ARCHIVE - 4/7/08:
Green Day in March 2008
Reporting From the Mosh Pit
It was pretty impossible for any Green Day news to make the front page this month, what with everybody still buzzing about the Pinhead Gunpowder shows in February.
You can read a first-hand account of one show, from the co-owner of Lookout! Records, here:
http://lookoutrecords.com/blogcms/?item=pinhead-gunpowder-play-gilman-recap
And an incredibly awesome review of Gilman from an oldschool punk dude that actually chatted Billie Joe up a bit here:
http://www.bohemian.com/citysound/?p=91
PHGP San Francisco Bay Guardian Controversy
For some really scandalous gossip about the shit that went down at 924 Gilman Street the night Pinhead Gunpowder played, read this review:
And then read this review from the same journalist. And don’t forget to check out all the comments following it:
http://www.sfbg.com/blogs/music/2008/03/more_on_pinhead_gunpowder.html
Here’s the deal. In the two above reviews, this reporter talks about going to the show and how there was all this tension because the true-school punk rockers hate Billie Joe for selling out. Or whatever.
Next, the reporter talks about how the band donated this immense, superfly sound system to Gilman, and even though he didn’t directly say it, he totally implied that the sound system was some kind of make nice payoff to all the elitist volunteers that run Gilman and look down their noses at pop-punk, and hence, Green Day (reporter’s words, not mine!).
Anyway, so buddy writes this article, and then the whole comment thread becomes this big argument between him and the people that run Gilman! They say the concert was awesome, and the night was totally tension-free. They also say that the only reason this reporter is talking shit is because he got in a fight with one of the bosses and got thrown out! Even the security guard who gave him the boot chimes in.
Most interesting of all, Bill Schneider, the bassist for PHGP, posted his thoughts on the thread! Check out what he had to say:
“Alex, As a member of Pinhead Gunpowder I would like to point out that your reporting of so called facts about this event and my bands relationship with Gilman are incorrect in many ways. My guitarists donation to Gilman was initiated six months before the idea was even brought up of PHGP performing. It was also intended as an anonomous donation, thanks for writing about it... The donation and us performing could not be more unrelated. The staff of gilman was in no way elitist to us or anyone else i witnessed at the show. In fact everyone I saw was having a great time.
I think that you were left jaded by our and the clubs decision to not take part in your interviews. We did not feel it was in the spirit of the event, as the show was not even advertised.I am sorry you felt the need to write about it a month later and take jabs at my band and gilman for your own insecurities. As a new journalist I hope you learn something from this experience. Spite has a nasty was of turning around on you.
Thank you for at least saying we sounded good even if you did not enjoy yourself...”
What do you think? Is this all about one angry reporter, or is there more going on than Gilman and Pinhead want to admit?
The Next Green Day Album?
On the opposite end of the side project spectrum, we’ve gotten word that the Foxboro Hottubs are releasing a full-on 12-song EP at the end of April. Frickin’ bonkers!
A new single, ‘Pedestrian,’ is available for check-out-i-ness on the band’s Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/foxborohottubs, BUT – lamest shit ever – their Myspace account no longer has any full songs up. It’s just all these twenty-second samples.
Has fame and fortune already gone to these guys’ heads? I call scam! But I will still buy the album, because it is amazing, and really, it’s totally, like, the next Green Day album, right?
Tre and Mike Hype Record Store Day
When the FHT album does come out, you should definitely go purchase it from your local mom n’ pop record store. April 19th is Record Store Day: http://www.recordstoreday.com/Home - a day for supporting independent retailers.
Doing their part, Tre and Mike made a video to share what they love about independent music retailers: http://youtube.com/watch?v=M1s_GS2TVqs.
Thing is, it’s all well and good for the big corporations and music industry crocodiles to be getting screwed by the music scene on the internet. The shitty side is that it also sucks for small, independent retailers. While corporate media suffers a dent in their profits, the local record store goes straight out of business, right?
Isn’t that always the muthafuckin’ way.
Green Day on the Green
Mr. Tre Cool’s good deeds don’t end with Record Store Day. On April 21st, he will also be hosting the Music in Schools Today Golf Tournament.
Based on the commercial for the event: http://www.onpointproductions.com/videos/mist_golf_cut5.mov, it’s pretty much the most un-Tre Cool-like thing you could possibly imagine, but what the hell, right? It’s all about the kids, and the music, and if Tre likes hitting the old golfy b around once in a while, I guess I can live with that.
Oh, and Tre’s totally donating a drum kit to the charity auction. Hopefully it goes to someone who’ll appreciate it.
Trouble With a Capital Tre
Don’t worry, Tre’s not all charity balls and good causes. Just in case you were starting to think he’s some kind of angel, here’s a story to change your mind:
John Lucasey is the owner and founder of Studio 880, where Green Day wrote and recorded ‘American Idiot’ a few years ago. In an interview this month: http://www.dailycal.org/article/100676/getting_her_foot_in_the_door, he told a pretty funny story about Mr. Cool:
"One time, it was a hot summer, our air conditioners broke down and Tre [Cool], the drummer, left me a little present that I didn't notice until about three or four days later," Lucasey said. "He bought a bunch of cold cuts, cut some holes in the couch and stuck them underneath. A few days later, it started to stink."
Grow-ows! Lucasey went on to imply that he got his revenge, but he wouldn’t say how. He would only insist that his studio was like a home to the guys, and a source of inspiration for the album.
Rob Cavallo Speaks
A lot of producer-types were spilling their guts about Green Day this month. You can watch a giant 30-minute interview with their producer, Rob Cavallo, here: http://www.crazedhits.com/2008/03/01/interview-rob-cavallo/, in which he makes at least one or two mentions of the band.
Cavallo talks about how Dookie was the second album he ever produced. He says that it created the pop punk scene and made his career. He also talks about what it takes to get the best out of a band like Green Day. Interesting if you’re into the more technical side of the music industry.
So, What’s Next?
With this new Foxboro Hottubs album on the way, I gotta wonder where Green Day is headed. Are they going to tour as the Hottubs? Is this going to postpone the release of the next official Green Day album? And if this is the kind of music they want to make now, why should they have to conceal their identity? We seem to be headed into murky waters, folks. Uncharted territory ahead. Who can say what the future may hold… |
