this totally different sound, high energy, new
wave garage rock on the album Money Money 2020.
Right. Without confusing the main Green Day brand,
which was still figuring out its next move after
the perceived dip with warning in the lost album.
Like a creative pressure valve. Exactly. They
could try stuff out, maybe even fail a bit under
this disguise. It wasn't until 2013 they officially
admitted it was them, though lots of fans figured
it out way earlier. They even brought the network
back in 2020. So while the network was doing
its thing, Green Day was regrouping. Regrouping
and aiming high. Really high. Taking that start
fresh mentality after the stolen tapes very seriously.
And that led to the rock opera. The punk rock
opera, American Idiot, 2004. And this album was
huge. A massive comeback. Monumental. Artistically.
Commercially. It just exploded. Debuted straight
number one on the Billboard 200. Sold, what,
over 15 million copies worldwide eventually and
put it right back on top of the global stage.
What was the concept? It had a story, right?
Yeah, a full narrative. It followed this character,
the Jesus of Suburbia. And it was this really
potent critique of American life at that moment.
Early 2000s, the political climate. Well, it's
9 -11, Iraq war era. Exactly. BJA talked about
it being against a redneck agenda under an idiot
ruler. protest art that really captured the anxiety
and frustration of that time for a lot of people.
And it got critical acclaim too, right? It's
a time. Won the Grammys for Best Rock Album in
2005. And then Boulevard of Broken Dreams, maybe
the biggest single from it. Massive song. Won
Record of the Year in 2006. That's a huge deal.
It proved punk rock could be ambitious, complex,
conceptual, and still dominate the charts. They
basically invented a new phase for themselves.
Completely. Yeah. And they leaned into it. Their
next album, 21st Century Breakdown in 2009, was
another rock opera. Also did really well commercially.
Yeah. But the American Idiot story didn't end
there. It went to Broadway. Yeah, which is just
wild when you think about it. A punk rock opera
adapted into a full -blown stage musical. Yeah.
And it was successful. Won Tony Awards. Did Billy
Joe get involved with the stage show? He did.
He actually played one of the main characters,
St. Jimmy, for several weeks on Broadway. In
2010 and 2011. Seriously. He went from playing
punk clubs and stadiums to acting on a Broadway
stage. Yep. Made that leap. Shows a real commitment
to the whole concept beyond just the album. A
fascinating turn. So they reach these incredible
heights again. Rock operas, Broadway success.
But that level of intensity, the constant touring,
writing, performing. It took a toll. A severe
toll, which led to a very public crisis in 2012.
The iHeartRadio incident in Las Vegas. Yeah,
that was pretty shocking to see unfold live or
on video afterwards. During their set, Armstrong
just lost it. What triggered it? He saw a timer
on stage flashing one minute left, apparently
for the end of their set time. He got furious,
thought they were being cut short by the promoter.
And he went off? Big time. Launched into this
expletive -filled rant. famously yelled, I'm
not figging Justin Bieber, smashed his guitar.
Yeah, I remember that. And stormed offstage.
Just complete meltdown. What happened right after?
Well, the band had to issue an apology pretty
quickly. They clarified that actually their set
hadn't been cut short. It was a misunderstanding
about the timer. Okay. But the bigger consequence
was the immediate announcement that Billy Joe
was seeking treatment. for an unspecified substance
abuse problem. So this wasn't just a diva tantrum.
There was something deeper going on. Clearly.
The band had to cancel everything, all their
remaining tour dates for 2012, early 2013. It
completely derailed the promotion for their album
trilogy Uno Dos Tres, which was just coming out.
And later he opened up more about it, right?
Put it in context. Yeah, in 2013 he gave some
interviews that shed a lot more light on it.
He revealed this wasn't some sudden thing. It
was a public collapse after years, maybe decades,
of struggling privately. How long had it been
going on? He actually said he'd been trying to
get sober since 1997. Wow, 1997. That's right
around Nimrod. Exactly. Back near that experimental
phase, that first brush with massive, slightly
awkward mainstream success with good riddance.
So this struggle had been simmering for 15 years.
At least. He specified that it really escalated
during the making of the Uno Dos Tres albums.
He said it was mostly alcohol, but also prescription
pills he was taking for anxiety and insomnia.
Just got out of control. So the iHeartRadio thing
was basically the breaking point. A public cry
for help, almost. It seems that way. A necessary,
albeit messy, public stop to years of private
self -medication and struggle. They eventually
returned to touring in late March 2013. It's
clear through all that, though, that music, especially
the guitar, remains central for him. Let's talk
about his playing style, his sound. Yeah, the
Green Day sound is so identifiable, largely thanks
to his guitar work. What defines it? It's that
aggressive, super fast, palm -muted power chord
attack. Very driving. But he uses a couple of
specific techniques that are key. Like what?
One is called stubbing. It's this way of hitting
all six strings with a really forceful downstroke.
Lots of energy. Okay. And the other is fret -hand
muting. He uses his left hand, the fretting hand,
to mute the strings he's not playing. This keeps
the sound tight and clear, even with all that
speed and aggression. That combination is signature
BJA. And that sound is so tied to his famous
guitar, Blue. Oh, absolutely. Blue is iconic.
His first proper electric guitar. What kind is
it exactly? It's a Fernandes. A Stratocaster
copy, specifically the Revival RST -50 model.
And he got it way back. Yeah, 1982. He was 10.
Yeah. It was a gift from his guitar teacher,
George Cole. 1982. That's the same year his father
died. Exactly. So that guitar, Blue, became this
immediate, really powerful, emotional anchor
for him right from the start. And the setup was
kind of unique, right? Yeah. Influenced by another
legend. Totally. George Cole put a Bill Lawrence
L500XL humbucker pickup in the bridge position.
But crucially, he installed it at an angle. Why
angled? It was a direct nod to Eddie Van Halen's
famous Frankenstrat guitar. Billy Joe was apparently
a huge Van Halen fan as a kid. Just mesmerized
by him. So Cole customized blue in that image.
Does he still use blue after all these years?
Yep. Still uses it. It's been modified over the
decades, of course. The pickup was changed around
95, apparently to a Seymour Duncan SH -4 JB Humbucker,
usually black. And the other pickups. That's
key to the sound. The middle and neck pickups
are disconnected. The pickup selector switch
is basically locked in the bridge position. Just
pure, aggressive bridge pickup tone all the time.
You see it everywhere in their history. Oh, yeah.
It's on the cover of Insomniac, which is fitting,
given the sound of that record. And it's in practically
all the iconic early music videos, Basket Case,
Longview, Minority. Practically a fourth member
of the band. And this deep connection he has
to the guitar, and maybe to his own experience
as a fan, it comes out in their live shows too,
right? The thing he does with audience members.
Yeah, that's become a real tradition. He frequently
pulls people up from the crowd during certain
songs, like their cover of Operation Ivy's Knowledge
or sometimes Longview. And lets them play. Lets
them play guitar or bass or drums right there
on stage with the band. That's pretty cool. It
really is. And often, he lets the person keep
the instrument afterwards. Seriously? He gives
away guitars? Yeah. Apparently, it's a direct
callback to his own childhood awe watching Van
Halen, remembering what it felt like to dream
of being up there. It's this amazing way of breaking
down the wall between this huge rock band and
their fans, connecting back to those punk roots.
You know, when you really look at Billy Joe Armstrong's
career, especially the later parts, you see this
restless energy. Like Green Day, even as huge
as it is, isn't enough to contain all his creative
impulses. Absolutely. He's constantly exploring
other avenues, which leads us to his role as,
yeah, an entrepreneur, but also just a really
versatile musician beyond guitar. Even while
Green Day was massive, he kept the side projects
going, like Pinhead Gunpowder. Right, that punk
band he joined way back in 1991. They're still
putting out music occasionally. Just released
an EP on this year, 2024. Still active after
all this time. Who else is in that? It features
Jason White. who's been Green Day's touring guitarist
for ages now. Ah. And Bill Schneider, who's an
associate of Mike Darn's. So it keeps those connections
strong. It feels like less of a commercial thing
and more about staying connected to that raw
punk sound. Exactly. A community -focused outlet.
And then there's Foxboro Hot Tubs. The garage
rock band. Yeah, formed around 2007. That seems
more like pure fun. They used it to play secret,
unannounced shows in small clubs. Put out that
one album, Stop, Drop & Roll. In 2008, just straight
up raw garage rock. And instrumentally, he's
not just a guitarist and singer. Not at all.
He branches out quite a bit. On Nimrod and Warning,
for instance, he played harmonica and mandolin
on some tracks. That's where some of that folkier
sound came from. Right. He also taught himself
piano, which became pretty important on the later
rock opera albums American Idiot and 21st Century
Breakdown. Did he play other instruments in other
bands? Yeah, he's played bass in a couple of
short -lived projects like The Boo, apparently
also The Shrives for a bit, and he played drums
in his 2018 project The Long Shot. So definitely
a multi -instrumentalist. This love for different
kinds of music also led to some surprising collaborations,
right? Outside of punk entirely. Oh yeah. The
big one that stands out is the album Foreverly
from 2013. Who was that with? Nora Jones. Nora
Jones, the jazz pop singer. That seems like an
odd pairing. On the surface, yeah. But Foreverly
was a tribute album. They covered the entire
1958 Everly Brothers album, songs Our Daddy Taught
Us. Wow. Deep cut. What did it sound like? Very
acoustic. Lots of close harmonies rooted in classic
country and folk. Totally different from Green
Day. It really showed his depth, his appreciation
for American musical roots beyond punk rock.
And even during the pandemic, he kept making
music. Yeah, he did that No Fun Mondays project
in 2020. Basically recorded a cover song every
Monday in his home studio and released them.
Just a way to stay creative and connected during
lockdown. Ended up releasing it as a solo album.
Okay, let's shift to the business side. The entrepreneur
stuff. This seems like another way he balanced
the punk ethos with mainstream success. I think
so. Adeline Records, for example. Co -founded
in 1997. We mentioned that earlier with the network.
Right. The label was specifically set up to support
other. often smaller emerging bands. They signed
acts like AFI, The Frustrators, Dillinger Four.
So using Green Day's success to help other indie
bands get a start. Exactly. A way to give back
to the scene, maintain some punk credibility
by investing in independent music. The label
eventually closed down in 2017, but it had a
good run. And he invested in guitars themselves.
Yeah, literally. In 2015, he co -founded a guitar
shop right in Oakland, California with Bill Schneider
from Pinhead Gunpowder. What's it called? It
was originally called Broken Guitars, now it's
Oakland Guitars. Right. A direct local investment
back into the community and the tools of the
trade where it all started for him. Okay, and
then there's the coffee, Pump Bunny Coffee. Right.
Originally called Oakland Coffee Works, co -founded
with Mike Dern in 2015. Someday selling organic
coffee beans. Yep. But here's the interesting
angle. Beyond just being a celebrity side hustle,
they made a real commitment to environmental
stuff. How so? The sources note they were apparently
the first company to use mass -produced compostable
bags and single -serve pods for their coffee.
Huh. That's actually pretty forward -thinking.
A punk band pioneering eco -friendly packaging.
It's a cool juxtaposition, right? Shows a very
modern, maybe more responsible kind of entrepreneurship.
Beyond music and business, he also got into acting
more seriously, especially after the Broadway
experience. Yeah, he started taking on small
roles in films, like Sunday, like Rain. But his
first proper lead role was in a 2016 movie called
Ordinary World. What was that about? He played
this character, Perry Miller. Basically, a husband
and dad hitting a midlife crisis, trying to revisit
his old punk rock past for his 40th birthday.
Sounds kind of familiar. Extremely familiar.
Almost autobiographical in a way. Seemed like
a perfect role for him to explore some of those
themes of aging, past, identity, stuff that...
Probably felt very real after the 2012 crisis.
Did he do TV, too? Little bits here and there.
Popped up on King of the Hill, did an episode
of Drunk History, front cameos. And now there's
a movie coming out that's directly about their
own history. Yeah, supposedly in 2025. It's called
New Year's Rev, described as a coming -of -age
road trip comedy. Based on? Based on the band's
actual experiences and exploits right before
Dookie hit. That crucial period. Are they involved
in making it? Yep. Billy Joe, Mike, and Trey
are all confirmed to appear in it and produce
it. So they're actively shaping how their own
story gets told on screen. Very meta. One thing
that seems consistent with Billy Joe Armstrong
is how openly he shared his personal perspectives,
his identity, his convictions. It's woven into
his public persona in the music. Definitely.
And that goes way back. Take his views on sexuality,
for example. He's been open about that for a
long time. Since 1995, yeah. He publicly identified
as bisexual. There's a quote where he said he
believes people are born bisexual, but society
makes it taboo. Called it a very beautiful thing.
Did he connect that to the music? You know, he
did. He specifically mentioned that Dookie, their
breakout album, actually touches on themes of
bisexuality quite a bit. Which maybe wasn't obvious
to everyone at the time. And his songwriting,
we know about his dad, but relationships seem
key too. Oh, absolutely. Sources talk about his
first serious girlfriend, Eureka Polino, who
he met on his 16th birthday. She apparently inspired
songs like Christy Road. But there was a more
difficult one later. Yeah, a really turbulent
relationship with a woman usually identified
only as Amanda. This was around 1994, right as
Dookie was exploding. She apparently left him
to join the Peace Corps. Wow, timing. Yeah. And
he said that breakup left him feeling deeply
depressed, even suicidal. That experience fueled
several really key emotional songs from that
era and beyond. But his marriage has been long
-lasting. Extremely. He met his wife, Adrienne
Nesser, way back in 1990 at a Green Day show
in Minneapolis. They got married in 1994. Quick
turnaround. Very quick. Apparently, she found
out she was pregnant the day after the wedding.
They have two sons together. That relationship
seems like a real stabilizing force through all
the craziness of his career. On a lighter note,
his look, his style, that's been influential
too. Totally. The punk fashion thing. Eyeliner,
spiky hair, ripped jeans. He's been a style icon
for that look for decades. He even did a makeup
line, right? Yeah. He collaborated with the tattoo
artist and makeup mogul Kat Von D. Launched an
eyeliner actually called Basket Case. Lean into
the brand. Okay, but let's get into the controversies
again. The big one that's never really gone away.
Punk credibility. Right. The are they really
punk debate. It started the second they signed
with Reprise and never stopped. Who are the main
critics? You had figures like John Lydon. You
know, Johnny Rotten from the Sex Pistols. He
famously called them a wank outfit. Basically
dismissing them as posers who co -opted punk
for commercial gain. The ultimate punk gatekeeper
perspective. But others defended them. Yeah,
contemporaries too. Brett Gergetz from Bad Religion,
also founder of Epitaph Records. He argued they
were crucial, called them the biggest band in
the genre, acknowledging their impact. How did
Armstrong himself respond to all that criticism
over the years? His line has been pretty consistent.
He acknowledges they left the specific Gilman
Street scene, the really strict DIY world. But
he always pushes back hard, saying things like,
you can't take the punk rock out of us. Does
he embrace... The pop punk label? He seems to
resist that one, actually. Prefers to see Green
Day as just melodic punk rock. He's talked about
how even in the early days, they were always
kind of left of center compared to the really
harsh, hardcore bands. Melodic, but still punk.
That fighting spirit definitely comes through
in his more recent political commentary. Oh,
absolutely. He identifies as an independent politically,
but he hasn't been quiet, especially in the last
few years. He's been very critical of Donald
Trump. Calling him a fascist. Yeah. use that
term directly and he uses his stage his platform
to make statements like changing the lyrics an
american idiot exactly that's become his signature
move on new year's eve 2024 during that big televised
performance he famously changed the line I'm
not a part of a redneck agenda to I'm not a part
of the May J agenda. That got a lot of attention.
Huge attention. It instantly makes a 20 -year
-old song feel relevant to the current moment,
generates headlines. Smart protest tactic, really.
He also explicitly endorsed Kamala Harris in
the 2024 election cycle. He used that same lyric
changing tactic against someone else recently,
too, right? A tech figure? Yeah, Elon Musk. He
started changing the American Idiot line to Elon
agenda during some performances, calling him
out directly. How did the band justify that?
Mike Durant actually gave an interesting quote
defending it. He said something like, Elon Musk
actually is the machine. Arguing that Musk represents
that kind of modern, untouchable corporate power
structure that punk has always aimed to critique.
But taking these strong stances. It can backfire
commercially, can't it? Definitely. There are
consequences. Like after the Oakland Athletics
baseball team announced they were relocating
to Las Vegas, BJA, being an Oakland native, was
furious. He went on stage somewhere and called
Las Vegas the worst shithole in America. Ouch.
How did Vegas react? Not well. Two major radio
stations in Las Vegas immediately banned all
Green Day music from their airwaves in protest.
So, yeah, real commercial fallout is possible.
His advocacy extends beyond just electoral politics,
too. Right. He's spoken out strongly on social
issues. particularly in support of transgender
people, transgender youth specifically. What
does he say? He told the Times newspaper that
people critical of trans rights are fingo close
-minded. He really emphasized the importance
of parents supporting their kids, saying basically,
let your kid just be the kid that they are. Very
direct support. And his commentary even goes
international now. Yeah, that's more recent development,
particularly noticeable in 2025. During performances,
like their set at Coachella in April, he showed
support for Palestine. Again, modifying lyrics.
He apparently changed lines in Jesus of Suburbia
to specifically reference kids from Palestine
when talking about the ongoing conflict in Gaza,
using that massive global platform to address
really current contentious international issues.
So when you step back and look at the whole picture,
the impact is just undeniable. The numbers alone
are staggering. How many records have they sold
worldwide? Roughly 75 million. 75 million records.
which is just huge. And the awards. Five Grammys,
including that really prestigious record of the
year for Boulevard of Broken Dreams. That's a
major achievement. And the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame. Inducted in 2015, their very first year
of eligibility, which is the ultimate establishment
recognition for a band that started out railing
against the establishment. Their influence on
other bands is huge, too, right? They really
brought punk back into the mainstream in the
90s. Absolutely credited with that. Reigniting
interest. You can draw a direct line from Green
Day to bands like Fall Out Boy, Blink -182, My
Chemical Romance. That whole wave of pop punk
and emo that dominated the 2000s. But it goes
beyond just punk bands, doesn't it? Oh, yeah.
Major pop artists cite them, too. People like
Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish. They've talked about
Green Day's influence on their attitude, their
energy, maybe even their willingness to tackle
bigger themes. So Billy Joe Armstrong's career,
it's really a story of refusing to stay still.
Completely. Constantly reinventing the scale
of the music from those early three -chord punk
songs to these sprawling, ambitious rock operas.
Juggling all those side projects like the network,
keeping those different creative outlets alive.
Navigating those really tough personal crises
very publicly, building businesses, and maybe
most significantly... channeling his politics,
his social views directly into the work, especially
later in his career. He somehow managed to keep
that core punk energy, that restlessness, while
also doing things like starting coffee companies
and starring on Broadway. And becoming this prominent
voice of political resistance within the mainstream.
It's a fascinating tightrope walk. So that brings
us to our final thought, something for you, the
listener, to chew on. Yeah, think about this.
You have a band, Green Day, and a frontman. Billy
Joe Armstrong, who become absolutely synonymous
with 90s youth rebellion, anti -establishment
anger, that whole DIY punk ethos. Right. Banned
from Gilman Street for selling out. Exactly.
But then decades later, they're starting businesses,
collaborating on Broadway musicals, getting inducted
into the Hall of Fame, becoming a go -to voice
for mainstream political protest. So the question
is, does that mean the original punk ethos died?
Did they inevitably sell out just over a longer
timeline or? Did that ethos just evolve? Did
it find new ways, maybe more complex, multi -platform
ways to challenge the system, maybe even fight
it from the inside using the tools of the mainstream?
What do you think? When you look back at his
whole career, all these twists and turns we've
talked about, what stands out to you as the most
surprising pivot, the most defining moment in
that evolution? Lots to consider there.