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TimmyChunks

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I was incredibly fortunate enough to spend some time with the band recently. Since I'm such a guitar nut, naturally I had to see Billie's guitar rack and took a few photos (and thanks Hans for being so accommodating)- I haven't shared any other pictures since they're so deeply personal (but trust me, Billie, Mike, Tre, Jason, etc. are all just phenomenally great in every way), but I thought you guys would at least appreciate these closeups since I don't think this is too much of a privacy invasion. As a footnote, I also held Blue. I can't describe the feeling but it was essentially a religious experience.

 

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I can't even imagine how you must've felt getting to look in there! Thanks for posting the photos, cool to see all those awesome guitars lined up.

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On ‎4‎/‎7‎/‎2017 at 4:43 AM, alien97 said:

how did you get to spend time with them?

I'll just say this- do good things, help causes which deserve the assistance, and you'll make friends of friends along the way. It was all through charitable networking. I've been fortunate enough in life to be able to contribute to good causes, and was lucky that one of these causes was important to the right people!

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This rules! Anything interesting you can share about their gear or just about them in general from your experience?

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7 hours ago, straighttohell said:

This rules! Anything interesting you can share about their gear or just about them in general from your experience?

I honestly don't even know where to begin- at some point when enough time's passed I'd like to share some more pictures, for one, since we had some incredible moments. I did share a few with a couple mods since I had to show someone on GDC but it was such a private setting I don't think they're ready for a public forum yet.

The equipment is really cool to check out. Blue is just this gnarly old guitar and looks completely beat to hell...but at the same time, it was super comfortable to hold and played great. I didn't play it through the rig or anything but you can tell the key parts are well maintained (the neck is super broken in but in great shape, for example) but the body is so awesomely nicked up and grungy. Granted, it kind of looks this way in person but when you hold it you notice that there are tons of nicks/ divots/ scratches all over. The back is all chewed up.

Tre's sticks take a beating. I have some now and where he hits the rimshots it looks like a bulldog chewed them through. He plays with power! Mike's bass rig was really great to check out. I stood in front of his Fender amp setup on stage and it's just incredible.

One thing that stands out is how hard the crew works. They bust their asses to get everything ready. I have no idea how they do it night after night. The two I spoke with were Hans (guitar) and Eden (bass)- both great. Security was great too- the Armstrong's security guy (Eddie) was really cool, which was funny to see after seeing him play the "enforcer" role at so many concerts.

About them: fantastic people. Not a ton to add to what you might expect- Billie Joe is a good conversationalist (and much credit to him, a good listener- I was probably gushing at points and even though he had just woken up and was trying to get through his coffee he was super polite and also conversational). Mike was great- we were taking some pictures and he went out of his way to suggest taking better pics from other parts of the stage, etc. Tre photobombed us during this and got a huge laugh out of it. Tre was also really cool in general- he showed up at the aftershow get-together for friends (when there were more people around) and spent a while there. He was the one I spoke with the least but he was exactly as you'd imagine. Also- soundcheck- wow, it was awesome. They are such a good, tight band. Even in mid afternoon with no one to play for they sounded really crisp and energetic.

Jason was also really cool- actually approached us to say hi and introduce himself. I let him know I love his Pinhead work and he seemed truly flattered.

Adrienne is amazing. So polished, smart, poised, and gracious. She hosted us the whole time and was incredible.

Lastly, Amy Interruptor was at the post show and was great to talk to. I didn't know her music well but knew who she was, and she was just super down to Earth and relatable. Her boyfriend (also in the band) was great to. I've been getting into their music since we met and I'm really bummed I didn't bring up his collaboration with Tim Armstrong. I had no idea he was such an accomplished musician- seemed like a perfectly normal guy, but he has a really impressive musical resume.

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2 hours ago, TimmyChunks said:

I honestly don't even know where to begin- at some point when enough time's passed I'd like to share some more pictures, for one, since we had some incredible moments. I did share a few with a couple mods since I had to show someone on GDC but it was such a private setting I don't think they're ready for a public forum yet.

The equipment is really cool to check out. Blue is just this gnarly old guitar and looks completely beat to hell...but at the same time, it was super comfortable to hold and played great. I didn't play it through the rig or anything but you can tell the key parts are well maintained (the neck is super broken in but in great shape, for example) but the body is so awesomely nicked up and grungy. Granted, it kind of looks this way in person but when you hold it you notice that there are tons of nicks/ divots/ scratches all over. The back is all chewed up.

Tre's sticks take a beating. I have some now and where he hits the rimshots it looks like a bulldog chewed them through. He plays with power! Mike's bass rig was really great to check out. I stood in front of his Fender amp setup on stage and it's just incredible.

One thing that stands out is how hard the crew works. They bust their asses to get everything ready. I have no idea how they do it night after night. The two I spoke with were Hans (guitar) and Eden (bass)- both great. Security was great too- the Armstrong's security guy (Eddie) was really cool, which was funny to see after seeing him play the "enforcer" role at so many concerts.

About them: fantastic people. Not a ton to add to what you might expect- Billie Joe is a good conversationalist (and much credit to him, a good listener- I was probably gushing at points and even though he had just woken up and was trying to get through his coffee he was super polite and also conversational). Mike was great- we were taking some pictures and he went out of his way to suggest taking better pics from other parts of the stage, etc. Tre photobombed us during this and got a huge laugh out of it. Tre was also really cool in general- he showed up at the aftershow get-together for friends (when there were more people around) and spent a while there. He was the one I spoke with the least but he was exactly as you'd imagine. Also- soundcheck- wow, it was awesome. They are such a good, tight band. Even in mid afternoon with no one to play for they sounded really crisp and energetic.

Jason was also really cool- actually approached us to say hi and introduce himself. I let him know I love his Pinhead work and he seemed truly flattered.

Adrienne is amazing. So polished, smart, poised, and gracious. She hosted us the whole time and was incredible.

Lastly, Amy Interruptor was at the post show and was great to talk to. I didn't know her music well but knew who she was, and she was just super down to Earth and relatable. Her boyfriend (also in the band) was great to. I've been getting into their music since we met and I'm really bummed I didn't bring up his collaboration with Tim Armstrong. I had no idea he was such an accomplished musician- seemed like a perfectly normal guy, but he has a really impressive musical resume.

This is amazing dude. Thanks so much for taking the time to share all of this. I've been lucky enough to meet all the guys at various points in my life, and each time I was so scared that they would be rude or just annoyed (the whole don't meet your idols thing...), but exactly as you said, they couldn't had been cooler. So easy to talk to and so kind. Such humble men for being one of the biggest rock bands of the last 30 years. 

I couldn't be more jealous that you got to hold Blue, or any guitar/drum stick of theirs, thats absolutely fucking insane. If you ever get a chance to share more pictures I know tons of people here would be stoked. But totally understand wanting to keep them private. Always just great to see behind the curtain of your favorite artists, especially when they turn out to be good dudes.

This is random but do you know Timmy Chunks?

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What kind of stuff did you talk to Eddie about? He always seems so hardcore and intense but I'm sure he's super nice

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22 hours ago, straighttohell said:

This is amazing dude. Thanks so much for taking the time to share all of this. I've been lucky enough to meet all the guys at various points in my life, and each time I was so scared that they would be rude or just annoyed (the whole don't meet your idols thing...), but exactly as you said, they couldn't had been cooler. So easy to talk to and so kind. Such humble men for being one of the biggest rock bands of the last 30 years. 

I couldn't be more jealous that you got to hold Blue, or any guitar/drum stick of theirs, thats absolutely fucking insane. If you ever get a chance to share more pictures I know tons of people here would be stoked. But totally understand wanting to keep them private. Always just great to see behind the curtain of your favorite artists, especially when they turn out to be good dudes.

This is random but do you know Timmy Chunks?

Great point about meeting your idols...I actually mentioned this to one of them (that I was grateful it was going so well since it would have been devastating if it had been a bad experience)and they mentioned that they had the complete opposite experience with one of their idols before (he was a total jerk when they met early on). Years later the tables had turned completely and Green Day was huge at this point and the other guys were well past their prime. And they brought up the old meeting and it turns out the guy had a bad day since he wasn't feeling great or whatever. So this has always stuck with this person and they know that even though it's tough, it's worth trying to recognize that when you meet with a fan it's a lifelong memory for them..so make it count! So even our idols recognize this concept, which is cool.

Yeah, that image of holding Blue is hard to hold back. Like I mentioned I showed it to a couple mods but will keep it private for now (although thinking about it, I'm glad I showed them since otherwise they'd probably kick me off the site for making up stories- seriously, who gets to hold/ play Blue?). I may share a closeup at some point- it's a great high-res shot that shows a lot of detail I've never seen in other Blue photos. I should probably get a closeup of a stick on here as well- it's amazing how much Tre's playing chews them up.

I don't know Timmy, just about him. He was my favorite guitar tech back in the day- great reference on you part. I actually asked about him and they haven't been in touch. They think he's doing well and know where he is and how to get in touch, but don't know what he's up to. Seemed like a genuine answer but I kind of took it as he's doing his own thing and they didn't want to talk about it all that much.

Oh, so many good stories, but one small tidbit- they very much remember Network, etc. and the whole Cigarettes and Valentines thing- no one would give me a straight answer but it seems like there was some overlap there. Not too surprising but cool to hear confirmation. My follow-up (hopefully this happens) will be to see if Roshambo was going to be the lead single if that album ever had come out.

20 hours ago, Justin said:

What kind of stuff did you talk to Eddie about? He always seems so hardcore and intense but I'm sure he's super nice

Super nice. It wasn't much- we were all over the place behind the scenes and we had to be introduced at first. After that we pretty much just made sure if it was ok whenever we went somewhere (certain areas, onstage, etc.) as he was always around. He was great- he looks super intense at shows, but in our situation once he knew we were in the circle of trust he was always like "of course- you don't have to ask me!". I think I was a little intimidated by his demeanor at shows but he put us at ease right away. It was actually great to meet him- he clearly spends 24/7 around Billie and family when on tour, so I suppose it shouldn't be surprising that he's a good person in addition to being excellent at what he does.

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3 hours ago, TimmyChunks said:

Great point about meeting your idols...I actually mentioned this to one of them (that I was grateful it was going so well since it would have been devastating if it had been a bad experience)and they mentioned that they had the complete opposite experience with one of their idols before (he was a total jerk when they met early on). Years later the tables had turned completely and Green Day was huge at this point and the other guys were well past their prime. And they brought up the old meeting and it turns out the guy had a bad day since he wasn't feeling great or whatever. So this has always stuck with this person and they know that even though it's tough, it's worth trying to recognize that when you meet with a fan it's a lifelong memory for them..so make it count! So even our idols recognize this concept, which is cool.

Yeah, that image of holding Blue is hard to hold back. Like I mentioned I showed it to a couple mods but will keep it private for now (although thinking about it, I'm glad I showed them since otherwise they'd probably kick me off the site for making up stories- seriously, who gets to hold/ play Blue?). I may share a closeup at some point- it's a great high-res shot that shows a lot of detail I've never seen in other Blue photos. I should probably get a closeup of a stick on here as well- it's amazing how much Tre's playing chews them up.

I don't know Timmy, just about him. He was my favorite guitar tech back in the day- great reference on you part. I actually asked about him and they haven't been in touch. They think he's doing well and know where he is and how to get in touch, but don't know what he's up to. Seemed like a genuine answer but I kind of took it as he's doing his own thing and they didn't want to talk about it all that much.

Oh, so many good stories, but one small tidbit- they very much remember Network, etc. and the whole Cigarettes and Valentines thing- no one would give me a straight answer but it seems like there was some overlap there. Not too surprising but cool to hear confirmation. My follow-up (hopefully this happens) will be to see if Roshambo was going to be the lead single if that album ever had come out.

Super nice. It wasn't much- we were all over the place behind the scenes and we had to be introduced at first. After that we pretty much just made sure if it was ok whenever we went somewhere (certain areas, onstage, etc.) as he was always around. He was great- he looks super intense at shows, but in our situation once he knew we were in the circle of trust he was always like "of course- you don't have to ask me!". I think I was a little intimidated by his demeanor at shows but he put us at ease right away. It was actually great to meet him- he clearly spends 24/7 around Billie and family when on tour, so I suppose it shouldn't be surprising that he's a good person in addition to being excellent at what he does.

Wow man, thank you again for sharing all of this with us. So hyped for you. I'm stoked that you asked them about Cigarettes and Valentines and The Network, thats fucking amazing, definitely something I'd ask about if I ever had the opportunity, especially C&V. I always suspected that the songs/melodies/ideas on C&V had somehow made their way into other Green Day songs or other Green Day related projects, and that we had probably heard reincarnated versions of them somehow, like in The Network or wherever. Interesting to hear that there might have been some overlap. I absolutely love the whole mystery surrounding Cigarettes and Valentines, I love that they have a "lost album". It's so fucking fun. Like, the mythology of it all. They want to give their audience some drama, and some fun, they tease us with lost albums, and secret side projects, I love it all. They know how to make being in a rock n roll band fun. Also, Roshambo is easily my favorite Network song, so fucking good! Would have been a killer single!

I used to see Timmy Chunks around at shows back in the day, saw him at a bunch of Green Day shows and Bouncing Souls shows in the 90s, and got to talk briefly with him here and there, he was always such an insanely nice dude. One of my friends who used to always see him around also, thinks he saw him in LA recently, didn't get to talk to him though. I'd fucking love to pick that dudes brain for sure. He should write a book honestly. 

@TimmyChunks Oh, also, do you know anything about Billie's black and white american flag junior? Or his blue white and red junior? The blue white and red one looks spray painted... any idea if he did that himself? Also wondering where the black and white american flag one came from... or actually, i'm just curious where all his juniors come from, also the black red and white skull flag one, he's got so many, and i'm never sure if he is repainting old ones, or if he buys new ones and spray paints the shit out of them, or if Hans is painting them, or what... I have no idea, but I fucking love his juniors and basically wanna know everything about them, haha..

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19 hours ago, straighttohell said:

Wow man, thank you again for sharing all of this with us. So hyped for you. I'm stoked that you asked them about Cigarettes and Valentines and The Network, thats fucking amazing, definitely something I'd ask about if I ever had the opportunity, especially C&V. I always suspected that the songs/melodies/ideas on C&V had somehow made their way into other Green Day songs or other Green Day related projects, and that we had probably heard reincarnated versions of them somehow, like in The Network or wherever. Interesting to hear that there might have been some overlap. I absolutely love the whole mystery surrounding Cigarettes and Valentines, I love that they have a "lost album". It's so fucking fun. Like, the mythology of it all. They want to give their audience some drama, and some fun, they tease us with lost albums, and secret side projects, I love it all. They know how to make being in a rock n roll band fun. Also, Roshambo is easily my favorite Network song, so fucking good! Would have been a killer single!

I used to see Timmy Chunks around at shows back in the day, saw him at a bunch of Green Day shows and Bouncing Souls shows in the 90s, and got to talk briefly with him here and there, he was always such an insanely nice dude. One of my friends who used to always see him around also, thinks he saw him in LA recently, didn't get to talk to him though. I'd fucking love to pick that dudes brain for sure. He should write a book honestly. 

@TimmyChunks Oh, also, do you know anything about Billie's black and white american flag junior? Or his blue white and red junior? The blue white and red one looks spray painted... any idea if he did that himself? Also wondering where the black and white american flag one came from... or actually, i'm just curious where all his juniors come from, also the black red and white skull flag one, he's got so many, and i'm never sure if he is repainting old ones, or if he buys new ones and spray paints the shit out of them, or if Hans is painting them, or what... I have no idea, but I fucking love his juniors and basically wanna know everything about them, haha..

I love the post. You know your stuff- I forgot to ask earlier when you mentioned this, but when did you meet them and what were the circumstances? I'd love to hear about it!

The Network/ Cigarettes and Valentines conversation was a "wow" moment. They clearly are aware of the intrigue around all of this but I don't think it comes up all that much- I don't believe many of the fans they meet have the time to bring this up during brief encounters. I didn't prod too much given the overall light tone of our conversations, but they enjoyed being deliberately vague while taking pride in the work. I'm quoting loosely, but when I mentioned I would love to hear Cigarettes and Valentines if it ever existed (and I led the question that way kind of feeling out whether it in fact was a made up story or actually a real demo), I received a response along the lines of "you've heard it, you already told us you love the Network". So, it's just heresy, but it sounded to me like the Network either incorporated a significant portion of the demo, or was some version of it that had been re-done. Or, thirdly, the Netwok material was just very similar. We'll never have great evidence of this though- if the song C&V had been on the album obviously it would confirm this. There are some similarities, but I failed to ask the follow-up question of why then the song C&V was not on the Network album. And so the speculation continues....until next time one of us is able to ask.

Yes- you are dead on about Timmy Chunks being in LA. This was mentioned and I should have included! Again, they seem to be able to get in touch but it doesn't sound like they're currently close. The response was kind of "yeah, good guy, think he's doing well..." no one wanted to expand on it very much. This was one of the moments of the conversation I'd like to have back since I thought they'd be really excited I knew who he was, etc. But the reaction was a bit low-key. Interesting. I didn't push on this one, this was probably the least- well received of any topic I brought up.

Lastly, I love the guitar questions. I don't know any of this from my conversations with Hans or the band but the black and white junior was spray painted on the club tour before Boston (I remember this well because someone- might have been Billie- posted a pic right after they painted it). It did look spray painted in person. I didn't look at the blue white and red one- at that point I was borderline passing out as Hans was handing me Blue. With this stuff though it might be worth messaging Hans- he's on Instagram- I've never messaged him but I started following him after the show and he posts cool stuff about the equipment occasionally.

I'll figure out a way to crop a pic of Blue for you- so hi-res and awesome to look at- and I'll get a pic of one of Tre's used sticks to you too. I also have pics but you may have seen them already- Billie is playing a RevRad generation which had their logo on one side and the album logo on another. I have some and it's taking a lot of discipline to use them!

 

 

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On 2017-04-12 at 11:16 PM, TimmyChunks said:

Great point about meeting your idols...I actually mentioned this to one of them (that I was grateful it was going so well since it would have been devastating if it had been a bad experience)and they mentioned that they had the complete opposite experience with one of their idols before (he was a total jerk when they met early on). Years later the tables had turned completely and Green Day was huge at this point and the other guys were well past their prime. And they brought up the old meeting and it turns out the guy had a bad day since he wasn't feeling great or whatever. So this has always stuck with this person and they know that even though it's tough, it's worth trying to recognize that when you meet with a fan it's a lifelong memory for them..so make it count! So even our idols recognize this concept, which is cool.

Yeah, that image of holding Blue is hard to hold back. Like I mentioned I showed it to a couple mods but will keep it private for now (although thinking about it, I'm glad I showed them since otherwise they'd probably kick me off the site for making up stories- seriously, who gets to hold/ play Blue?). I may share a closeup at some point- it's a great high-res shot that shows a lot of detail I've never seen in other Blue photos. I should probably get a closeup of a stick on here as well- it's amazing how much Tre's playing chews them up.

I don't know Timmy, just about him. He was my favorite guitar tech back in the day- great reference on you part. I actually asked about him and they haven't been in touch. They think he's doing well and know where he is and how to get in touch, but don't know what he's up to. Seemed like a genuine answer but I kind of took it as he's doing his own thing and they didn't want to talk about it all that much.

Oh, so many good stories, but one small tidbit- they very much remember Network, etc. and the whole Cigarettes and Valentines thing- no one would give me a straight answer but it seems like there was some overlap there. Not too surprising but cool to hear confirmation. My follow-up (hopefully this happens) will be to see if Roshambo was going to be the lead single if that album ever had come out.

Super nice. It wasn't much- we were all over the place behind the scenes and we had to be introduced at first. After that we pretty much just made sure if it was ok whenever we went somewhere (certain areas, onstage, etc.) as he was always around. He was great- he looks super intense at shows, but in our situation once he knew we were in the circle of trust he was always like "of course- you don't have to ask me!". I think I was a little intimidated by his demeanor at shows but he put us at ease right away. It was actually great to meet him- he clearly spends 24/7 around Billie and family when on tour, so I suppose it shouldn't be surprising that he's a good person in addition to being excellent at what he does.

That's awesome! I didn't really think he was that much around the scenes post shows but after all he's been his security guard for years now, same as Arturo 

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2 hours ago, TimmyChunks said:

I love the post. You know your stuff- I forgot to ask earlier when you mentioned this, but when did you meet them and what were the circumstances? I'd love to hear about it!

The Network/ Cigarettes and Valentines conversation was a "wow" moment. They clearly are aware of the intrigue around all of this but I don't think it comes up all that much- I don't believe many of the fans they meet have the time to bring this up during brief encounters. I didn't prod too much given the overall light tone of our conversations, but they enjoyed being deliberately vague while taking pride in the work. I'm quoting loosely, but when I mentioned I would love to hear Cigarettes and Valentines if it ever existed (and I led the question that way kind of feeling out whether it in fact was a made up story or actually a real demo), I received a response along the lines of "you've heard it, you already told us you love the Network". So, it's just heresy, but it sounded to me like the Network either incorporated a significant portion of the demo, or was some version of it that had been re-done. Or, thirdly, the Netwok material was just very similar. We'll never have great evidence of this though- if the song C&V had been on the album obviously it would confirm this. There are some similarities, but I failed to ask the follow-up question of why then the song C&V was not on the Network album. And so the speculation continues....until next time one of us is able to ask.

Yes- you are dead on about Timmy Chunks being in LA. This was mentioned and I should have included! Again, they seem to be able to get in touch but it doesn't sound like they're currently close. The response was kind of "yeah, good guy, think he's doing well..." no one wanted to expand on it very much. This was one of the moments of the conversation I'd like to have back since I thought they'd be really excited I knew who he was, etc. But the reaction was a bit low-key. Interesting. I didn't push on this one, this was probably the least- well received of any topic I brought up.

Lastly, I love the guitar questions. I don't know any of this from my conversations with Hans or the band but the black and white junior was spray painted on the club tour before Boston (I remember this well because someone- might have been Billie- posted a pic right after they painted it). It did look spray painted in person. I didn't look at the blue white and red one- at that point I was borderline passing out as Hans was handing me Blue. With this stuff though it might be worth messaging Hans- he's on Instagram- I've never messaged him but I started following him after the show and he posts cool stuff about the equipment occasionally.

I'll figure out a way to crop a pic of Blue for you- so hi-res and awesome to look at- and I'll get a pic of one of Tre's used sticks to you too. I also have pics but you may have seen them already- Billie is playing a RevRad generation which had their logo on one side and the album logo on another. I have some and it's taking a lot of discipline to use them!

 

 

Damn dude, thats nuts about C&V and Money Money 2020. That makes total sense though. Somehow I doubt the original demos for the C&V tracks will ever come out, which is kind of a bummer. I wouldn't care if they were all songs or versions of songs that we had heard in other iterations, I would be hyped to hear literally anything from those sessions. But somehow I have a feeling I shouldn't hold my breath. I remember when Billie was doing those phone message recordings that he would post on their website, must have been around 2001/2002, he did a couple new songs and he did a bunch of Christmas songs, one or two of those new GD demos sounded very Networkesque. Totally like proto-punk kind of dark new waviesh. Years later when they would mention C&V and the lost album they were working on in 02/03, I always thought of those voicemail recordings, and thought that they must have reworked those demos into Money Money 2020, cause the vibe was too similar to ignore. But like you said, we can only speculate. And I'd be lying if I didn't admit that part of me loves the speculation. Part of me kind of prefers not knowing. It's almost more fun...

I met Billie and Tre at an Influents show in Los Angeles around 2002/2003... I was in High School, was already totally obsessed with Green Day, with Lookout Records, with the whole Easy Bay punk scene, and honestly just punk in general, 70s punk, CBGBs/NYC scene, UK punk, 80s hardcore, all of that stuff. Green Day was like my gateway drug into punk, so they always were close to my heart. I found out about The Influents through Jason White of course, through Pinhead Gunpowder and Monusla, and just basically always checking out every Adeline band, I also remember seeing pics of Billie filling in on bass for them once or twice which blew my mind, but aaanyway, my gf at the time and I go to see The Influents play, it was right before their 2nd album came out, Some Of The Young. We're standing there watching the opening band and I see Tre walking around the venue. I work up the nerve to go up to him, basically just say a quick hi, and that I'm a big fan, I play in all these bands due to the fact that I grew up on his music, something to that effect, tried to keep it short and sweet. I never wanted to be one of those clingy annoying fans that just pisses off the person their fanning over. But he was so calm and nice and just shook my hand and said thank you and we chatted for a couple seconds about The Influents. I leave him be, and some time later in the show, my girl and I are standing somewhere else and I see Billie walking around, chatting to people. He was in this area of the venue where you have to be 21 or over to get to, so I couldn't get back there cause I was like 18, it was sort of roped off. But I spotted him, and basically my girl and I were just waiting for him to come out to the all ages area so we could say whats up. Later on in the night I was in the bathroom, washing my hands and talking to this random dude next to me about tattoos, and randomly Billie walks in the bathroom. When he's done peeing he walks up to the sink and semi joins our conversation about tattoos, it was so long ago I can't remember exactly what he said, but of course he was just so nice and normal. We talk about tattoos for a minute, and then I just did the same thing, said something along the lines of 'dude i'm such a big fan, your music means a lot to me, i play in a band and honestly thats kind of due to being inspired by bands like gd and lookout recs, blah blah blah", tried to keep it short, but yeah I basically fanned out on him for a minute, he was super nice, just really thankful and asked about my bands. Chatted for a minute, somehow the conversation went back to tattoos, (if I remember correctly), and then we left. At the end of the show, after The Influents played, I saw him one last time by the stage and we spoke for like a couple seconds. Basically said goodnight. Fuck sorry this was so long, but anyway, yeah, I met Billie in the bathroom of an Influents show, lol. I met Mike at a coffee shop in Costa Mesa. I was at this spot that a friend used to work at and Mike walked in. Talked to him for a minute, same basic thing, 'dude we're big fans, love your stuff blah blah blah'... and of course he was super fucking cool, just like Billie and Tre. My buddy who worked there mentioned that Billie would go in to that coffee shop a lot as well, and that he used to surf at a beach not to far from where the shop was. This must have been 2011/2012? Definitely during the time they were all sort of living in Newport Beach recording/demoing Uno Dos Tre. I have a couple random friends in common with Billie and especially his son Joey, so i'm crossing my fingers that someday the gods decide to shine down on me a situation where I can have a conversation with any of them, even if just for a couple minutes. So many things i'd love to talk to them about. Sorry this was so ridiculously long...

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Firstly...

 

super cool thread!! Really interesting read and congratulations man, really sounds like you deserve to meet and hang out with the guys.

I got a replica blue from BJguitars and I thought that was a special moment... I have no idea how you must've felt holding Blue, but it must've been incredible. Like a whole life of love and passion for a band and you held the thing that encompasses it all; from start to the present day, truly amazing.

Can someone enlighten me on who Eddie is, and how they know so much about him?! I have no real idea who he is and it's making me feel like an idiot reading through this thread now...I've gathered he is the Armstrong family security but how does everyone know so much?

 

Cool thread. 

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11 hours ago, straighttohell said:

Damn dude, thats nuts about C&V and Money Money 2020. That makes total sense though. Somehow I doubt the original demos for the C&V tracks will ever come out, which is kind of a bummer. I wouldn't care if they were all songs or versions of songs that we had heard in other iterations, I would be hyped to hear literally anything from those sessions. But somehow I have a feeling I shouldn't hold my breath. I remember when Billie was doing those phone message recordings that he would post on their website, must have been around 2001/2002, he did a couple new songs and he did a bunch of Christmas songs, one or two of those new GD demos sounded very Networkesque. Totally like proto-punk kind of dark new waviesh. Years later when they would mention C&V and the lost album they were working on in 02/03, I always thought of those voicemail recordings, and thought that they must have reworked those demos into Money Money 2020, cause the vibe was too similar to ignore. But like you said, we can only speculate. And I'd be lying if I didn't admit that part of me loves the speculation. Part of me kind of prefers not knowing. It's almost more fun...

I met Billie and Tre at an Influents show in Los Angeles around 2002/2003... I was in High School, was already totally obsessed with Green Day, with Lookout Records, with the whole Easy Bay punk scene, and honestly just punk in general, 70s punk, CBGBs/NYC scene, UK punk, 80s hardcore, all of that stuff. Green Day was like my gateway drug into punk, so they always were close to my heart. I found out about The Influents through Jason White of course, through Pinhead Gunpowder and Monusla, and just basically always checking out every Adeline band, I also remember seeing pics of Billie filling in on bass for them once or twice which blew my mind, but aaanyway, my gf at the time and I go to see The Influents play, it was right before their 2nd album came out, Some Of The Young. We're standing there watching the opening band and I see Tre walking around the venue. I work up the nerve to go up to him, basically just say a quick hi, and that I'm a big fan, I play in all these bands due to the fact that I grew up on his music, something to that effect, tried to keep it short and sweet. I never wanted to be one of those clingy annoying fans that just pisses off the person their fanning over. But he was so calm and nice and just shook my hand and said thank you and we chatted for a couple seconds about The Influents. I leave him be, and some time later in the show, my girl and I are standing somewhere else and I see Billie walking around, chatting to people. He was in this area of the venue where you have to be 21 or over to get to, so I couldn't get back there cause I was like 18, it was sort of roped off. But I spotted him, and basically my girl and I were just waiting for him to come out to the all ages area so we could say whats up. Later on in the night I was in the bathroom, washing my hands and talking to this random dude next to me about tattoos, and randomly Billie walks in the bathroom. When he's done peeing he walks up to the sink and semi joins our conversation about tattoos, it was so long ago I can't remember exactly what he said, but of course he was just so nice and normal. We talk about tattoos for a minute, and then I just did the same thing, said something along the lines of 'dude i'm such a big fan, your music means a lot to me, i play in a band and honestly thats kind of due to being inspired by bands like gd and lookout recs, blah blah blah", tried to keep it short, but yeah I basically fanned out on him for a minute, he was super nice, just really thankful and asked about my bands. Chatted for a minute, somehow the conversation went back to tattoos, (if I remember correctly), and then we left. At the end of the show, after The Influents played, I saw him one last time by the stage and we spoke for like a couple seconds. Basically said goodnight. Fuck sorry this was so long, but anyway, yeah, I met Billie in the bathroom of an Influents show, lol. I met Mike at a coffee shop in Costa Mesa. I was at this spot that a friend used to work at and Mike walked in. Talked to him for a minute, same basic thing, 'dude we're big fans, love your stuff blah blah blah'... and of course he was super fucking cool, just like Billie and Tre. My buddy who worked there mentioned that Billie would go in to that coffee shop a lot as well, and that he used to surf at a beach not to far from where the shop was. This must have been 2011/2012? Definitely during the time they were all sort of living in Newport Beach recording/demoing Uno Dos Tre. I have a couple random friends in common with Billie and especially his son Joey, so i'm crossing my fingers that someday the gods decide to shine down on me a situation where I can have a conversation with any of them, even if just for a couple minutes. So many things i'd love to talk to them about. Sorry this was so ridiculously long...

This. Is. Awesome!!! Thanks for sharing!

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21 hours ago, straighttohell said:

Damn dude, thats nuts about C&V and Money Money 2020. That makes total sense though. Somehow I doubt the original demos for the C&V tracks will ever come out, which is kind of a bummer. I wouldn't care if they were all songs or versions of songs that we had heard in other iterations, I would be hyped to hear literally anything from those sessions. But somehow I have a feeling I shouldn't hold my breath. I remember when Billie was doing those phone message recordings that he would post on their website, must have been around 2001/2002, he did a couple new songs and he did a bunch of Christmas songs, one or two of those new GD demos sounded very Networkesque. Totally like proto-punk kind of dark new waviesh. Years later when they would mention C&V and the lost album they were working on in 02/03, I always thought of those voicemail recordings, and thought that they must have reworked those demos into Money Money 2020, cause the vibe was too similar to ignore. But like you said, we can only speculate. And I'd be lying if I didn't admit that part of me loves the speculation. Part of me kind of prefers not knowing. It's almost more fun...

I met Billie and Tre at an Influents show in Los Angeles around 2002/2003... I was in High School, was already totally obsessed with Green Day, with Lookout Records, with the whole Easy Bay punk scene, and honestly just punk in general, 70s punk, CBGBs/NYC scene, UK punk, 80s hardcore, all of that stuff. Green Day was like my gateway drug into punk, so they always were close to my heart. I found out about The Influents through Jason White of course, through Pinhead Gunpowder and Monusla, and just basically always checking out every Adeline band, I also remember seeing pics of Billie filling in on bass for them once or twice which blew my mind, but aaanyway, my gf at the time and I go to see The Influents play, it was right before their 2nd album came out, Some Of The Young. We're standing there watching the opening band and I see Tre walking around the venue. I work up the nerve to go up to him, basically just say a quick hi, and that I'm a big fan, I play in all these bands due to the fact that I grew up on his music, something to that effect, tried to keep it short and sweet. I never wanted to be one of those clingy annoying fans that just pisses off the person their fanning over. But he was so calm and nice and just shook my hand and said thank you and we chatted for a couple seconds about The Influents. I leave him be, and some time later in the show, my girl and I are standing somewhere else and I see Billie walking around, chatting to people. He was in this area of the venue where you have to be 21 or over to get to, so I couldn't get back there cause I was like 18, it was sort of roped off. But I spotted him, and basically my girl and I were just waiting for him to come out to the all ages area so we could say whats up. Later on in the night I was in the bathroom, washing my hands and talking to this random dude next to me about tattoos, and randomly Billie walks in the bathroom. When he's done peeing he walks up to the sink and semi joins our conversation about tattoos, it was so long ago I can't remember exactly what he said, but of course he was just so nice and normal. We talk about tattoos for a minute, and then I just did the same thing, said something along the lines of 'dude i'm such a big fan, your music means a lot to me, i play in a band and honestly thats kind of due to being inspired by bands like gd and lookout recs, blah blah blah", tried to keep it short, but yeah I basically fanned out on him for a minute, he was super nice, just really thankful and asked about my bands. Chatted for a minute, somehow the conversation went back to tattoos, (if I remember correctly), and then we left. At the end of the show, after The Influents played, I saw him one last time by the stage and we spoke for like a couple seconds. Basically said goodnight. Fuck sorry this was so long, but anyway, yeah, I met Billie in the bathroom of an Influents show, lol. I met Mike at a coffee shop in Costa Mesa. I was at this spot that a friend used to work at and Mike walked in. Talked to him for a minute, same basic thing, 'dude we're big fans, love your stuff blah blah blah'... and of course he was super fucking cool, just like Billie and Tre. My buddy who worked there mentioned that Billie would go in to that coffee shop a lot as well, and that he used to surf at a beach not to far from where the shop was. This must have been 2011/2012? Definitely during the time they were all sort of living in Newport Beach recording/demoing Uno Dos Tre. I have a couple random friends in common with Billie and especially his son Joey, so i'm crossing my fingers that someday the gods decide to shine down on me a situation where I can have a conversation with any of them, even if just for a couple minutes. So many things i'd love to talk to them about. Sorry this was so ridiculously long...

What an awesome post, thanks for sharing, seriously. It was a pleasure to read! I really hope you do have that follow-up conversation (I know you will!) and I am sure they would be so happy to make that connection again and hear again how much of a musical/ life influence they've had. When we got together I thanked Billie for a previous meeting and the profound meaning it had for me personally, and I could tell it meant a lot to him on a personal level. What a story- that's awesome.

By the way, your ridiculously cool story motivated me to post a bit of Blue- here is the cropped version. Hopefully it comes out ok. The original I have is a super hi-def pic and shows a ton of interesting detail- it's just a ridiculously cool guitar in so many ways:

cniGjfM.jpg

18 hours ago, Invention Convention said:

Firstly...

 

super cool thread!! Really interesting read and congratulations man, really sounds like you deserve to meet and hang out with the guys.

I got a replica blue from BJguitars and I thought that was a special moment... I have no idea how you must've felt holding Blue, but it must've been incredible. Like a whole life of love and passion for a band and you held the thing that encompasses it all; from start to the present day, truly amazing.

Can someone enlighten me on who Eddie is, and how they know so much about him?! I have no real idea who he is and it's making me feel like an idiot reading through this thread now...I've gathered he is the Armstrong family security but how does everyone know so much?

 

Cool thread. 

Great question. Eddie is their tour security (BJA/ Mike/ Tre and their families each have a traveling security guard dedicated to themselves when on tour). Big guy, usually stands in front of Billie on stage, has really short hair on the sides/ longer on top and usually a goatee of some sort. He's been with them since 21CB and maybe longer (Billie used to have a Samoan security guard back in the Nimrod/ Insomniac/ Dookie days and I'm not sure when the transition took place). Basically, when they're on tour, Eddie is there- from the bus to the hotel to the venue. And he'd the right guy for the job, believe me. Great guy and also never lets Billie leave his sight. If I ever needed personal security he would definitely be the guy!

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12 hours ago, TimmyChunks said:

What an awesome post, thanks for sharing, seriously. It was a pleasure to read! I really hope you do have that follow-up conversation (I know you will!) and I am sure they would be so happy to make that connection again and hear again how much of a musical/ life influence they've had. When we got together I thanked Billie for a previous meeting and the profound meaning it had for me personally, and I could tell it meant a lot to him on a personal level. What a story- that's awesome.

By the way, your ridiculously cool story motivated me to post a bit of Blue- here is the cropped version. Hopefully it comes out ok. The original I have is a super hi-def pic and shows a ton of interesting detail- it's just a ridiculously cool guitar in so many ways:

cniGjfM.jpg

Great question. Eddie is their tour security (BJA/ Mike/ Tre and their families each have a traveling security guard dedicated to themselves when on tour). Big guy, usually stands in front of Billie on stage, has really short hair on the sides/ longer on top and usually a goatee of some sort. He's been with them since 21CB and maybe longer (Billie used to have a Samoan security guard back in the Nimrod/ Insomniac/ Dookie days and I'm not sure when the transition took place). Basically, when they're on tour, Eddie is there- from the bus to the hotel to the venue. And he'd the right guy for the job, believe me. Great guy and also never lets Billie leave his sight. If I ever needed personal security he would definitely be the guy!

Thanks for posting the picture! AMAZING!!!

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On 13/04/2017 at 7:49 AM, straighttohell said:

Wow man, thank you again for sharing all of this with us. So hyped for you. I'm stoked that you asked them about Cigarettes and Valentines and The Network, thats fucking amazing, definitely something I'd ask about if I ever had the opportunity, especially C&V. I always suspected that the songs/melodies/ideas on C&V had somehow made their way into other Green Day songs or other Green Day related projects, and that we had probably heard reincarnated versions of them somehow, like in The Network or wherever. Interesting to hear that there might have been some overlap. I absolutely love the whole mystery surrounding Cigarettes and Valentines, I love that they have a "lost album". It's so fucking fun. Like, the mythology of it all. They want to give their audience some drama, and some fun, they tease us with lost albums, and secret side projects, I love it all. They know how to make being in a rock n roll band fun. Also, Roshambo is easily my favorite Network song, so fucking good! Would have been a killer single!

I used to see Timmy Chunks around at shows back in the day, saw him at a bunch of Green Day shows and Bouncing Souls shows in the 90s, and got to talk briefly with him here and there, he was always such an insanely nice dude. One of my friends who used to always see him around also, thinks he saw him in LA recently, didn't get to talk to him though. I'd fucking love to pick that dudes brain for sure. He should write a book honestly. 

@TimmyChunks Oh, also, do you know anything about Billie's black and white american flag junior? Or his blue white and red junior? The blue white and red one looks spray painted... any idea if he did that himself? Also wondering where the black and white american flag one came from... or actually, i'm just curious where all his juniors come from, also the black red and white skull flag one, he's got so many, and i'm never sure if he is repainting old ones, or if he buys new ones and spray paints the shit out of them, or if Hans is painting them, or what... I have no idea, but I fucking love his juniors and basically wanna know everything about them, haha..

 

His black and white flag guitar = Rock N Roll relics made it

 

http://equipboard.com/pros/billie-joe-armstrong/rock-n-roll-relics-thunders-model

 

http://www.rocknrollrelics.net/

 

 

 

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20 hours ago, TimmyChunks said:

What an awesome post, thanks for sharing, seriously. It was a pleasure to read! I really hope you do have that follow-up conversation (I know you will!) and I am sure they would be so happy to make that connection again and hear again how much of a musical/ life influence they've had. When we got together I thanked Billie for a previous meeting and the profound meaning it had for me personally, and I could tell it meant a lot to him on a personal level. What a story- that's awesome.

By the way, your ridiculously cool story motivated me to post a bit of Blue- here is the cropped version. Hopefully it comes out ok. The original I have is a super hi-def pic and shows a ton of interesting detail- it's just a ridiculously cool guitar in so many ways:

cniGjfM.jpg

Great question. Eddie is their tour security (BJA/ Mike/ Tre and their families each have a traveling security guard dedicated to themselves when on tour). Big guy, usually stands in front of Billie on stage, has really short hair on the sides/ longer on top and usually a goatee of some sort. He's been with them since 21CB and maybe longer (Billie used to have a Samoan security guard back in the Nimrod/ Insomniac/ Dookie days and I'm not sure when the transition took place). Basically, when they're on tour, Eddie is there- from the bus to the hotel to the venue. And he'd the right guy for the job, believe me. Great guy and also never lets Billie leave his sight. If I ever needed personal security he would definitely be the guy!

Whoa hell yeah, thats insane, such a sick guitar. its so fucking ugly i love it. just so beat to shit, absolutely couldn't be any sicker. you get to play on any of their other stuff?

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3 hours ago, straighttohell said:

Whoa hell yeah, thats insane, such a sick guitar. its so fucking ugly i love it. just so beat to shit, absolutely couldn't be any sicker. you get to play on any of their other stuff?

I didn't play their equipment per se- and you'll probably appreciate this- I didn't truly "play" Blue (I was basically like, this is a religious artifact and I am not worthy at all). The immediate thing I had to do was play a G given the historical significance  (I like to think he wrote WICA on this guitar for example). Believe me, I would have loved to have started playing Westbound Sign or something, but really, it wouldn't have been right. It's his guitar, I was just lucky to hold it and mime some chords. This guitar is legitimately a part of rock history- BJA probably wrote 1039/ Kerplunk/ Dookie with this. I was just amazed to be trusted enough to hold it. I just tried to treat it with the respect it deserved. It was like sitting in front of Beethoven's piano- just crazy stuff.

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On 4/15/2017 at 7:37 PM, TimmyChunks said:

I didn't play their equipment per se- and you'll probably appreciate this- I didn't truly "play" Blue (I was basically like, this is a religious artifact and I am not worthy at all). The immediate thing I had to do was play a G given the historical significance  (I like to think he wrote WICA on this guitar for example). Believe me, I would have loved to have started playing Westbound Sign or something, but really, it wouldn't have been right. It's his guitar, I was just lucky to hold it and mime some chords. This guitar is legitimately a part of rock history- BJA probably wrote 1039/ Kerplunk/ Dookie with this. I was just amazed to be trusted enough to hold it. I just tried to treat it with the respect it deserved. It was like sitting in front of Beethoven's piano- just crazy stuff.

Haha I get you dude. Thanks for sharing!

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On 4/15/2017 at 10:37 PM, TimmyChunks said:

I didn't play their equipment per se- and you'll probably appreciate this- I didn't truly "play" Blue (I was basically like, this is a religious artifact and I am not worthy at all). The immediate thing I had to do was play a G given the historical significance  (I like to think he wrote WICA on this guitar for example). Believe me, I would have loved to have started playing Westbound Sign or something, but really, it wouldn't have been right. It's his guitar, I was just lucky to hold it and mime some chords. This guitar is legitimately a part of rock history- BJA probably wrote 1039/ Kerplunk/ Dookie with this. I was just amazed to be trusted enough to hold it. I just tried to treat it with the respect it deserved. It was like sitting in front of Beethoven's piano- just crazy stuff.

your story is so awesome, I'm glad you got to hold it! It kinda looks like the bridge saddles have been replaced but it's hard to tell from the pic, can you confirm this? they look newer than the rest of the bridge

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13 hours ago, Kyle Serlington said:

your story is so awesome, I'm glad you got to hold it! It kinda looks like the bridge saddles have been replaced but it's hard to tell from the pic, can you confirm this? they look newer than the rest of the bridge

I like you profile pic- is that yours? Clearly it's a relative of Blue...

I agree- they look new(er). I didn't speak with anyone about them but by memory and the picture of course they do seem to have been replaced. I can't say for sure though- perhaps they were removed and refurbished. Good question.

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9 hours ago, TimmyChunks said:

I like you profile pic- is that yours? Clearly it's a relative of Blue...

I agree- they look new(er). I didn't speak with anyone about them but by memory and the picture of course they do seem to have been replaced. I can't say for sure though- perhaps they were removed and refurbished. Good question.

yup, the guitar is mine :) the body's a warmoth and the neck is mighty might. It's got an Invader pickup, but I also have a squier strat with an angled JB haha

if I was in your shoes there's so many questions I would have asked them haha, I probably would have held back a little though cuz I wouldn't wanna annoy them. I really wanna know what the last recording billie used blue on was. he said in some recent interviews that it's been a long time since he recorded with it, but he didn't say which album. I'm guessing he used it on insomniac, I'm not clear about nimrod though. I think most of my questions would center around the recording of nimrod haha

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