General Facts
Deep cut trivia from this corner of the GDA facts archive.
General Facts
After John Kiffmeyer quit Green Day and Tré had settled in, John showed up at the Phoenix Theater in Petaluma and demanded to play the show. The band let him play but the cash went to Tré.
Source: Metro Active
The Foxboro Hot Tubs were born when Tré bought a Rogers drum kit from the 1960s. Inspired by the history of the kit, he started playing older songs, and then Jason White joined him with an old Gretsch guitar. The rest of the band followed.
Source: Modern Drummer, November 2017
The American Idiot album cover was designed by Chris Bilheimer, who had never used the colour red before but chose to for this album because it was so monumental.
Source: Nobody Likes You by Marc Spitz, p.169
Heidi Slimane designed the Christian Dior suits that Green Day wore in the American Idiot era.
Source: Nobody Likes You by Marc Spitz, p.170
Green Day stayed at the Sunset Marquis in LA while recording Nimrod. As the stress of recording got to them, one of them (unspecified) went out naked and hammered on other people's doors, another (also unspecified) picked a fight with an Australian musician, and Tré threw his room's TV out of his window.
Source: Nobody Likes You by Marc Spitz, p.128
The chorus of "21 Guns" sounds like the "Route 209" theme from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl.
Billie Joe used to actually have a friend named "Eggplant" when he was like 16, like the character in the "My adventure with Green Day" story.
If you look closely at the Nimrod booklet, you can see that all scratched out words say "Delete This" over and over again.
In May 1995, Green Day played two nights at the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center in Oakland, CA. They donated all the profits from tickets and merch to Food Not Bombs, which provides meals for the homeless, and three other charities.
When John Kiffmeyer left Green Day to go to college, another drummer joined named Dave EC. He was only in the band for a few weeks when he decided to leave. Then Tré joined.
About halfway through the "When I Come Around" music video, you can see Jason White with his then-girlfriend.
The "Basket Case" music video was originally filmed in black and white. It was colored in by technicolor later.
The story in the Kerplunk booklet was written by Lawrence "Larry" Livermore ("Laurie L."), the founder of Lookout! Records.
Basket Case was ranked number 2 in Kerrang's best videos.
Green Day's first drummer, Al Sobrante (AKA John Kiffmeyer), was in the band Isocracy.
When Ernie from Sesame Street said the phrase "green day," Billie Joe, Mike and Al Sobrante (John Kiffmeyer) found it funny because of all the weed they smoked. So it became an inside joke that a "green day" was a day wasted, smoking weed. After they recorded the song "Green Day," Al Sobrante wrote the phrase on the back of his jacket. That was when they decided to change their name from Sweet Children. Billie Joe has since said he hates the name.
Green Day had more drummers than Tré Cool and Al Sobrante (John Kiffmeyer), including Dave EC and Raj Punjabi. However, Tré and Al Sobrante were the only ones who ever recorded music with Green Day.
To raise money for early tours, Mike shucked clams, Billie Joe flipped and delivered pizzas, and John drove a diaper truck.
The intersection where most of the action happens in the "Walking Contradiction" video is Centre St. and 7th St. in Los Angeles.
If Billie Joe and Mike could play any movie role in history, they would both choose Austin Powers. Tré would prefer to be Cat Woman.
Tré's real name is Frank Edwin Wright III. The "punk stage name" was chosen by Lookout Records founder Larry Livermore when Tré joined his first band, The Lookouts, at 12.
Billie Joe and Mike recorded the vocals for 1000 Hours and Slappy at the same time to save money. Andy "Andro" Ernst, the producer, described Billie Joe as an efficient one-take vocalist.
The video for "Redundant" has the same scene playing over and over again behind the band, hence the name "Redundant."
One reason there was such a long break between Nimrod and Warning was because Billie Joe was at a rocky point in his marriage and needed to spend time at home.
Green Day's first show with Al Sobrante (John Kiffmeyer) was in October 1988. They opened for Nasal Sex, Sewer Trout, and Crimpshine in the Veterans Memorial Hall in Davis, CA.
Source: Billie Joe on Twitter
"One of my favorite shows on the 1st tour was Victoria BC in 1990. Played w a band called Onion House. Victoria had a great music scene. Me and Lucky Dog smashed a TV in BC in 91. We did it again in Minneapolis outside Erica Grove's house. Both TV's found in a dumpster."
Source: Billie Joe on Twitter
Green Day's first time in New York was in the summer of 1990. They couldn't book a venue, so only went to 53rd and 3rd, then left.
Source: Billie Joe on Twitter
"39/smooth was named after my brother. He turned 39 the day we recorded that LP. Dec 29 1989. Smooth was a stoner thing between me and mike. We couldn't decide to call it 39 or smooth. So we went with both! First 7" was "1000 hours", Lp was "39/ smooth" second 7" was "slappy".. Got it?!"
Source: Billie Joe on Twitter
"A lot of songs became about drinking and lifes pressure around nimrod era. I was feeling [like] a vague person in 1997. As do most people feel vague in their mid 20s. Your just trying to figure out where that damn beer gut came from."
Source: Billie Joe on Twitter
The first time Larry Livermore wrote about Green Day (as Sweet Children) was in Absolutely Zippo. He called them "Sweet 'n' Sour Children."
Source: Billie Joe on Twitter
Awesome as Fuck was originally going to be called The Greatest Show on Earth, but it was already taken.
Source: Billie Joe on Twitter
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams video, St. Jimmy and Whatsername (the ones from the Limited Edition booklet of American idiot) are shown standing around a trash can fire.
If you look closely on the Nimrod CD, you can see that all the words that are scratched out in the entire booklet simply say "Delete This. Delete This. Delete This. Delete This." over and over again.
Billie Joe and Mike Dirnt's first gig was at Rod's Hickory Pit in Vallejo, CA, where Billie's mom worked.
The house where they filmed Longview wasn't only inhabited by the band...it was also lived in by several other people, and it was the basement to a real house, and in the kitchen the pipes were so low that they would hit their head on them. And it only had about one bedroom.
In between playing shows in Florida in 91, the band's van was broken into and many of their clothes were stolen.
"Brain Stew" can be seen in the Green Day: Behind The Music under the name James Washburn.
In the special features of the Social Distortion's Live in Orange County DVD, Mike Ness brings his kids up on stage and his son is wearing a Warning t-shirt.
"80" is short for Adrienne (it's also her nickname).
On Common Riders first EP, Billie Joe had played lead on it and sang. Common Rider was Jesse Michaels (ex- OPIV) last band.
On MTV's "Top 10 songs to break up to" (or something like that) Time Of Your Life got to number 2.
Reel Big Fish's brass section once toured with Green Day, playing their songs.
No Doubt's brass section was used in the recording of the album Nimrod.
The dog on the Slappy E.P.'s name is Mickey, "Slappy" was a nickname given to him by Jason Relva.
The three small pictures inside the 1,039 Smoothed Out Slappy Hours covers come from the following: Billie Joe - The picture comes from the Green Day bootleg, "Radio Daze"; Mike - Its a picture of one of his tattoos.; John - Its a picture adapted from Zippo magazine.
Jesse Micheals, ex-lead singer of Operation Ivy did the disc and cover art for 1,039 Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, Jesse Micheals and Operation Ivy were then thanked in Kerplunk! along with Tim Armstrong from OPIV.
Good Riddance (Time of your Life) was the official theme for the Golf PGA Tour in 1998.
Insomniac was originally going to be called Tight Wad Hill.
On the front cover of Insomniac, in the flames,there are hidden pictures. you can find a naked woman, 3 faeries, a skull, and several other ghostly faces.
On the cover art or booklet for Kerplunk, Dookie, and Insomniac there is a gun.
Insomniac, Nimrod, and Warning all came out in October. Insomniac on October 10th 1995, Nimrod on October 14th 1997, and Warning on October 3rd 2000.
You can cut up Green Day stickers to read "Gay Nerd." In case you wondering.
On 1039/smoothed out slappy hours the band recorded and mixed the record in two day and only cost $675 to record and sold nearly a million copies.
On the Dead Kennedy's cd, Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables, and on track 9, I Kill Children, it starts out with "GOD TOLD ME TO SKIN YOU ALIVE", the name of the artwork for Insomniac.
When original drummer John Kriftmeyer (aka Al Sobrante) left Green Day, he didn't tell Billie Joe. Billie Joe found out he was leaving through a friend. So when Green Day replaced John with Tre, Billie Joe returned the favor by not telling John directly that he was being replaced. Billie Joe doesn't think that Green Day would have had as much success if John was still in the band.
On the Kerplunk CD, there's a song called Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?, and on the Screeching Weasel cd, "How to Make Enemies and Irritate People", There's a song called I Wrote Holden Caulfield.
Green Day cursed the second most times on Behind the Music (27 times) which is fifty less than the leader, Oasis.
The video for Basketcase was filmed in black and white, they added color afterwards.
The album Kerpluk! is dedicated 'in loving memory of Gravy'. Mike's pet cat who died.
Pat Hynes is a well known Berkely artist who did the liner notes for both Dookie and Kerplunk.
On the dookie cover, the right side, on one of the building's it's written 'Twisted Dog Sisters'--this was the name for an actual group of girls from Berkely.
When Green Day toured in the Bookmobile they used as a bus, people would actually ask them if they had books to sell. One lady went in to buy books and ended up smoking weed with them.
In the Kerplunk! thank yous, they thank a guy named Eggplant, who appears in the Laurie L. story--he was a real person. He wrote a 'zine called "Absolutely Zippo', in which you can also find stories by Claude (also in the story) and even by Billie Joe himself.
The 'My Adventure with Green Day' story in 'Kerplunk!' says it was written by 'Laurie L.' The name Laurie L is actually a tribute to Laurence Livermoore of Lookout records.
The Kerplunk inlay thanks Jason Relva (J.A.R.).
In the "Kerplunk" credits, they thank some guy named "Brainstew".
Billie, Mike, and Tre did all of their own stunts in the "Walking Contradiction" video including a scene were Billie almost gets hit by a car. Billie said "Tré scared me into it. I was so scared..I thought I was gonna die right there with all the cameras on me..Well I can think of worse ways to die". The intersection where most of the action happens in the "Walking Contradiction" video is Centre St. and 7th St. in Los Angeles.
Green Day hates ska except for the band Operation Ivy.
In the "Kerplunk" inlay, it also thanks Adrienne Nesser, now Billie's wife.
Weird Al Yankovic has covered two Green Day songs. Basketcase with his song "Alternative Polka", which is on the album Bad Hair Day. And also "American Idiot" with "Canadian Idiot" on his album The Essential Weird Al Yankovic
On the Insomniac cover, there are three skulls which are supposed to be the 3 skulls of the 3 members of Green Day, and in order to see the third one you have to look in the flames and hold the paper at an angle in order to see it properly.
Source: http://www.winstonsmith.com/gallery/book2/small/insomniac.html
Five of Green Day's mainstream albums all begin with drums.
When Green Day first got started, their tour bus was an old bookmobile van that Tre's dad bought and fixed up. He drove them around show to show.
The corner of Stuart and the Ave. is the corner of Stuart Street and Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, California.
The Insomniac cover art (created by Winston Smith) is called "God Told Me to Skin You Alive."
The name for Insomniac partly came from Winston Smith (the artist who made the artwork for the album) - when Billie asked him how long it took to work on it, Winston replied "I'd spent the last 38 hours working on the assembly of the composition. He asked me how it was possible for me to stay awake that long and I said, "It's easy for me. I'm an insomniac".
Source: http://www.winstonsmith.com/gallery/book2/small/insomniac.html
Billie also plays the harmonica, mandolin, drums, and the piano. Mike also plays the farfisa, guitar, and the drums. Tre also plays the guitar and the accordion.
New copies of Dookie are made without Ernie on the back. That's because Sesame Street threatened to sue Green Day.
"Dookie"'s original title was "Liquid Dookie", but they changed it because they thought it was too gross.
The first Halo game has some Basket Case lyrics in it as part of a hidden easter egg. screen shot
Source: Bungie.org
