Today's Artist Profile is on one of the first bands that I grew up listening to, Green Day. Green Day were formed back in 1987 in Berkeley, California. The band consists of Billie Joe Armstrong on lead vocals and guitar, Mike Dirnt on bass, and Tre Cool on drums. The band got their start amid the Bay Area, California punk explosion of the late 80's that saw a burgeoning amount of punk bands all clamoring for attention amid the many local venues in and around the California area. Back then, they were known as Sweet Children, and made their live debut on October 17, 1987 at Rod's Hickory Pit in Vallejo, California. The band quickly grew through the punk scene and released their debut EP 1,000 Hours in 1989. The band adopted the name Green Day due to their like of marijuana, and the band immediately went to work on their debut album 39/Smooth in 1990 on Lookout! Records. Tre Cool officially joined the band in 1990, replacing original drummer Al Sobrante who left the band to attend college. The band embarked on a series of tour dates and released their second album Kerplunk 1n 1992. The album was a immediate success, selling a total of 50,000 copies which was a huge number for an album released on an independent label.
The band was courted by a series of major record labels, and eventually signed to Reprise Records and released their major label debut Dookie in 1994. This album immediately catapulted Green Day to mainstream success. The album contained massively successful tracks like "When I Come Around", "Longview", "Welcome to Paradise", "Basket Case", and "She". The album has sold over 16 million copies worldwide and is considered by many to be a landmark album in the alternative music scene. The band embarked on a massive worldwide tour, culminating with their most famous performance at Woodstock '94 which started with fans throwing mud on stage and the band members throwing it back at them. The band released their follow up album Insomniac in 1996. The album wasn't as successful as its predecessor, but it did give way to such hits like "Brain Stew", "Geek Stink Breath", and "Walking Contradiction". The band took a brief hiatus, but quickly reconvened to work on their follow up album, 1997's Nimrod. The album gave way to one of their most popular tracks "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)", which was played at a host of proms, graduations, and even on the final episode of Seinfeld. Other songs from the album included "Redundant", and "Nice Guys Finish Last". The band took some time off to regroup, and returned three years later with Warning, which gave way to such memorable hits like "Minority", "Warning", and "Waiting".
The band took a long hiatus after that, making a massive comeback in 2004 with the concept album American Idiot. The album was a massive success, debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart, selling 14 million copies worldwide and producing such blistering tracks like "American Idiot", "Boulevard of Broken Dreams, "Holiday", and "Wake Me Up When September Ends". This album reinvigorated their careers and connected the band with a younger generation of fans who weren't even born yet when Green Day released their debut album, and earned them 2 Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album and Record of the Year. The band embarked on a massive worldwide tour and even created a hit Broadway musical based on the album that has been nominated for 2 Tony Awards. The band returned 5 years later with another concept opus, 21st Century Breakdown. The album produced hits like "Know Your Enemy" and "21 Guns". This band has been the sole influence of me getting into music in the first place, I remember I was 9 when Dookie first came out and I remember listening to that album inside and out and watching their videos whenever they came on MTV. If Green Day never existed, I probably would've never gotten into music in the first place and I probably wouldn't be doing this blog either.
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