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Why I like Green Day and Billie Joe:
I fell in love with Green Day and
their music eight years ago. Billie Joe is someone I look up to most in life. From what I've read about him, he's been through
a lot, but he obviously hasn't given up. He seems to be incredibly strong willed and he doesn't put up with any crap. Even
though he's famous and has a lot of responsibilities, he has his priorities straight. He stands up for people, and for what
he believes in no matter what anyone thinks. He is honestly his own person, and it is reflected through his music. He plays
what he wants even though the genre of his music can be very contraversial. He's stayed true to his music and hasn't let fame
take the reigns. This is why I like Green Day and Billie Joe. (Ps. The rest of the band are awesome too!)
| Green Day |
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| Mike (Bass) Billie Joe (Guitar/vocals) Tre (Drums) |
Green Day was part of the California punk scene. Childhood friends Billie
Joe Armstrong (guitar, vocals) and Mike Dirnt (bass; born Mike Pritchard) formed their first band, Sweet Children, in Rodeo,
California when they were 14 years old. By 1989, the group had added drummer Al Sobrante (born John Kiffmeyer) and changed
their name to Green Day. That year, the band independently released their first EP, "1,000 Hours", which was well-received
in the punk scene. Soon, the group had signed a contract with the local independent label, Lookout! Records. "39/Smooth",
Green Day's first album, was released later that year. Shortly after its release, Sobrante quit the band and was quickly replaced
with Tre Cool (born Frank Edwin Wright III). Tre became the band's permanent drummer.
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| Talent and Beauty....What More Can You Ask For? |
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| The main man of Green Day, Billie Joe Armstrong |
Billie was born on Feb. 17, 1972 and was the youngest of
six children. His dad was a truck driver and played drums in a jazz band. Sadly, he died of cancer when Billie was only ten
years old. His mother was a waitress at Rod's Hicory Pit. He wrote his first song "Why Do You Want Him" when he was only 12
years old (on 1039/Smoothed). He has played in and produced for bands, most notably Pinhead Gunpowder, with whom he has recorded
some records. In July of 1994 Billie married his long time girlfriend Adrienne Nesser.In March of 1995 she gave birth to Joseph
Marcicano Armstrong. They had a second child, Jakob Danger Armstrong. Billie Joe writes most of the lyrics in all the Green
Day albums, but Mike and Tre have written a few themselves.
| The Shy, Quiet One....Sometimes. |
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| Mike Dirnt, the bassist and level head of Green Day |
Mike Dirnt, formerly Micheal Pritchard, born May 4, 1972, lived in poverty, born
to a heroin-addicted mother and a white father. When Dirnt was seven, his adoptive parents divorced, and Dirnt bounced between
the two until finally settling in with his adoptive mom and older sister. That, too, was short lived, and soon Dirnt struck
out on his own, working, among a handful of jobs, at Rod's Hickery Pit where Billie Joe's mom was a waitress. Dirnt rented
a room on the side of Billie Joe's house at one point. Mike married his girlfriend
Anastasia in August of 1996, they now have a daughter named Estelle-Desiree born in April 1997. The pressures of being in
Green Day have become to much for Mike and Anasasia's marriage to withstand and they are now seperated. Mike says he is still
very good friends with her and calls his daughter his "hero".
| The Crazy 'I Need Ritalin' One |
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| Tre Cool, the drummer of Green Day |
Tre Cool, born Frank Edwin Wright III, grew up in the Mendocino mountains,
where his father, a Vietnam vet, raised Tre and his two siblings. Tre's dad built many of the houses in that area, including
that of Lawrance Livermore, Tre's nearest neighbor and the founder of Green Day's original label, Lookout! Records. At the age of 12, Tre joined Livermore's pop-punk band, the Lookouts, recorded an album, and began gigging
regularily at Gilman Street (Berkeley's punk club). When John Kiffmeyer, the drummer on Green Day's debut 39/Smooth, left
the band for college, Tre, with Livermore's blessing, hopped aboard. Tre married his girlfriend Lisea Lyons in March of 1995,
they have a daughter together named Ramona. They have since seperated but are apparently still on good terms. Tre is now expecting
another child with his wife.
If you like this stuff, check out my Green Day site! Its got all this, elaborated more of course,
pictures, polls, lyrics, interesting facts, quotes, interviews, letters written by Billie himself and more! Go to "Alex's
Stuff" and click on the Green Day link. See ya laters!
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