"How Green Day stole my key" - anecdote in German magazine "Spiegel"

[Thatsername]

I found an article on the German magazine "Spiegel" with a really funny anecdote of a reporter who went to a GD show in 1994 and was thrown out of the venue. I translated it for you (sorry for mistakes), I hope you enjoy it

http://www.spiegel.de/einestages/punk-konzert-1994-der-tag-als-green-day-meinen-haustuerschluessel-klaute-a-1129635.html

"The day that Green Day stole my key"

Green Day just started their European tour. What can make punk rockers so angry that they even interrupt their own show? Stefan Moutty did it - with an interjection. And that's how it happened.

"Dookie" was the name of the album that made Green Day superstars. It was published in 1994 and sold 20 million copies, a big deal. Their current Europe tour with their newest record "Revolution Radio" takes the band from California to Mannheim on January 18th, then to Berlin and Cologne. Those are big venues - interjections from the crowd hardly get to them. When Green Day still played smaller clubs back then, the audience had other opportunities. It could even happen that an interjection interrupts the whole concert.

On May 19th 1994 Green Day came to Dortmund: The Freizeitzentrum West was laid out for 300 fans and was full, but not sold out on that evening. The impact of "Dookie" unfolded slowly, hits like "basket case" or "When I come Around" weren't on the charts and played in discos and everywhere yet, that happened later in the fall. Because of that fact, Green Day was dead for me. What the mass loves (or just knows) was for me, a snooty fanzine-maker, a no-go. An exclusive taste in music was the only way to distinguish myself as a young person.

Yes, I was a backstage-thief

Music meant: Punkrock - but not any punkrock. Just a few bands deserved the grade "cool", also pop-punk bands like the Queers or the Groovie Ghoulies. But not Green Day, no way.

It was more out of boredom that I took the chance to go to Dortmund. Concerts were my favourite hobby as a franzine-publisher. "Bloody Brain Explosion" - about 30 copied pages in DIN-A5-size that came out on an irregular basis - didn't serve as a serious journalistic approach, but more as a way to strenghten the ego of its publisher. And, last but not least: As a reason for a spot on the guestlist.

That worked out surprisingly often, also on that Thursday 23 years ago. I was officially accredited as a reporter, the "Bloody Brain Explosion" opened the doors to the sanctuary of every venue: the backstage-area. "Can we do an interview with you" were the golden words to get in. A dialogue with the musicians wasn't the main reason, it was much more about the access to the fridge with the beer in the backstage-area. Back then, the main goal was the hunt for the beer of the bands, it even became a kind of sports - a "gentleman"-crime with no victims. But Tré Cool seemed to know my plans instinctively and sent me to the door very harshly. Maybe he was just in a bad mood; I interpreted it as rockstar-arrogance.

Sellout-accusations make the musicians very angry

Back then, it was a big topic in the music industry that Green Day had just changed their record label - from the Lookout! Records to the major label Warner. Their home club "924 Gilman Street" in Berkeley even forbid them to play there. The accusation: The musicians had sold themselves out - a "sellout" of their punkrock-ideals. How much they cared about that, could be seen later that evening. I personally didn't care about punk-ideals. But that Green Day had printed a refusal to major-labels on one of their Lookout!-records and finally followed Warners call, was just embarrassing in my eyes.

Pure mischief and hurt backstage-arrogance made me choose a term that was very explosive. My short comment on May 19th 1994 had a very big effect: "SELLOUT", I screamed in the direction of the stage. Musicians are sensitive when it comes to the core of their self-concept. That could already be seen at the most famous interjection in the history of concerts ("Judas" against Bob Dylan). The sellout-accusation must have hit a weak point of Green Day. Suddenly I had all of their attention. The band stopped in the middle of a song, just for me.

But a humorous answer wasn't a thing for the singer. Billie Joe Armstrong used his privileged position on the microphone for toxic insults in my direction. I forgot what they were about exactly, but they weren't nice. My defense wasn't heard because I had no acoustic backing. The sympathies of the crowd were spread asymmetrically: Clearly, they were all Green Day-fans. Ehm, violence is no solution....

The band kept on playing, but Green Days anger wasn't gone although they had won the battle of words. But the hurt punks didn't want to dirty their hands themselves. They sent - typical rockstar! - a roadie. So I was faced with an aggressive crew-member after the show. Violence is not an option.... I thought that de-escalation was appropriate. But the roadie didn't attack me with his fists. He chose a different, very unconventional method to become violent. He grabbed into my pocket, took my key out of it and threw it far over the street into a garden on the other side. I fixed my eyes on the key, followed it and finally reached the point where it had landed and picked it out of a flower bed.

In my memory, the roadie got angry like "Rumpelstilzchen" and went away wrathfully. But maybe I was wrong. There were no more aggressions.

I've never seen Green Day live since then, and I hardly remember the music of that evening 23 years ago. What a pity: I've always liked "Basket Case" and I still turn the volume up when the song is on the radio. Sometimes I even catch myself grabbing into my pocket to hold my key tight.

 

[Shahd]

Interesting article! Smart guy using the keys to throw the person out

Thanks for translating.

[unextraordinarygirl]

Interesting. The guy sounds like a real asshat though. 

[Dakke]

Ah, the good old contentious Dookie days when they were called sellouts for signing to Reprise/Warner. I'm personally surprised Billie didn't call that person up on stage to teach him a lesson.

[BilIie Joe Armstrong]

Good ol' salty Billie. 

Poor guy. 

[Todd]

"But that Green Day had printed a refusal to major-labels on one of their Lookout!-records and finally followed Warners call, was just embarrassing in my eyes"

What most people don't know is that John faked those refusal letters and stuck them into the 39/Smooth insert last-minute without Billie or Mike knowing. Billie and Mike were pissed when they found out. They were never strictly against joining a major label, they thought it was best to keep all options open. But John really set them up for trouble by sticking those in. After the record had already been pressed, there was nothing they could do about it. So even though it appears that Green Day were hypocrites, that wasn't truly the case. It was just John's humor about the controversy of major-labels continuously coming back to cause problems for Billie, Mike and Tre. 

[BilIie Joe Armstrong]

8 minutes ago, Todd said:

"But that Green Day had printed a refusal to major-labels on one of their Lookout!-records and finally followed Warners call, was just embarrassing in my eyes"

What most people don't know is that John faked those refusal letters and stuck them into the 39/Smooth insert last-minute without Billie or Mike knowing. Billie and Mike were pissed when they found out. They were never strictly against joining a major label, they thought it was best to keep all options open. But John really set them up for trouble by sticking those in. After the record had already been pressed, there was nothing they could do about it. So even though it appears that Green Day were hypocrites, that wasn't truly the case. It was just John's humor about the controversy of major-labels continuously coming back to cause problems for Billie, Mike and Tre. 

That makes the whole sellout drama even funnier 

[DeJennsitized]

So this guy tries to steal from the dressing room, yells out to the band in a deliberate attempt to be provocative, and is surprised when Green Day (and the roadie) serve his shit back to him? Pure gold  

[BilIie Joe Armstrong]

8 minutes ago, Jenn. said:

So this guy tries to steal from the dressing room, yells out to the band in a deliberate attempt to be provocative, and is surprised when Green Day (and the roadie) serve his shit back to him? Pure gold  

Yeah, I'd be hostile to anyone trying to steal my beer

[Hero_Of_The_Hour]

That was excellent  I've now learned the ultimate revenge /attack strategy on someone - throw their key really far away and fuck them over completely. Bonus points if you get both house and car keys combined 

[Billie Hoe]

Geez what a dick  I mean it was a fun anecdote for us to learn about but this guy probably tried to suck his own while writing this article, that's how he comes across.  But that was an awesome and unexpected revenge act they pulled. I wonder if Billie, Mike and/or Tré told the roadie to do it or if he thought of it himself.

5 hours ago, Todd said:

"But that Green Day had printed a refusal to major-labels on one of their Lookout!-records and finally followed Warners call, was just embarrassing in my eyes"

What most people don't know is that John faked those refusal letters and stuck them into the 39/Smooth insert last-minute without Billie or Mike knowing. Billie and Mike were pissed when they found out. They were never strictly against joining a major label, they thought it was best to keep all options open. But John really set them up for trouble by sticking those in. After the record had already been pressed, there was nothing they could do about it. So even though it appears that Green Day were hypocrites, that wasn't truly the case. It was just John's humor about the controversy of major-labels continuously coming back to cause problems for Billie, Mike and Tre. 

That's extremely interesting, thanks for sharing  how do you know this?

[Todd]

9 minutes ago, Billie Hoe said:

 

That's extremely interesting, thanks for sharing  how do you know this?

Oh jeez, I don't know where I heard it  Maybe in Larry's most recent book, or Billie said it somewhere. I don't remember

[Hero_Of_The_Hour]

4 minutes ago, Todd said:

Oh jeez, I don't know where I heard it  Maybe in Larry's most recent book, or Billie said it somewhere. I don't remember

I know I heard Larry say that when I saw him giving a reading of his latest book and answering our questions. I'm fairly positive it's also in the book. 

[Dakke]

Also, stealing someone's beer is a no-no. I would have stripped him naked on stage if he'd have tried to fuck me over that way.

[BilIie Joe Armstrong]

1 hour ago, Dakke said:

Also, stealing someone's beer is a no-no. I would have stripped him naked on stage if he'd have tried to fuck me over that way.

This. You can't really be nice to someone stealing your beer.