Politics & Activism

“I think having money, it's kind of mixed emotions about it. The imposter syndrome or something like that. We come from such broke backgrounds – like, my dad was a truck driver and my brother's a plumber. My older brother was a custodian, so very working class background. To have compared to when I had not... it's just been sort of a trip.”

“I waited a lot of years to write songs that were about straight-up politics. There’s no new girlfriends in my life to write about, y'know? So in a lot of ways I had to sort of put myself in a vulnerable position of writing about politics and the things I believe in.”

“We definitely come from a working-class background. We represent people who work hard.”

“America is not supposed to be about the cult of personality; we’re supposed to be about a group of people who are making laws that would make the American people’s lives easier and affordable. Getting good jobs, getting good health care, protecting people from corporations taking advantage of them. I feel like we are completely lost on that, the real American ideal.”

“I’ve always loved the Van Morrison and U2 songs ‘Gloria’ - one being a celebration of womanhood and the other a celebration of God, which is kind of the same thing.”

“We're sitting on the curb in Lisbon and we're just drinking and talking together. [Dave Grohl] said, ‘I’m sorry, I've got the spins.’ I said, ‘Dude, just make yourself throw up!’ He said, ‘YOU make yourself throw up.’ I said ‘OK,’ so I made myself puke. He said, ‘Oh my God, you're disgusting!’”

“I would describe Bono's singing as 50 percent Guinness, 10 percent cigarettes — and the rest is religion. He's a physical singer, like the leader of a gospel choir, and he gets lost in the melodic moment. He goes to a place outside himself, especially in front of an audience, when he hits those high notes. That's where his real power comes from — the pure, unadulterated Bono. He talks about things he believes in, whether it's world economics or AIDS relief in Africa. But the voice always comes first. That's where his conviction lies.”

“I was in Cuba after American Idiot. I took conga lessons for a while. You mix the conga and cymbal parts together... it was fucking hard! Just another weapon in the arsenal in case I ever need to pick up women who are impressed by it.”

“Woodstock was supposed to celebrate something, but instead it was total chaos, total anarchy, people shivering in the cold, covered in mud, pissing themselves. I told them they were total morons.”

“We like the music we make because it captures the true spirit of rock: escaping from the everyday trappings of work, school, religion and politics.”

“The person I’m most proud of in my family is my father. A guy always on picket lines and in protests, always on the streets with workers. He wasn’t a soldier or a punk. He was a man who wanted to do the right thing, for his Billie Joe.”

“I think my role is to shut up and listen… A lot of white people should shut up and listen. They really don’t know what the African-American experience truly is. When you have people getting shot in their cars for no reason and being put in fucking jail cells and it’s for profit, we have a serious problem, and the first thing you need to do is get educated. Don’t try to do this, like, ‘Blue lives matter.’ Don’t try to do the ‘All lives matter.’ Just shut up and listen to the experience. And then move forward after that.”

“I think feeling nervous, or having anxiety, or something like that - I mean, I feel everything. And I think when you’re playing live, it kind of plays itself out - and it’s like wow, this is life. Life is awkward and unpredictable. And I think that’s one of the most beautiful things about it.”

“A protest song has to come from the same place as a love song.”

“I think everybody should get married. Boys and girls. Girls and boys. Boys and boys! Girls and girls! Shouldn’t we all be entitled to a family? Civil rights baby, it’s civil rights.”

“Punk rock has been rather queer since the beginning.”

“I love what America is supposed to stand for, but I love what a lot of things are supposed to stand for. The message has become convoluted and it’s hard to get people in this country on the same page about things that, quite honestly, you should know when you’re six years old.”

“If you are black, white, brown, of any nationality or any faith, gay, straight, trans, girl, boy, punk, metal, goth, weirdo, skin, freak, and the overall marginalized of all ages, we welcome you with all the rage and love we can muster. We stand by you. Together. In love and unity forever.”

“I never rebelled against my parents. There was nothing to rebel against. They were working class people. My mother was a waitress, my father was a truck driver - what’s to rebel against? Parental rebellion is a very Orange County thing, rebelling against your rich parents. And that certainly wasn’t my life.”

“We came from such a highly polluted area in Rodeo, California. It’s a refinery town and we ended up getting sent home from school because kids were having headaches and nobody could understand why, when of course, 200 yards away from the elementary school I went to was the biggest refinery in America.”

“What happened with American Idiot didn’t come easy. We didn’t do anything cheap, we didn’t take any shortcuts, we didn’t write any novelties like you see so many rock bands do. We made something that we were passionate about and either something like this was going to happen or we would’ve gone down with a good fight.”

“I’m sorry but a Nazi doesn’t have an opinion. A Nazi does not have freedom of speech as far as I’m concerned. If you are a danger to my friends, to my family, and to the human dignity then fuck you.”

“I’m a fucking pacifist, but if I see a nazi, I’ll paciFIST right upside his fucking head.”

“During King For A Day one night I stripped down to the thong and it was a big hit, so I started doing it. I did it at a Hell’s Angels festival one night and I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to die!'”

“We accept anyone who feels marginalised at any Green Day event. Period. Especially if you're gay or trans, black, white, brown or of any nationality. Period. Green Day is a safe place for you to be.”

“When a show is uneventful, or we’re not that tight, or the crowd is lukewarm – the clothes come off. You’ve got to give them something to remember, so ten years from now they can say ‘oh yeah! We saw Green Day and Billie Joe got naked!’ I came from a working-class background, and I work hard up there.”

“I have a bit of a fetish for Christianity a little bit…”

“I would never want to be a politician. I like to think of myself as a good comedian.”

“I grew up with my mom hating the white man but loving me – and call me perceptive, but I was able to figure out that my mom loved me and hated other people for political reasons. I was one of those kids who’d walk around the neighborhood and talk to the adults and learn a lot. I’m good with people.”

“I think of rock 'n' roll as being the ultimate American culture.”

“I still have the same friends that I’ve had my whole life. And I’ve always lived here in Oakland. For me, it’s very important to feel connected to that and to stay deeply rooted in it. Maybe it’s just coming from the working class. When you come from the working class, you’re always working class. Or at least you should be, or have a sensibility about it. That comes very naturally to me.”

“We never intended to be a political band. It comes out in the same way a good love song will come out. As long as it’s connected to the heart and the head, that’s all that matters.”

“We rented out a movie theater to watch 'Team America'. But I started doing bong hits with New Found Glory and I had to leave halfway through.”

“It's a little embarrassing, but I'm a high-ranking member in the Church of Lushotology”

“We're a political band, but it's not what motivates us. Music motivates us.”

“All my religious beliefs are based on Star Wars.”

“Well, you know, I look at myself in the morning and yes, yeah I-I am a God.”

“Woodstock was about the closest thing to anarchy I've ever seen in my whole life, and I didn't like it.”