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ARCHIVE - 12/05:
A Little Something on the Side
Did you know that the guys in Green Day are involved in all kinds of side projects? Even though Green Day is a big hard-on success story, they don't let the fame define their lives or let them get lazy. Here's some of the stuff the boys are up to when they sneak out of bed, late at night.
As a Band:
The Network: The Network is a New Wave concept band containing five members. Although the characters in The Network have been disguising their identities with wrestling costumes since they first started up in 2003, three of the members are definitely most likely the guys from Green Day. In 2004, The Network re-released their original album, Money Money 2020, along with a totally bizarro DVD, Disease is Punishment.
All the guys in The Network wear masks and have nicknames, but the front man, Fink, is obviously Billy Joe's freaky alter ego, as you can tell from his singing and his tattoos. Van Gough is believe to be Mike, as it is hard to disguise that tall gangly profile, and Snoo is Tre Cool, if mad drumming styles can serve as a signature, which they can, and do.
The other two guys in the band are Captain Underpants (an old nickname of Tre's) and the enigmatic Z. Rumor has it that these last two members may be the guys from Devo. Other suspects include Jason White, Jason Freese, (a guy who does backup keyboards, guitar, vocals, and tromboning for Green Day), and Reto Peter, co-producer of the Money Money 2020 album.
Based on The Network's music, stunts, and politics, it seems like the guys in Green Day are using the band as an outlet for musical experimentation, freaky-ass over-the-edge art, and extreme anarchist politics. All stuff that is just too crazy for the image of one of the world's most famous bands. If you think Green Day are getting too mainstream, check out The Network for some really weirdo, creepy, underground gansta' shit.
Whenever one band is interviewed about possible connections, they take the opportunity to hate on each other. Is this just a publicity stunt, or is this the golden boys of Green Day caught in some sort of schizophrenic mind-war with their low-down, dirty split personalities? As recently as this October, The Network was rumored to be the opening act for Green Day shows in Las Vegas and LA. Could the presence of the two bands in the same place at the same time create a rift in the space-time continuum? Only time will tell.
There are also rumors in the airwaves that American Idiot: The Movie is in the works for 2006. The guys say they would want complete artistic control, but that they have no interest in starring in the story based on the album. The band has not mentioned these plans in any recent interviews. However, with the recent success of Bullet in a Bible, and a never-ending stream of award shows and interviews on the horizon, the idea of a movie about the American Idiot story might any day become something more than your dirty secret fantasy.
Billie Joe Armstrong
In 1997, Billie Joe, his wife Adrienne, and Lynn and Jim Thiebaud of Real Skateboards, started out to create a record label that produced and supported the music that they like to listen to. In this way, Adeline Records was born. Adeline supports artists like AFI, the Frustrators, Link, The Network, Green Day, Pinhead Gunpowder, and most recently, Jesse Malin.
Through Adeline Records, Billie Joe and Adrienne have also recently put together a line of clothing and accessories. You can check out a few of things from Adeline Clothing right now online or at Hot Topic Clothing Store. Apparently, the whole line will be out by January of 2006. You can also see the clothes on Billie Joe, because he wears them wherever he goes. Some fans say this new project is Adrienne's baby, but obviously Billie Joe likes the stuff he is selling, or he wouldn't be wearing it.
With Adeline, Billie Joe is hanging on to his independent spirit. You don't like the way the music industry is going? Start your own label! You don't like wearing clothes somebody else decided were cool? Design your own! Clearly, Billie Joe wants to be able to say, as punk godfather Sid Vicious did before him, "I did it my way!"
Billie Joe is also in the band Pinhead Gunpowder. The band has released nearly a dozen albums since 1992 on both the Adeline and Lookout! record labels. Pinhead Gunpowder comes from the East Bay punk scene and has remained very much in tune with that tradition over the years. Their most recent album, 2003's Compulsive Disorder, contains all their newest material plus some great old stuff that was only previously available on vinyl.
Pinhead Gunpowder is made up of a bunch of talented guys who are usually busy with other bands and projects, but manage to get together every once in a while and record some songs and do it up old school. Jason White is also in the band, along with Aaron Cometbus of Crimpshrine, the most influential and rock-ass punk band to come out of the East Bay scene.
Pinhead Gunpowder has remained steadily popular in the punk scene over the years because they keep their operation small and independent. They also continue to produce short, fast, aggressive punk rock that refuses slick, commercial production values to create a sound that comes straight up from the underground. Although their albums may not be easily found in stores, you can find them online on vinyl for cheap-zo prices. Definitely worth checking out.
Tre Cool
What can you say about Tre? Of all the Green Day members, he has kept the lowest profile outside of the band spotlight. This is probably because he spends all his time with Green Day stealing the show by trashing drum kits and cracking jokes. Ask him what he does when he's not drumming for Green Day, and you'll find that his major side projects involve whacking off, goofing around, and fucking your mom.
Tre Cool has often made a point of saying that for him, Green Day is the only major project on the board. He is totally loyal to the band, and has no desire to waste his energy on other projects.
That being said, Tre can occasionally be seen playing a set with the northern California punk band Samiam.
Mike Dirnt:
Mike is part owner of a café called "Rudy's Can't Fail Café" in Emeryville, CA. Emeryville is right near Berkeley and Oakland, so all you hardcores in the area who haven't checked it out, do it now, because there are tons of fans in the UK and on the East Coast who would commit strange and dastardly acts to go there.
Rudy's is named after a Clash song called "Rudy Can't Fail." It is the perfect combo of traditional comfy old greasy spoon and a kind of cool rocker hangout. On the outside it looks like any old café, on the inside, things get a little crazy. Check it out for yourself at http://www.rudyscantfailcafe.com/. All the food is awesome, and there is tons of vegetarian and vegan stuff. Mike might not be a vegetarian anymore, but at least his restaurant is keepin' it real.
Mike is also in the band, The Frustrators. They are mostly good old fashion rock and rollers, with undertones of all the kinds of music that came out of, and gave birth to rock and roll: punk, metal, thrash, blues, and even a little alt country. Their music is all about having a good time, as you can tell from their often-hilarious lyrics and use of goofy sound effects in their tracks.
Unfortunately, The Frustrators haven't released a new album since 2002's Achtung Jackass. Their fist album was released in 2000 under the proto- American Idiot title, Bored in the USA. In fact, listen to these albums and you will get a pretty good idea of the ways in which Mike's influence helped to create American Idiot. The newest Green Day album actually sounds as much like The Frustrators as it does older Green Day stuff.
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