|
|
|
|
| Birth Name(s) : Green Day |
Date of Birth: N/A |
| Status:
Single
|
Partner:
|
| Profession:
N/A |
| << Add Green Day To Your Favorites |
|
Full Green Day Biography
Green Day is an American rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of three core members: Billie Joe Armstrong (guitar, lead vocals), Mike Dirnt (bass) and Tré Cool (drums).
Green Day was originally part of the punk rock scene at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley, California. Its early releases for independent label Lookout! Records earned them a grassroots fanbase, some of whom felt alienated when the band signed to a major label. Nevertheless, its major label debut Dookie became a breakout success in 1994 and eventually sold over 10 million copies in the U.S. alone. As a result, Green Day was widely credited, along with fellow California punk bands The Offspring and Rancid, with reviving mainstream interest in and popularizing punk rock in the United States. Green Day's three follow-up albums, Insomniac, Nimrod and Warning did not achieve the massive success of Dookie, but they were still successful, reaching double platinum, double platinum and gold status respectively. Its 2004 rock opera American Idiot reignited the band's popularity with a younger generation, selling 5 million copies in the U.S.
The band has sold over 60 million records worldwide, including 22 million in the United States alone. They also have three Grammy Awards, Best Alternative Album for Dookie, Best Rock Album for American Idiot, and Record of the Year for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams."
Larry Livermore, owner of independent label Lookout! Records, saw the band play an early show in front of five people at a party. The band, he said, played the show like "The Beatles at Shea Stadium". Livermore signed the band to Lookout!, and in 1989 recorded its first EP, 1,000 Hours. Before 1,000 Hours was released, in order to avoid confusion with another local band Sweet Baby, Sweet Children changed their name to Green Day. The new name was chosen in honor of the bands fondness of marijuana.Early Green Day, when John Kiffmeyer was the drummer.
Released in February of 1994, and recorded in 3 weeks, Dookie became a commercial success, helped by extensive MTV airplay for the videos of the songs "Longview," "Basket Case," and "When I Come Around," all of which reached the #1 position on the Modern Rock Tracks charts. That year, Green Day embarked on a nationwide tour with queercore band Pansy Division as its opening act. The band also joined the lineups of both the Lollapalooza festival and Woodstock 1994, where they started an infamous mud fight. During the concert, a security guard mistook bassist Mike Dirnt for a stage-invading fan and punched out some of his teeth. Viewed by millions via pay-per-view television, the Woodstock 1994 performance further aided Green Day's growing publicity and recognition, and helped push its album to eventual diamond status. In 1995, Dookie won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album and the band was nominated for 9 MTV Video Music Awards including Video of the Year.The full fold-out artwork to Insomniac, entitled God told Me To Skin You Alive.
Through 2005, the band toured in support of the album with about 150 dates — the longest tour in its career — visiting Japan, Australia, South America and the UK, where they drew a crowd of 130,000 people over a span of two days. While touring for American Idiot, they filmed and recorded the two concerts at the Milton Keynes National Bowl in England, which was voted 'The Best Show On Earth' in a Kerrang! Magazine Poll.
These recordings were released as a live CD and DVD called Bullet in a Bible on November 15, 2005. This CD/DVD featured hits from American Idiot as well as a few songs from all its previous albums, except "Kerplunk" and "1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours". The DVD featured behind-the-scenes footage of the band, and showed how the band prepared to put on the show. The final shows of its 2005 world tour were in Sydney, Australia, and Melbourne, Australia, on December 14 and 17 respectively. On January 10, 2006 the band was awarded with a People's Choice Award for favorite group.Green Day live in Germany during the American Idiot tour.
In December 2006, Green Day and NRDC opened a web site in partnership to raise awareness on America's dependency on oil. (See related projects.)
Green Day released a cover of the John Lennon song "Working Class Hero", that was featured on the album "Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur". The band performed the song on the season finale of American Idol.Green Day as caricatured in The Simpsons Movie.
That summer, the band appeared in a cameo role in The Simpsons Movie, where they perform the show's theme song. Their version was released as a single on July 24, 2007.
Charity projects that the band have been involved with include the collaboration with U2 ("The Saints Are Coming") to help raise money for musical instruments lost in Hurricane Katrina, and teaming with the Natural Resources Defense Council for the "Move America Beyond Oil" campaign and other environmental concerns.
Second album on Lookout! Contained the original version of the song "Welcome to Paradise", which would be re-recorded for Green Day's Dookie.
Green Day's major label debut. Moved 15 million copies around the world and launched the band to international fame. Won the 1995 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album |
|
|
| Add Green Day Biography (SuperUSERS) + |
| Add Green Day Review/Comment
|
HQ Green Day Pictures (8) | Random Green Day Picture
|
| << Back to the Green Day Homepage |
|
