Vulture interview with Billie Joe

[lucky_stars]

https://www.vulture.com/article/billie-joe-armstrong-green-day-saviors.html

I thought this was a really well done interview! Some highlights:

On his relapse:  "When I was on the Hella Mega tour (The Hella Mega Tour featured Green Day, Fall Out Boy, and Weezer), I started to struggle with alcohol when we were in Europe. It was all fun and games. What got me back into drinking was that sort of fear of missing out. I felt like I was alone. AA was difficult for me because, especially in the Bay Area, there’s the one word, anonymous. It was hard for me to maintain my anonymity. That was the struggle for the five years I was sober. I was out drinking again for a few years and then I just realized I was just unhealthy: My mental health was falling down the drain, getting the shakes. And then I was like, “Fuck this, I feel messy right now.” The only thing alcohol was doing for me was getting in the way of the things I wanted to do and the person I wanted to be.

I have a great set of sober friends that I didn’t have before when I was sober. They make going out and doing things a lot more fun. We support each other. We’ll drink Heineken 0.0 and smoke a little bit. Not weed but cigarettes. We have a good time for the night and then, you know, nothing good happens after 2 a.m. You get tired and it’s like “Man, I just wanna go to bed.” I’m older, I’m wiser. I have different things that make me happy. I don’t need to be out all night getting fucked up. There’s a song I did on the Longshot (Armstrong’s side project that released one record, Love Is for Losers, in 2018) record called “Chasing a Ghost,” which talks about being lonely in sobriety. “Dilemma” is sort of connected to that."

 

On the trilogy: "It got stiff sounding. I would love to go back and do some kind of reissue of just pulling the best of the trilogy and making it lean heavier on the rock side. It will happen at some point." !!!

 

On newer artists exploring pop-punk, like Olivia Rodrigo: "I hear it but don’t go out buying any of those records or stream it. It does pass me by. When I hear it, I think it sounds good. A lot of that is for a younger audience, and I’m trying to figure out my own generation right now and where I come from. I think it would be fun to work with her sometime. She’s talented. Sometimes you can see how someone is interested in what punk rock is and maybe they don’t quite have some of the influences or knowledge that I have on the history of punk rock. I’m kind of an encyclopedia. To do something with someone like Olivia Rodrigo would be fun."

 

 

 

[stories and songs]

Wow, great interview! I love Olivia Rodrigo, so I’d love for them to collab with her!

I continue to be kinda floored and super happy about how open he’s being regarding relapse and sobriety. He never wanted to talk about it before and while he doesn’t owe anyone anything about his personal life, I have to think there’s something healthy about being open and honest about it, in terms of acceptance and accountability. Tbh, it almost seems like he needed to relapse in order to understand how necessary sobriety is for him. Looking back, in 2012 he was basically forced into it after a very public incident, and it was under a circumstance where he was abusing more than just alcohol. I can see how an alcoholic yearning to drink again could easily justify it by blaming all the problems back then solely on the pills. Which he literally did say during the FOAM promo…I don’t think I had ever experienced someone’s addiction so obviously speaking for them before. Those interviews scared the shit out of me. I feel so beyond grateful that he seems so much healthier and happier and seems to have a more extensive support system now, and seemingly was able to come to the conclusion on his own this time that sobriety is truly a necessity. I know it can’t be easy with his lifestyle so it’s no small deal. 

[Gwen Stacy]

Yeah, that was a great read, the interviewer clearly knew their stuff. Glad to see Billie is just as addicted to Discogs as I am lol. Trilogy reissue asap please!

[Mato]

That was a great interview with (finally) good questions! Personally, I'm kind of sad that he's not that familiar with The Black Parade since that album, along with American Idiot, were the first albums I can say that changed my life forever and have opened the world for more music to do so. It's interesting to see how much he's mellowed out on Tim Yohannan.

Oh, and Green Day, please don't collaborate with Olivia Rodrigo. 😅

[lucky_stars]

4 minutes ago, Mato said:

Oh, and Green Day, please don't collaborate with Olivia Rodrigo. 😅

I have been dreaming of a Lady Gaga or Miley collab forever, I would much rather hear that!

Side thought - if they were to reissue a 'best of' the trilogy, what would the title be? 

[BrendanL]

Condensed trilogy reissue with a new mix👀👀 That could be really cool. They pretty much already did version 1 - the live, messy version that Billie alluded to- with Demolicious. So I’d love to hear a heavier, Dookie style mix.
 

also intriguing to hear Billie say “we’re definitely going to do something special” for the Saviors tour. Wonder what that could mean? There’s only so much they can do with a ~90 minute set.

[jengd]

He said “we’re going to be going into more of the deep cuts” !

[stories and songs]

13 minutes ago, BrendanL said:

also intriguing to hear Billie say “we’re definitely going to do something special” for the Saviors tour. Wonder what that could mean? There’s only so much they can do with a ~90 minute set.

My hope is that they’ll do longer than 90 minutes this time. Hella Mega was advertised as a triple header. This is the Saviors Tour, which to me indicates the people playing before them really are opening acts and won’t infringe too much on Green Day’s time. Planned right, Green Day could definitely play from 9-11.

[suffoKate]

Ha! My man telling it like it is! More Starjets and hard to find music, less emo!

11 minutes ago, stories and songs said:

My hope is that they’ll do longer than 90 minutes this time. Hella Mega was advertised as a triple header. This is the Saviors Tour, which to me indicates the people playing before them really are opening acts and won’t infringe too much on Green Day’s time. Planned right, Green Day could definitely play from 9-11.

That’s what I was hoping and then I realized there’s 3 bands going on before them. Gonna be a long night!

[nflsbest26]

18 minutes ago, stories and songs said:

My hope is that they’ll do longer than 90 minutes this time. Hella Mega was advertised as a triple header. This is the Saviors Tour, which to me indicates the people playing before them really are opening acts and won’t infringe too much on Green Day’s time. Planned right, Green Day could definitely play from 9-11.

I can definitely see that. Most of their shows are starting at either 530 or 6PM on the US tour.

[stories and songs]

@suffoKate I’m thinking The Linda Linda’s will have a super short set, like 20 minutes. If Rancid and The Smashing Pumpkins keep their sets to 45-60 minutes, I think it’s doable!

[redline punk]

For me, this was the best interview in recent times. I'm excited about the possibility of reworking the best of the trilogy

[Alan86]

A trilogy reissue, yes please!

[devilskind92]

One of my favorite interviews so far. I love how they talked about the emo scene, The Longshot, and the trilogy (a remake?? let's goooo)

Sad that Billie had nothing to say about Black Parade. Green Day might be my favorite band, but that's my favorite record of all time.

[BrendanL]

2 hours ago, stories and songs said:

My hope is that they’ll do longer than 90 minutes this time. Hella Mega was advertised as a triple header. This is the Saviors Tour, which to me indicates the people playing before them really are opening acts and won’t infringe too much on Green Day’s time. Planned right, Green Day could definitely play from 9-11.

Sure they could do it with proper planning, but does it make sense to do so from a cost/benefit perspective? The tickets are already sold. The Hella Mega model proved that even with a 90 minute set, fans will show out in droves.  Plus, the guys aren’t getting any younger. The last time they averaged 2 hour sets to my recollection was the Revolution radio tour, and even then, Billie wasn’t always delivering consistent vocal performances night in and night out.

I would love to be proven wrong but the evidence (last 6 years of shows) points to the contrary

[ekim]

3 hours ago, lucky_stars said:

https://www.vulture.com/article/billie-joe-armstrong-green-day-saviors.html

I thought this was a really well done interview! Some highlights:

On his relapse:  "When I was on the Hella Mega tour (The Hella Mega Tour featured Green Day, Fall Out Boy, and Weezer), I started to struggle with alcohol when we were in Europe. It was all fun and games. What got me back into drinking was that sort of fear of missing out. I felt like I was alone. AA was difficult for me because, especially in the Bay Area, there’s the one word, anonymous. It was hard for me to maintain my anonymity. That was the struggle for the five years I was sober. I was out drinking again for a few years and then I just realized I was just unhealthy: My mental health was falling down the drain, getting the shakes. And then I was like, “Fuck this, I feel messy right now.” The only thing alcohol was doing for me was getting in the way of the things I wanted to do and the person I wanted to be.

I have a great set of sober friends that I didn’t have before when I was sober. They make going out and doing things a lot more fun. We support each other. We’ll drink Heineken 0.0 and smoke a little bit. Not weed but cigarettes. We have a good time for the night and then, you know, nothing good happens after 2 a.m. You get tired and it’s like “Man, I just wanna go to bed.” I’m older, I’m wiser. I have different things that make me happy. I don’t need to be out all night getting fucked up. There’s a song I did on the Longshot (Armstrong’s side project that released one record, Love Is for Losers, in 2018) record called “Chasing a Ghost,” which talks about being lonely in sobriety. “Dilemma” is sort of connected to that."

 

On the trilogy: "It got stiff sounding. I would love to go back and do some kind of reissue of just pulling the best of the trilogy and making it lean heavier on the rock side. It will happen at some point." !!!

 

On newer artists exploring pop-punk, like Olivia Rodrigo: "I hear it but don’t go out buying any of those records or stream it. It does pass me by. When I hear it, I think it sounds good. A lot of that is for a younger audience, and I’m trying to figure out my own generation right now and where I come from. I think it would be fun to work with her sometime. She’s talented. Sometimes you can see how someone is interested in what punk rock is and maybe they don’t quite have some of the influences or knowledge that I have on the history of punk rock. I’m kind of an encyclopedia. To do something with someone like Olivia Rodrigo would be fun."

 

 

 

Her music sucks she's a Disney girl no way billie lol 

3 hours ago, Mato said:

That was a great interview with (finally) good questions! Personally, I'm kind of sad that he's not that familiar with The Black Parade since that album, along with American Idiot, were the first albums I can say that changed my life forever and opened world for more music to do so. It's interesting to see how much he's mellowed out on Tim Yohannan.

Oh, and Green Day, please don't collaborate with Olivia Rodrigo. 😅

She's not even close to punk she's a shitty former Disney kid actress she's about as punk as willow Smith lol 

[That Dude]

A best of Trilogy with a heavy guitar mix IS coming.   Yes!   And Saviors is part of a Green Day Trifecta: Dookie / Idiot / Saviors?  Whoa.    Another huge takeaway are all the bands Billie mentioned.  Going to blast the heck out of them.

 

[ekim]

This interviewer needs to take their head out of mainstream pop's ass! billie is a rock n roll artist he's not gonna be listening to radio Disney crap! Once again this person barley got into the new songs on saviors too busy asking dumb questions unrelated 

4 hours ago, lucky_stars said:

https://www.vulture.com/article/billie-joe-armstrong-green-day-saviors.html

I thought this was a really well done interview! Some highlights:

On his relapse:  "When I was on the Hella Mega tour (The Hella Mega Tour featured Green Day, Fall Out Boy, and Weezer), I started to struggle with alcohol when we were in Europe. It was all fun and games. What got me back into drinking was that sort of fear of missing out. I felt like I was alone. AA was difficult for me because, especially in the Bay Area, there’s the one word, anonymous. It was hard for me to maintain my anonymity. That was the struggle for the five years I was sober. I was out drinking again for a few years and then I just realized I was just unhealthy: My mental health was falling down the drain, getting the shakes. And then I was like, “Fuck this, I feel messy right now.” The only thing alcohol was doing for me was getting in the way of the things I wanted to do and the person I wanted to be.

I have a great set of sober friends that I didn’t have before when I was sober. They make going out and doing things a lot more fun. We support each other. We’ll drink Heineken 0.0 and smoke a little bit. Not weed but cigarettes. We have a good time for the night and then, you know, nothing good happens after 2 a.m. You get tired and it’s like “Man, I just wanna go to bed.” I’m older, I’m wiser. I have different things that make me happy. I don’t need to be out all night getting fucked up. There’s a song I did on the Longshot (Armstrong’s side project that released one record, Love Is for Losers, in 2018) record called “Chasing a Ghost,” which talks about being lonely in sobriety. “Dilemma” is sort of connected to that."

 

On the trilogy: "It got stiff sounding. I would love to go back and do some kind of reissue of just pulling the best of the trilogy and making it lean heavier on the rock side. It will happen at some point." !!!

 

On newer artists exploring pop-punk, like Olivia Rodrigo: "I hear it but don’t go out buying any of those records or stream it. It does pass me by. When I hear it, I think it sounds good. A lot of that is for a younger audience, and I’m trying to figure out my own generation right now and where I come from. I think it would be fun to work with her sometime. She’s talented. Sometimes you can see how someone is interested in what punk rock is and maybe they don’t quite have some of the influences or knowledge that I have on the history of punk rock. I’m kind of an encyclopedia. To do something with someone like Olivia Rodrigo would be fun."

 

 

 

Olivia Rodrigo sucks ass 

[roushgreenday1fan]

38 minutes ago, ekim said:

Her music sucks she's a Disney girl no way billie lol 

She's not even close to punk she's a shitty former Disney kid actress she's about as punk as willow Smith lol 

I like her music. Her music is a gateway for a lot of young folks into pop punk. That’s a good thing

[devilskind92]

I'm not into Olivia Rodrigo but hey, some people got into Paramore after listening to her so that's a plus. Willow rocks though.
Wanna be punk and hate something? Hate the industry, hate big companies, hate capital. Leave artists alone, no matter how bad you think their art is.

I'm glad to see even in his 50s Billie is still open-minded about this sort of stuff.

[ekim]

2 minutes ago, devilskind92 said:

I'm not into Olivia Rodrigo but hey, some people got into Paramore after listening to her so that's a plus. Willow rocks though.
Wanna be punk and hate something? Hate the industry, hate big companies, hate capital. Leave artists alone, no matter how bad you think their art is.

I'm glad to see even in his 50s Billie is still open-minded about this sort of stuff.

They're the industry Olivia Rodrigo is just another corporate plant

3 minutes ago, ekim said:

They're the industry Olivia Rodrigo is just another corporate plant

All willow rocks is her rich parents bank accounts 

[stories and songs]

I think it’s really cool that Billie is into younger artists, appreciates how they do social media, etc. A lot of musicians get very “old man yells at cloud” about this stuff and there’s no need. I respect that he’s still open to discovering new artists and clearly admires them. He’s someone who is open-minded in a lot of different ways, and that’s one of the things I’ve always liked about him!

Green Day was once a young band who some thought weren’t punk enough and others thought were sell-outs. I’m not really into lobbing insults at other young, talented artists.

[ekim]

39 minutes ago, roushgreenday1fan said:

I like her music. Her music is a gateway for a lot of young folks into pop punk. That’s a good thing

Her music was created by someone else there's nothing authentic there 

[ekim]

1 hour ago, roushgreenday1fan said:

I like her music. Her music is a gateway for a lot of young folks into pop punk. That’s a good thing

Yeah gateway to shitty pop 

[Little Boy Named Booze]

I kind of like Olivia Rodrigo. We get it you don't like her but it's not shitty pop