20 more Green Day facts you actually didn't know

A lot of lists claim you won't know some Green Day facts that are common knowledge. A while back, we shared a list of 25 facts you ACTUALLY don't know, and now we're back with more. I'm sure my fellow hardcore fans will know quite a few of these, but I'm willing to bet one will surprise you. If you're new to Green Day, I hope you enjoy some obscure knowledge!

1. After Green Day recorded Warning, Tré left meat in the walls

No-one found it for two months. Another band left because of the stench.

2. Someone once impersonated Mike, went home with a woman, and stole all her jewellery and credit cards

The police chased Mike for six months.

3. After John Kiffmeyer quit Green Day and Tré had settled in, John showed up and demanded to play a show

It happened at the Phoenix Theater in Petaluma. The band let him play, but the cash went to Tré.

4. If Billie Joe and Mike could be any movie hero, they'd both choose Austin Powers

Tré would rather be Catwoman.

5. "The Grouch" was originally titled "Happy Grouch"

"The Grouch" is better.

6. The first song Billie Joe played was "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands"

His teacher at Fiat Music was impressed by how quickly and successfully he picked it up.

7. Billie Joe's maternal grandmother is memorialized on a monument to the Rosie the Riveters in Richmond, CA

The Rosie the Riveters were 6+ million women who replaced men factories and shipyards during World War II.

8. Billie Joe can't read sheet music

"It's weird to be looking at sheet music for something I've written and I can't understand any of it. It's like looking at Braille." -- Billie Joe in Rolling Stone, 2012

9. Tré wore the same "lucky" clothes to record every song on Saviors

"When we recorded at RAK Studios, I wore the same clothes for every single song - including the same socks. I'd walk to the studio, and I genuinely would dress smart and wear a suit, because it's London. But then I'd hang my stuff up and get changed, and put on my lucky socks, my lucky pants, and the same shirt. I wore the same shit for all those sessions." -- Tré Cool, Kerrang, 2024

10. 39/Smooth is named after Billie Joe's oldest brother

He turned 39 the day it was recorded (December 29th, 1989). "Smooth" was a "stoner thing" between Billie Joe and Mike. They couldn't decide what to call it, so they combined both.

11. Tré's dad built Larry Livermore's house

There was a tight-knit community up in the Mendocino mountains.

12. Chris Martin of Coldplay has (sort of) credited Green Day for his success

He said his band only got as big as they are because Green Day and U2 weren't active at the time.

13. Billie Joe accidentally pissed on Joe Ragosta of Patent Pending

"One time, Billie Joe, uh, accidentally peed on my foot. There's way more to that story. But it happened. In real life. Paul Rudd was there. I know that sounds made up! It's not. I swear to God! No one believes me! It was the American Idiot cast party." -- Joe Ragosta, 2019

14. "East Jesus Nowhere" was inspired by a church in Wisconsin called The Church of Divine Hope

"We'd been driving a while and we were rambling and laughing. I was looking at it deliriously and thought, 'Oh my God, that's like calling it the Church of Wishful Thinking.' We started laughing hysterically, so I wrote it down and it ended up being in East Jesus Nowhere. I'm writing all the time."

15. Billie Joe's parents came from big families, too

Billie Joe is the youngest of six kids. His mother was one of 12 and his father one of eight.

16. "Forever Now" was Mike's favourite song to play on the Revolution Radio Tour

One of Green Day's best live songs, ever, in my opinion.

17. Tré played violin in second grade

Is there anything this man CAN'T do?

18. Mike was first taught to play guitar by one of his mom's roommates

But then all of his guitars were stolen other than his bass, and he knew he was meant to become a bass player.

19. Billie Joe was denied entry to an Operation Ivy show when he was 15

But one of the members of the band heard he wasn't allowed in, so they came out and personally escorted him into the show.

20. Pas(s)alacqua is a real place

It's a funeral home in Benicia, CA. The title misspells the name, or removes the "ass." The story goes that the band were driving past the place when Billie Joe wrote the lyrics. He said in 2010 that the song is about revenge.


So... how many of these did you know? Discuss it on the Green Day Community forum.

If you'd like to read even more random Green Day facts, we have a whole page for them.