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How did you get into Green Day?


pouty bitch

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So I've made a few posts here on GDC today that made me think about times when I was just starting to get into GD, and it's got me feeling kinda nostalgic about when I was just starting to discover them. I thought it'd be nice to have a thread where people could tell their story of how they became a fan, talk about how the band first caught their attention, did you become a fan practically overnight or did it take a while, any particular memories from your early days as a fan, or any other stuff like that. I'll go first:

It actually took me a few years to get into GD. I first heard American Idiot (and saw the music video) about 4 years ago, and that was the first GD song I heard. I decided that I liked the song (and I also decided that the frontman was very very attractive, but that's for a different thread:lol::wub:), but I didn't really look into GD any further because I just presumed they'd be one of those bands where I'd only like a song or two (I also assumed that the guys themselves were assholes, so if I'd actually done my research instead of being a stupid kid, I probably would've become a fan much quicker:D). About a year or two after I first heard AI, I heard Minority for the first time, and I absolutely fell in love with it.:wub: This was when I really started being kinda interested in GD, although I still didn't really make much effort to listen to more of their songs or find out more about the band. Around the same time I heard Minority, I also heard Good Riddance for the first time. I didn't love it as much as Minority, but I still really did like it at the time. A couple of months later, in July 2016, was when GD became really significant in my life. My school forced me to do a week of work experience at one of the most boring workplaces ever, and the first day was, at the time, the worst day of my life. I was dreading the second day so much, until Good Riddance came on the car radio on the way to the workplace and I suddenly felt like the day was gonna be okay - and it was. I also spent my entire lunch break listening to GR on repeat.:lol: I spent the next month listening to some of GD's singles, reading a few interviews online, and watching videos about them on Youtube (so more than a casual fan at that point, but not quite the superfan I am now:D). Until Bang Bang came out (my favourite song ever, alongside Stop Drop & Roll), and I went from googling them every few days, to googling them every few hours, following them all on social media, and trying to find out everything I could about them. And now, over a year later, I'm visiting an online GD forum every day and sharing my love for GD with some wonderful people who I wouldn't have known existed if I hadn't become a GD fan.:wub: And the rest is history.

But there's still one 'Green Day first' that I haven't experienced yet - my first GD show.:cry: I couldn't make it to any of the RevRad shows and I regret that so much. I should've just dropped everything and gone anyway. But at least I have something to look forward to.:happy:

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I 1st heard GD during the AI era. I think the 1st song I heard was AI. I then casually listened to the likes of AI, Basketcase, Minority, BOBD, etc on the radio for a number of years without digging deeper. 

Then around late 2015/early 2016 I finally made the plunge and delved deeper into GDs discography by buying GDs music, with my 1st GD album being AI. Around the same time, it became clear that GD were recording album number #12 with Billies selfie from the recording studio. Therefore, it was a balancing act of listening to GDs discography while keeping up with GDs progress in the studio. 

Then came the Bang Bang announcement. I remember rushing into my room after getting home from work and finding that song on Spotify as quick as my hands could possibly search for it. I then listened to it on repeat for a number of weeks. Then came the annoucement of UK shows... I was at work when the tickets went on sale and I literally sat at work for hours waiting for my break time so that I could check my phone. I ran up the stairs to check my phone and a message came through from Dad to say that the gig had sold out and he'd been unable to get any tickets. I was heartbroken and ready to cry. Then nanoseconds after I text him back to thank him for his efforts, a second message belatedly came through telling me he'd got me a ticket for Leeds! I literally had two mini-heart attacks in 30 seconds when I saw his two messages! 

I was on holiday when Rev Rad was released and I had to wait until I was home to buy the album, but I loved the EMA performance, the mini shows that GD did, and the Facebook lives. 

At the start of last year I could hardly look at GDs pictures/videos from the European shows without getting overexcited for my 1st gig- but it was worth it as GD were the best concert I've ever seen. Since seeing GD I've become a bigger fan than what I was before the gig. I've purchased more of their albums (mainly the older stuff) and I've watched a load of videos. 

 

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I saw the AI music video one day after school, and I used to get the old Top Of The Pops magazines (British kids should remember those times - so shit but the posters were worth it) and Green Day were featured a lot in them. I think I got AI before we went on holiday in 2004/5? and spent the whole time listening to it, I was sat in a caravan and I just remember hearing ‘there’s nothing wrong with me this is how I’m supposed to be’ and that was that. Half my life being a fan now :happy:

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I’ve never been to a show either! But, I have known them my whole childhood... Dad got me into them, and I can’t thank him enough. AI was my childhood, and taught me a lot. 

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The first Green Day song I heard was Holiday, and it was on this kid’s pregame playlist in the hockey locker room when I was 9 or 10 years old. There was just something different about that song, maybe the sound of the guitars or Billie Joe’s snarl, that I hadn’t heard before. I became enough of a fan that I bought 21CB when it came out; I remember having my Mom drive me to Target the day it was released so I could get the CD. My dad took me to see them live on that tour (my first concert ever) and after that I dove deeper into their discography, gradually collecting all of their records over the years. By the time I was 14 or 15 years old I would say I was a massive fan, and I was supposed to see them on the 99 revolutions tour (in the same city where I now study) but the show was unfortunately one of the cancelled dates. When RevRad finally rolled around I had reached the weird superfan level and had the pleasure to join the band on stage in Chicago after 7 years without seeing them live - what an unbelievable memory. I’ve met some amazing people from all across the US and the world because of this band and I hope to meet some of you in the future!

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I became a fan in 1995.  I used to listen to classic rock in grade school, and switched over to alternative in high school.  I still clearly remember thinking, "okay, that's Billy Joel, and that's Billie Joe".  In my high school, the biggest bands were Nirvana (although Kurt had already died), the Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day, and the Offspring.  I do remember in the late 90s a lot of people preferred the Offspring to GD because the Offspring were faster/harder (too bad we didn't look deeper on Nimrod for Take Back and Platypus), but still liked GD's "older" stuff.  I remember being one of the first classes to use Good Riddance as a graduation song.  And of course blasting Basketcase as loud as it would go.

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I became a fan around 2007 when me, my cousin and her cousin went through our Emo phase and liking Green Day was just in at the time. We also used to sing BOBD and WMUWSE in our music class in school and some fuck who's a drug dealer now brought the American Idiot CD with him to school and ya i guess that's where it started.

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I heard "Good Riddance (Time of your Life)" while my mom drove me to school.  When my parents would get those music catalogs in the mail they would let me pick out a few things, so I ordered Nimrod.  I will never forget listening to it on my small blue boombox and being blown away by the rest of the album.  I had never heard anything like it before and I knew then and there that I had found my favorite type of music, whatever it was called.  

Nimrod instantly had me hooked.  When Warning came out, all doubts were gone.  This was the band. 

Both my parents like Nimrod as well, and were only mildly concerned about the strong language.  haha! 

Then they started released all kinds of stuff.  Warning in 2000,  Super Hits in 2001 and Shenanigans in 2002.  After four fantastic releases I knew I had to have more Green Day.  So I went backward, getting Dookie and Insomniac, and eventually 1039 and Kerplunk. 

And then the talks about Album 7 began.  The buildup was insane.  Both my parents and I were enthralled with their performances of Holiday on various live platforms.  I believe that song and American Idiot were bouncing around well before the album dropped and WOW.  It seemed like the entire world fell in love with both of those tracks.  Green Day had never sounded so good.  

My hands were shaking as I went to best buy to buy that record.  I sat in their parking lot waiting for them to open.  It was intense.  I remember hating Jesus of Suburbia on first listen.  It sounded too reverby or something but after a few listens I realized it was in fact, one of the best things the band had ever done.  

My super-fandom started during that time.  I read books about them, I bought every Green Day related thing I could find.  It may have been earlier, but if anyone else was in my #1 spot at this time, Green Day knocked them out.  Everclear and Barenaked Ladies had been battling for that spot for some time, but it's almost laughable now.  They are still good bands but both took a nosedive in quality of output in mid- career. 

I've been a super-fan ever since, still gobbling up every song and buying a copy of every album that comes out.  Every related band, every side project, every remix.  

I've got spread sheets about Green Day.   I've got power points.   I've got all kinds of theories and concept album descriptions.  I've got a few drafts of American Idiot stories I tried to write. 

I've recorded myself and others reading all the lyrics to American Idiot.  

I talk to my dad about them every time I see him, even though he's not THAT into them.   

My first AND second wife were both sort of concerned about how much I am into them.  

What else......

Oh.  My cousin wanted to play "Good Riddance" at my moms grave after she died.  I'm not sure if he ever found it or not, but that was a nice idea.  

Beyond that, it's just been a total obsession for me, and I love it.   I joined GDA during the 21st Century Breakdown era because HOLY CRAP that was an exciting time.  While 21st Century Breakdown isn't one of my top three Green Day records, it was one of the most exciting times for me as a fan.   

I hope one day I can feel the way I did going to buy American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown. 

Breakdown was a little different than Idiot.  I jumped on itunes the second it hit midnight and downloaded a copy, and then when I got off work I ran straight to the record store.  

I loved the Trilogy.  I loved Rev Rad, but in today's modern age, albums kind of get marginilized because we hear the songs before hand.   Next time around I may try to avoid it but I don't know if I'm that strong.   

so I don't think I'll ever have that feeling again....it's kind of a big deal and maybe I will be able to fight my demons and only hear the lead single next time around?   Maybe Green Day will see my struggles and drop a surprise album on us!!!!   It can be done if they do it right.   

Drop a single out of nowhere.   No explanation, no hint as to what it is from.  Heck, don't even clarify if it's Green Day or The Longshot or something else.  Just send it to radio stations or whatever.   

Then.....a month later........BOOM.   ALBUM THIRTEEN.

 

 

    

 

Man, it's been a wild ride.  

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I remember coming home from School when I was younger and seeing the Video for Redundant quite a bit on MTV. The song didn't really do anything for me if i'm being honest but I really liked the Music Video. Then when they released Warning I was hooked by Minority and Waiting. I bought the album and loved it, still do, its my favourite Green Day album but that could just be because it was my first. I must listen to it again soon, its been a while.

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I jumped on the bandwagon with the millions of others who bought Dookie - I thought I was so alternate:P

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I was born when Green Day were about to finish Dookie sessions, recordings, mixings etc...
During late 90s I recorded my first vocal stuff on old musicassettes.
In 2002 I saw Avril Lavigne on TV singing ''Complicated'' and music became a thing, to me.
In 2004, Green Day's ''Boulevard of Broken Dreams'' beat Avril's ''Nobody's Home'' in every chart and I was sad.
In 2004, days after, I've heard and seen ''Basket Case'', then ''Welcome to Paradise'' off their MTV 120 Minutes performance.
Then everything changed. And point 1 made sense, 'cause Dookie was my 1st Green Day record, and the record wich really got me into music, for real, not only for the love (still intact) for a canadian girl singing about ''Sk8er Boi''.

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My brother listened to some Green Day. That's how I was introduced to them. That was probably around mid to late 00's. I wasn't really into music at all. Especially rock music. I pretty much knew nothing about rock. I remember the first songs from GD I listened to were most of the American Idiot songs. Then I just found more songs randomly on YouTube, most of them were from AI and 21CB.

When I finally decided to listen to their entire discography (only a few years ago, probably around 2013), I first listened to the rest of the songs on American Idiot and 21CB that I hadn't heard before, then I believe the next albums I listened to were Dookie and the trilogy, then Warning, Nimrod and Insomniac and finally Kerplunk and 1,039. And they were the first band whose discography I listened to in its entirety.

Green Day is the band I can thank for introducing me to the genre of rock and pop-punk. There's a lot of other bands in these genres that I've discovered and love and if it wasn't for GD, there's a good chance I never would've got into other rock bands.

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56 minutes ago, disappearingfs said:

I was born when Green Day were about to finish Dookie sessions, recordings, mixings etc...
During late 90s I recorded my first vocal stuff on old musicassettes.
In 2002 I saw Avril Lavigne on TV singing ''Complicated'' and music became a thing, to me.
In 2004, Green Day's ''Boulevard of Broken Dreams'' beat Avril's ''Nobody's Home'' in every chart and I was sad.
In 2004, days after, I've heard and seen ''Basket Case'', then ''Welcome to Paradise'' off their MTV 120 Minutes performance.
Then everything changed. And point 1 made sense, 'cause Dookie was my 1st Green Day record, and the record wich really got me into music, for real, not only for the love (still intact) for a canadian girl singing about ''Sk8er Boi''.

I remember watching Avril's covers of Basket Case and American Idiot on YouTube so I looked them up and that's how I got into them :ga:

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17 minutes ago, duckez said:

I remember watching Avril's covers of Basket Case and American Idiot on YouTube so I looked them up and that's how I got into them :ga:

I think she is releasing a new album:ermm:

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1 hour ago, duckez said:

I remember watching Avril's covers of Basket Case and American Idiot on YouTube so I looked them up and that's how I got into them :ga:

Oh s**t, I remember her Buffalo concert in 2003, it was replay over and over on my TV and she sung ''Basket Case'' that night too so... God, after 15 years I realized that the 1st time I've heard that song... was from Avril, awwwwww, haha!

1 hour ago, SHART said:

I think she is releasing a new album:ermm:

We all think. She thinks it too. But still doesn't release it, Lol

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I was 9 going on 10. I heard Boulevard of broken dreams on the bus to school. It was the very first song I really identified with. I remember seeing them on the rolling stone and was like those are the guys that sing that song, their weird but I like it! I was a misfit, did not have many friends I was diagnosed with aspergers syndrome, a mild form of autism at 12. I had difficulty expressing what i liked especially intense things like this so I suppressed it and was a secret fan, I also developed a big crush on Billie cause how could I not ! I watched interviews of them and would laugh so hard.  when i was 14 i told my mom and  i got the American Idiot album and 21st century breakdown. Then I got bullet In a bible, practically had an affair with that movie. I love that movie. I have kept up with them irregularly over the years. I would get into other stuff but always  go back to them. If I could only live with one album it would be American Idiot.  no other artist or album has ever affected me the way they have:)

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I got into Green Day in a very Weird way. When I was in 4th grade I got a Weird Al tape and there was a song called "Alternative Polka", where he would combine a ton of modern rock songs into a polka song. One of the songs he included was Basket Case, and I liked it, so then when I saw my friend  show up to school with a Dookie tape I asked if I could borrow it and I've been a fan ever since. this was 22 years ago lol

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38 minutes ago, Maddie86 said:

I got into Green Day in a very Weird way. When I was in 4th grade I got a Weird Al tape and there was a song called "Alternative Polka", where he would combine a ton of modern rock songs into a polka song. One of the songs he included was Basket Case, and I liked it, so then when I saw my friend  show up to school with a Dookie tape I asked if I could borrow it and I've been a fan ever since. this was 22 years ago lol

:wub:

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I have the clearest memory of driving into town in 1995, running late to the hairdressers when Basket Case came on the radio, and I nearly drove off the road.  I was brought up in a very musical house (sadly I have no talent) with an elder brother who loved prog rock so I had always heard all sorts and had been a little bit of a punk fan first time around (Sham 69, Buzzcocks, Elvis Costello etc) but I was really not into anything in the early to mid 90s, partly I thought most of the music was just dull but we had just bought our first house, had a young son, job etc etc so little spare time, cash or energy and no internet.  Anyway, point is I liked them from then on but just in a casual way until AI when I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw them, ears were less surprised, I always knew they were brilliant 😂.  That’s when I really got the Billie Joe fangirl thing, though I love them all.  The superfan thing started when I first saw them live in October 2009, I knew their reputation but I couldn’t  believe how awesome they were live.  I have seen loads of bands over the years including some of the biggies, e.g Bowie, Genesis etc  but that was it, no looking back for me, totally hooked.  One day I will relate the whole nightmare of getting tickets for that show but it’s a long and painful story, and still it was worth it. I was a lurker here for years, reading all the posts etc but it took me a long time to get involved but I think it was all the excitement before the trilogy that got me involved.  It’s been a great ride so far and I look forward to more.

 

I see it was 2013 before I actually joined, must have been relief maybe at BJ recovering, don’t remember now.  

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I was 12. On my school's playing fields in June 2012, playing football (soccer ;)) with some friends and one of them had an old shitty Blackberry and was playing 'Holiday'. I couldn't hear it clearly as I can remember him running around all over the place but from what I did hear it really excited me. It was early in the morning, before lessons had even started, and I asked him what it was and who it was by. He obviously told me, and I can remember keeping a mental note of it all day, and reminding myself constantly. 

When I got home, I went straight on the family computer to listen to the song again - it as good as I remembered? Yes it was. And I remember vividly that summer, quickly becoming hooked. Very quick. From Holiday I found BOBD and 21 Guns and loved those too, and I vividly remember becoming obsessed with the Awesome as Fuck version of these songs, as the quality of the band live blew me away. It was something I had never really seen before, or at least nothing that truly grabbed me. 

I was obsessed with the band, and I can vividly remember just listening to these songs over and over, and really falling in love with it. I think after those I saw the AAF version of Burnout and can remember thinking that when Billie Joe said "ladies and gentlemen, Tre Cool!" before the drum solo he said "stay cool!", and thinking for some reason it was the coolest thing ever. 

I guess it was serendipity because about a month later I remember watching the same AAF live videos and seeing a Green Day song that was uploaded...today? 

I had no idea the band were releasing new music, but I remember getting hooked on Oh Love, too, which is when my love for the band really started. From there I became truly obsessed and was locked in with all social media, waiting patiently for the release of Uno. 

This is why I have such a soft spot for the trilogy! Uno was the first album I experienced. From the first single, to Kill the DJ, to pre-orders and getting so excited for the release day. I remember becoming a member of Idiot Club (nation, now) when it was just some shitty html site so should the band announce any shows in the UK - I could get the perks of being a member. And then they announced the Emirates Stadium show. I had just come out of hospital with 5 stitches in the back of my head (loooong story involving sailing boats) I think a few days before the record came out and so was having a lot of downtime with Uno, at home off school. And my mum bought me 2 tickets to the Emirates stadium show. 

I can remember her saying to me "if you go off them, just tell me, and we can sell the tickets, it's no big deal." - I was the king of 5 minute obsessions as a kid. and I said "I don't think I will, but if I do, it'll still be a good experience". 

Fuck no. I did not go off them. 

Sorry for the long post - this is just crazy to me. All these things changed my life forever. 

I could cry!! :'( 

 

(did anyone read this?)

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I'm a fan thanks to 21 Guns or Know Your Enemy around late 2009 I also fell in love with Holiday, I only knew few singles so I downloaded entire discography.

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I got into Green Day in the early 2000s when I started to discover rock/punk music, but I was a very casual listener back then. I didn't really notice when AI came out first because I wasn't following them closely. A friend (who wasn't even into rock music at all) bought the CD and told me: "You gotta listen to this." She had just gotten her driver's license and a very old, foul-smelling car, and we used to just drive around for hours. So we got in her car, she put AI in the CD player and we listened to it for hours. I swear I was someone new when I got out of that car.

AI aroused something inside of me that kind of had always been there, but it was the spark that finally lit the fire. That same year I joined a left political party and started to get involved in politics. GD was so popular in my final school years, it felt like they were the face of a movement of my whole generation. I knew that I would love them forever.

When I listen to AI today and close my eyes, I can see us sitting in that foul-smelling car again; two young teenagers ready to change the world with a future wide open in front of them. It gives me a feeling of rebellion and freedom no other album ever does, that's why I'm pretty sure no other record will ever mean as much to me as AI.

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I got into them pretty late - around American Idiot. Though I remember seeing an ad for ISH when I was young and thinking "those guys look weird." My best friend at the time loved Green Day and I wasn't into them yet. I was just starting to get into rock music and he was like, "listen to some Green Day songs with me!" And he played me stuff from AI. I was pretty hooked. A year later I bought a copy of their album from Circuit City XD and fell in love. I couldn't stop listening to the album and suddenly I had posters of Billie Joe on my wall from Tiger Beat replacing the ones of Nsync and Otown I used to have up.

Shortly after, I went backward in their catalog. I remember picking up both Dookie and ISH from Walmart (if you can believe that) and I was hooked again! Dookie became my favorite album and it inspired me to pick up a guitar and start playing (something I don't do anymore sadly - stupid adulting). It wasn't long til me and my friend were blasting Kerplunk, Nimrod, etc.

I remember when I finally made the connection that "Good Riddance" a song I heard before I got into them (thanks Seinfeld) was Green Day. My mind was blown! How could the guys who did "Longview" make something like that? And since I'm one who's never liked labels, the fact that they had all these different sides to them that wasn't standard "punk rock" really appealed to me. 

It wasn't until 2013 when I saw them live though. Before then I had no money to pay for tickets, but I was able to grab tickets for the 99 Revolutions tour. I still have the paper advert for it! Years later I'm still a massive fan. I have so many good memories with Green Day and they're still one of my all time favorites.

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I first heard green day right when AI came out. I was 9 at the time and it was when i was just starting to look for music on my own to see what i liked as opposed to just listening to stuff my brother and parents wanted me to listen to. Two of my friends had listened to them already for a couple years and showed me a few songs from AI and i was instantly interested. I would go onto windows media player(before youtube was a thing) and watch the music videos for american idiot and BOBD. My 9 year old self had no idea what all the lyrics meant, but i thought they were catchy and fun to sing along to. Also, tres drumming in the AI music video was half the reason i started playing drums about 9 years ago.

I ended up going with my parents to a cd store in the mall and buying american idiot which ended up being my first album purchase ever. Very soon after that id get move along by all american rejects and how to save a life by the fray(both great albums i highly recommend). 

I started listening to several songs off of american idiot on my cd player in my bedroom everyday after school while reading the lyricbook and as the weeks would go by id listen to more and more songs till i was almost running through the whole album everyday. I loved american idiot for about two years but then didnt really listen to green day again after i started listening to linkin park right when their minutes to midnight album came out. But then i tried downloading in the end by linkin park off itunes and i was told green day also had a song off dookie called in the end. I looked at dookie on itunes and listened to when i come around and basket case and said holy fuck i forgot how great this band was.

Shortly after that in 7th grade i started getting more of their albums till i had every one and while i dont listen to them all day everyday like i did 10 years ago, theyll always be my(and god's) favorite band.

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Im half asleep as i write this so if it makes 0 sense i apologize :P

 

So i was a terrible student in school, somewhat due to personal life issues and somewhat due to being a lazy fuck :P So in senor year i was told that i couldnt possibly graduate this year. So being a...wanna say 17(?) year old, i gave up and decided to lay with my head down in every class, so i decided i might as well get into music more. Before then i barely listened to any music ever unless i was forced to like if it was in  a movie/game/etc. So i tried to branch out from the two bands i DID listen to, Creature Feature and Voltaire. Im not sure that made me decide on Green Day first, but i did. Im kind of a stickler for doing stuff in order in the "correct way" and stuff so i started with 1039 and moved my way forwards. I connected to a lot of songs on 1039 and Kerplunk mostly, and from then on i realized that so far they're the ONLY band where i literally at least somewhat like every song they ever did (Except Last Ride In :P). I connect with a lot of their music so much because a lot of the stuff i've been through I got through by listening to their stuff. They'll always be my favorite band. Funny thing is, i remember being told to skip warning and go from Nimrod to AI, so i did since so many people i knew said skip warning because its the worst thing ever, and now its one of my favorites xP

 

Finding GDA is short.  Where i live is kind of a "99% rap music and pop music" kinda place where a lot of people i met are in the "Rock music is just screaming about murder and death and its cruel" and shit like that, so i think i just googled Green Day Forum or something and found it.

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