Since the pop punk explosion heralded by super-band Nirvana, few bands have had the success and influence that Green Day have had.
With the 1994 major label release of their album Dookie, Green Day has brought the late 1970s pop-punk sound to a new generation of teens. Their music is frenetic with the three cord energy and style of post-punk pop and they have opened the door for countless other pop-punk, ska-rock and skater metal bands who have followed their lead.
Green Day hails from the San Francisco Bay Area - Berkeley to be exact - home of a thriving post-punk underground subculture. Billie Joe Armstrong (guitar, vocals) and longtime friend Mike Dirnt (orig. Mike Pritchard) began playing music together at the age of 14 and formed the band Sweet Children. In 1989 the duo, renamed Green Day, added drummer John Kiffmeyer and independently released their own EP, 1,000 Hours.
The California hardcore punk scene embraced the EP and the band soon signed with local indie label Lookout. Green Day's first full-length album, 39/Smooth, was released later that year. Some time after this release the band replaced Kiffmeyer with their current drummer, Tre Cool (orig. Frank Edward Wright III). Green Day moved into the '90s, amassing more fans as time rolled on. Their big break came with the release of their second album, Kerplunk, which attracted major label attention. This led to a record contract with Reprise. In the spring of 1994, Green Day released its major label debut, Dookie, which drew the attention and support of MTV. The heavy rotation of the video for the song "Longview" catapulted the band into the alternative mainstream.
Their ascent continued into the summer of '94, as the single "Basket Case" spent five weeks at the top of the modern rock charts. During Woodstock '94 the band stole the show and their popularity and record sales were boosted again. The fourth single "When I Come Around" saw the band's American record sales reaching five million. Eventually these numbers would top out at around 12 million worldwide. As another monument to the band's success, they won the 1994 Grammy for Best Alternative Music Performance. Dookie was followed with the rapid release of Insomniac in the fall of 1995 and a world tour the following spring. Green Day took a two-year break before returning with the 1997 release Nimrod, which received heavy alternative radio airplay and produced the hit single, "Hitchin' a Ride." The band took to the studio again in 2000, recording the long-awaited follow up to Nimrod. Titled Warning, the album was released in fall of the same year.
