Veterans of Green Day

[Nimrod99]

That's awesome Starbug. Meeting bands/band members is defintely something you don't forget. Then when you see what they have signed, it reminds you all over again of the experience you had. The most famous people that I've met were Tom and Mark from Blink 182 back around the Dude Ranch days... girls were going nuts, so I got their autographs for my friend who got beat up in a Semisonic mosh pit earlier (funny, I know). I've met some more bands not as famous but recognizable like Harvey Danger (who were such awesome guys and were having fun with my shirt that is strictly for band signatures), Jimmie's Chicken Shack (another awesome experience), Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and Gravity Kills. You just don't forget stuff like that.

[Starbug]

That's awesome Starbug. Meeting bands/band members is defintely something you don't forget. Then when you see what they have signed, it reminds you all over again of the experience you had. The most famous people that I've met were Tom and Mark from Blink 182 back around the Dude Ranch days... girls were going nuts, so I got their autographs for my friend who got beat up in a Semisonic mosh pit earlier (funny, I know). I've met some more bands not as famous but recognizable like Harvey Danger (who were such awesome guys and were having fun with my shirt that is strictly for band signatures), Jimmie's Chicken Shack (another awesome experience), Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and Gravity Kills. You just don't forget stuff like that.

No, you don't forget stuff like that. I know I won't. And I pray I get the opportunity to meet them all I will. Positive thinking That's pretty cool, getting to meet all those bands. I know who all of them are, except Gravity Kills, and even that sounds familiar.... But your friend got beat up in a Semisonic mosh pit? HARDCORE! lol

I have my record and ticket stub framed. Haha, I framed it in leopard print, similar to what Tre was wearing. Not quite the same pattern, but close VERY proud of that record, especially since it's a FHT record, that makes it even more rare and special. I get excited just reliving it. I relive it a lot, I relive the whole night. Memories are the shit.

[Nimrod99]

No, you don't forget stuff like that. I know I won't. And I pray I get the opportunity to meet them all I will. Positive thinking That's pretty cool, getting to meet all those bands. I know who all of them are, except Gravity Kills, and even that sounds familiar.... But your friend got beat up in a Semisonic mosh pit? HARDCORE! lol

I have my record and ticket stub framed. Haha, I framed it in leopard print, similar to what Tre was wearing. Not quite the same pattern, but close VERY proud of that record, especially since it's a FHT record, that makes it even more rare and special. I get excited just reliving it. I relive it a lot, I relive the whole night. Memories are the shit.

Yeah, I hope I get the opportunity to meet them as well. Yeah, radio festivals are good for that (at least the one radio station up here was because they had a signing booth where a lot of bands would go after they performed). Gravity Kills did a song called "Guilty" (you could youtube it and you'd probably know it). Yeah I know, even my friend was like "wtf? How did they manage to mosh to fuckin' Semisonic?" that's cool that you framed it... I would have too , and it's something to be very proud of. Oh, and watching that old tape now that has the shoe thing, the naked stage diving, and the naked in new york show on it (it's got a total of 4 different shows on that one tape).

[Starbug]

Yeah, I hope I get the opportunity to meet them as well. Yeah, radio festivals are good for that (at least the one radio station up here was because they had a signing booth where a lot of bands would go after they performed). Gravity Kills did a song called "Guilty" (you could youtube it and you'd probably know it). Yeah I know, even my friend was like "wtf? How did they manage to mosh to fuckin' Semisonic?" that's cool that you framed it... I would have too , and it's something to be very proud of. Oh, and watching that old tape now that has the shoe thing, the naked stage diving, and the naked in new york show on it (it's got a total of 4 different shows on that one tape).

I still find that impressive that you have all of those on tape I'd love to see it. You need to arrange for that party :wink: lol

[Nimrod99]

I still find that impressive that you have all of those on tape I'd love to see it. You need to arrange for that party :wink: lol

lol, anytime is good with me. I'll let you in on a little secret... I bought it off of ebay like 6 years ago. lol

[Starbug]

lol, anytime is good with me. I'll let you in on a little secret... I bought it off of ebay like 6 years ago. lol

Was it outrageously priced, if I may ask? lol

[Nimrod99]

Was it outrageously priced, if I may ask? lol

No, It was like $8 or something like that. Other than that and maybe one or two other things I have, I've taped the rest myself. lol.

[Starbug]

Welp I'm outta here. I have taken my night night pill lol

I'm about to PM you nimrod... and Lia, I know she was in here a minute ago lol

[Naked and Famous]

and Lia, I know she was in here a minute ago lol

Just lurking cuz I'm fried tired lol

~ Wonderful story, btw!!!

I'll have a lot of catching up to do tomorrow (I'll share my meeting experiences too hehe),

after BOP hunting lol ~

G'nite folks!! <3

[Starbug]

Just lurking cuz I'm fried tired lol

~ Wonderful story, btw!!!

I'll have a lot of catching up to do tomorrow (I'll share my meeting experiences too hehe),

after BOP hunting lol ~

G'nite folks!! <3

I look forward to it. Night! :bored:

[B-CIDE]

I want me one of those singles boxes!! - And awesome sig by the way B-CIDE, love it.

P.S Sig updated! Thank you, Starbug

It was crazy when I bought it, I was prob like 17 droppin like $100 on 7 CD SINGLES!!!! Fuckin crazy right? Considering how much more money was worth back then, lol.

Glad you like the sig, I worked on it for a bit one night.

[SynthwaveTrooper]

Greendaytone I am glad you love the thread man. It had to be done. Well I been gone a few days so I have some reading to do

[B-CIDE]

Greendaytone I am glad you love the thread man. It had to be done. Well I been gone a few days so I have some reading to do

Mornin Vets!!!!

How the fuck is everyone doin this mornin?

[sarita]

OKAY

Now.

Here's my Tre story.

It's long, because I ramble.

Very cool story Starbug!

This is my Mike story. Definitely not as cool as yours because I didn't get to talk to him, but still... pretty cool I think...

At the Phoenix show, I kind of hung around after the show at the merchandise table pretending I wanted to buy something (when I already had a t-shirt in my hand, lol) Security kept telling the few of us that stayed to leave, but I didn't listen. After a while, Mike came out and was very nice, talking to a group of people (I think it was mainly other GDCers in that group, but I didn't meet them..)He answered a couple of questions (someone asked him the significance of the anchors...I'm sure this is in other great recaps I've read on here) and accepted to sign a few autographs, including my Foxboro CD!! So many thanks to whoever handed him that Sharpie...

[Welshy]

OKAY

Now.

Here's my Tre story.

It's long, because I ramble.

thats awesome! i hope i get to meet them like that one day

[Countrygirl]

OKAY

Now.

Here's my Tre story.

It's long, because I ramble.

I first saw him out on the street, while we were in line. I caught sight of a flash of yellow, and I'm pretty sure I was actually the first one on the street to see him. Because I slapped Amanda and then pointed. Then the screams started just a couple of seconds later lol And I was suddenly a mentally challenged 14 year old, and I screamed right along w/ them. He was so close to me, I could smell his cologne, and let me tell you, he smelled wonderful lol He was w/ a bodyguard, and he had a shit eating grin on his face. He was wearing sunglasses, and I'm telling you, he just reeked rock star, ya know? Shoulders slung back, grinning, sunglasses, dressed in shorts and a short sleeved loud jacket, and red converse sneakers lol He stood out like a sore thumb, I don't think he was interested in blending in... And I'm glad. So I stood there and shook for a couple of minutes after he passed, and once the initial excitement of "OHMYGODIT'STRETRETRE" died down, I was suddenly filled to the brim w/ shame. There I was, 28 years old, screaming like a fangirl, totally immobilized. Amanda was able to snap a picture w/ her phone as he passed, but me? I couldn't move. I just let out a little scream, that's all I could do. I promised myself right then and there if I got another opportunity, I would NOT react that way.

So jump to hours later, we're finally in the venue, and I turn around, and there he is again, standing at the bar. I get the 45's we bought from Amanda, and muster up the courage and go over there. There are a few young girls standing around him, but he's talking to this woman at the bar who just got Billie Joe's autograph tattooed on her forearm, like juuust had it done. It was still covered in saran wrap. He's saying, "Wow, that's intense. That's devotion!" and then he turns to me, I was looking at the woman's arm, I didn't expect him to talk to me w/ all these people around, and he points at me and says, "She's a better fan than you are!" And I found my tongue! I shook my finger at him, and said, 'No no, look,"and pointed down at my kerplunk daisy on my ankle. He bent down and looked at it (I'm glad it was fairly dark in there, or else he would've seen it was more like a Kerplunk cactus, because it was new and I still hadn't run a razor over it ) "Niiiiice, wow, that's awesome,"sez he. I said, "Thanks, me and my best friend have matching ones," and he said, "Wow, very cool,"and then he turns back to the bar. I'm still standing there, along w/ a few other girls who look like deer caught in headlights. I look at them, and none of them appeared to have the ability to move, so I said to myself, "Self, GO!" so I did. I went up to him, but he was talking to the bartender. So I patiently stood there until he was done, then I put my hand on his shoulder (I am so shy, I still can't believe I did all this, even now lol) and he turned around. I can still see that in my head, him turning around and looking at me over his shoulder, and how close I was, and how unbelievable he smelled. I was really close to him, and I said, "I came all the way from Alabama to see you guys, would you sign these for me and my friend?" He turned around, stood up, and just took the pen from one of the girls who had just been standing there the whole time, and said, smiling, "I came all the way from California! I win!" I said, "Isn't that closer?" He was signing them, and he chuckled, "Did you have geography in school?" "Dude, it's been a whiiiile,"he nodded, and handed me back my records. I patted him on the shoulder again and said, 'Thank you so much,' he nodded, sat back down, and we were done. At least, for a little while lol

So then the show starts, and fun fun fun. I end up having a great view of Mike, but I rarely glimpse Tre. But then they move around, and he's STARING at me. I wasn't sure if he was staring at me, through me, his eyes were 'caught' (ya know, he was zoned out) or if he was thinking, "That's the retard from Alabama who doesn't know geography," or what, but I refused to look away. I just kept staring him down. I swear, this went on for a good 20 seconds, it felt like an eternity. Finally my face turned so red that I had no choice but to smile really big at him. And he smiled back It was like one corner of his mouth came up in a smile, and he looked away. So basically, I stared Tre Cool down, and I'm quite proud of that lol

So that's my Tre story. Kinda lengthy, but very, very, very special to me. The 2nd best night of my life. That whole night was surreal, I got to stand in the bathroom right by the bar and hear them warm up, hear Billie talk to the band. It was beautiful. That, hearing them warm up, made me cry. Beautiful night, such a unique opportunity, and I'm so thankful to be able to tell you guys about it

That made my day!

[SynthwaveTrooper]

Hey everyone, it's great to see evryone sharing memories! Love this thread.

Did anyone else watch the movie 'angus' cause green day was on the sound track?

[greendaytone]

AWESOME! I figured you were one of them. I must tell you, you guys were one of my absolute favorite parts of BIAB. That's awesome, and you have been immortalized, forever, in BIAB... wow...

Thanks, it seems to have entertained most people. I'm proud to be on there and that whole day/weekend at MK was incredible. We actually sang the whole of American Idiot (the song, not the album!) twice for the film crew. We did it the first time, and then they actually got Sam Bayer to come over and check it out, so we did it again! He actually filmed us the second time. He said something like 'thats rad' and we got to shake his hand as well. I didn't sing too early both times, but i think they put that one in for comedy value. I was so embarrassed when i saw it in the theatre.

I actually have a pretty good story about seeing BIAB in the theatre with Green Day at the London premiere. Perhaps i'll put that on a seperate post.

Its good to have somewhere to share these experiences!

It was crazy when I bought it, I was prob like 17 droppin like $100 on 7 CD SINGLES!!!! Fuckin crazy right? Considering how much more money was worth back then, lol.

Glad you like the sig, I worked on it for a bit one night.

Crazy, but brilliant dude. I'm sure you see it as totally worth it now! Its a lot of money, but that is pretty rare i should think.

Good work on that sig, its quality

Hey everyone, it's great to see evryone sharing memories! Love this thread.

Did anyone else watch the movie 'angus' cause green day was on the sound track?

Is that the film with 'Scumbag' on it?

Oh and Starbug, and enjoyed reading your Tre story, great memories. Thats what its like for me with the Long Beach show, everything about that day was just perfect. Tre was hanging out at the bar too that night, handing out free drinks!

I heard about the girl who got Billie's autograph tattooed, didn't she post on this forum? My bro wanted to do that too if he got to meet him.

[Starbug]

That made my day!

I'm glad. It made my life lol

Hey everyone, it's great to see evryone sharing memories! Love this thread.

Did anyone else watch the movie 'angus' cause green day was on the sound track?

Yeah, I bought the soundtrack I remember buying the Godzilla soundtrack thinking, 'Oh, a Godzilla remix of Brain Stew sounds AWESOME!' and then I got it home and, other than a little added orchestrations, the only new thing was a cheesy Godzilla roar added in between verses I was pissed! I sold that cd at a yardsale, and got a hold of the mp3 a few years later. The soundtrack sucked lol

Thanks, it seems to have entertained most people. I'm proud to be on there and that whole day/weekend at MK was incredible. We actually sang the whole of American Idiot (the song, not the album!) twice for the film crew. We did it the first time, and then they actually got Sam Bayer to come over and check it out, so we did it again! He actually filmed us the second time. He said something like 'thats rad' and we got to shake his hand as well. I didn't sing too early both times, but i think they put that one in for comedy value. I was so embarrassed when i saw it in the theatre.

I actually have a pretty good story about seeing BIAB in the theatre with Green Day at the London premiere. Perhaps i'll put that on a seperate post.

Its good to have somewhere to share these experiences!

Is that the film with 'Scumbag' on it?

Oh and Starbug, and enjoyed reading your Tre story, great memories. Thats what its like for me with the Long Beach show, everything about that day was just perfect. Tre was hanging out at the bar too that night, handing out free drinks!

I heard about the girl who got Billie's autograph tattooed, didn't she post on this forum? My bro wanted to do that too if he got to meet him.

Aww, don't be embarrassed. It was classic. I was talking to my best friend on the phone the other night, and was telling her, "One of those dudes that sang American Idiot, when one of them came on too early? He's on the forum!" You're a bit of a celebrity haha You guys were so enthusiastic and happy, and yeah it was funny, but it was also just simply nice to see

And thanks, yeah, she posted in the Austin Foxboro thread. And she didn't get it on her forearm, she got it on her upper arm, my bad lol I noticed I put 'forearm' and that's not right lol I've tried to write her, but I don't think she's active on here at all anymore...Yeah, you should write about your Long Beach experience, that'd be sweet

Oh, and no, it didn't have 'Scumbag' in it, at least not on the soundtrack. It had 'J.A.R.'

[Letterbomber]

I would've loved to have heard them, too. But I live in Bum Fucked Alabama, and didn't even know such music existed. I only knew Blitzkrieg Bop because of National Lampoon's Vacation Green Day opened all those punk doors for me, doors to ALL KINDS of music. They have been a big, influential part of my life and memories. That's why I love them so much, and a lot of people can't understand that.

Hence why I spend so much time here lol

Green Day's pretty much a gateway drug to awesome music

I just barely make the age requirement for this thread,

but I remember in about '96/97 when Nimrod came out and I heard

'Good Riddance' almost every day.

I have 3 older brothers and father who are all really into music.

During that time my oldest brother was into punk (he's converted to rap now )

and we listened to Dookie on all of our family outings

When I saw ads on MTV for AI, I went online to preview the album and fell in love.

Then I did my homework on the band and totally spazzed when I found out

that they were the guys who made up the majority of my music experience as a toddler

[The Disappearing Boy]

ive been a fan for 3 and a bit years.

can i be a vet pwetty pwease?

[greendaytone]

ive been a fan for 3 and a bit years.

can i be a vet pwetty pwease?

I think anyone's welcome to post here, and you speak sense too, so more than welcome. To me, anyway!

[The Disappearing Boy]

I think anyone's welcome to post here, and you speak sense too, so more than welcome. To me, anyway!

wooo acceptance.

road to acceptance.

i shall now listen to this song.

[Starbug]

Yeah, we're not an 'elitist shitheap' as someone called us lol I don't have a problem w/ anyone posting here. but it's nice for people who are older and have memories from WAY back then to have a place to come and have a geek out

[greendaytone]

Ok, so my Foxboro Hot Tubs Long Beach experience:

I'd been to the Roxy show in Hollywood the night before, and that was great, but i was pretty jetlagged having flown from London the day before that, and queuing from 8am to see them come on stage till 11 didn't help either!

I had a pretty good lie in at my hotel on the day of the Long Beach gig, having decided i'd take the chance of getting to the venue a little later that day. I had breakfast and then got some directions from the front desk of how to get to Long Beach on the public transport (i was staying in Carson). I negotiated my way to Long Beach on bus and train in about an hour or so. It was a slightly unnerving journey as there were some pretty dodgy looking places characters along the way.

When i got to Long Beach, i walked to find Alex's Bar, which turned out to be a pretty uninspiring looking concreter building. I couldn't quite believe Foxboro Hot Tubs (Green Day) would be playing here. I couldn't see any fans around at this time (it was about 3 O'clock) so i still wasn't sure i was at the right place. I walked round to the back of the bar, to find some security there who told me that people weren't allowed to start queuing at the venue until 6pm. So i had a few hours to kill. I waited around the venue for a few mins, and then a massive tour bus turned up. I thought it was them! Turned out it was actually the crew. I spoke to the merchandise guy, Mike, i'd met at The Roxy and he said he didn't know where Green Day were.

So anyway, i went and got some lunch at this place next door, and the England vs USA Soccer match was actually live on the TV, so i kind of felt at home! After that i came out and met this Mother and daughter who were there for the show. I hung out with them until it was time to get in line.

To the show (this is copied from my thread on the whole experience)...

When I got in, I walked around the venue a bit. I was just happy to have got in. The bar looked much better on the inside and had a real rock ‘n’ roll feel to it. There was a pretty long bar running up the side and a tiny looking stage in the far corner, much smaller than the Roxy.

This is where the night really started to take off for me.

First, I saw a familiar Green Day face walking through (their tour manager possibly) so I tapped him on the arm and said hello as he walked by. Then, I saw Jason Freese (pianist) walking through! I spoke to him briefly and told him that I’d come from London for the show. He was really nice, and said thanks. I then worked out that they were coming in and out of a room through a door next to the bar. I went over and hung out there for a while – I guess you could say stalker mode was now on!

I think Tre Cool came out first and stood by the bar watching the support band that was on. He looked pretty drunk to me. I tried to talk to him but he didn’t really want to know and pointed to the stage as if to watch the band. It was funny at one point though, when he walked behind the bar and quickly served someone a drink!

Shortly after, Adrienne Armstrong came out and grabbed someone she know to take them in ‘backstage’. I quickly said hello and asked if there was any chance I could come in for 1 minute. She said she was just taking a friend in and would come back and get me. I hoped she would, but within seconds Billie Joe opened the door! He said hello to someone and gave them a hug. I managed to get his attention and signalled for ‘1 minute’ of his time. He gave me the nod and I stepped over to speak to him. This was unbelievable, but it was just happening! I told him that I’d come from London for the shows and said hi from my brother who really wanted to be there, but couldn’t because of work. I can’t remember too well what he said, I was talking at him most of the time. I asked him if he’d seen the fans section of Bullet in a Bible and that I was the guy who sang ‘American Idiot’ too early and that the other guy was my brother, Carl. He was like “yeah, that was you?” He shook my hand a couple of times and was like “come here” and gave me a hug! Awesome. I also told him that I had no idea how I was getting home after the show and he asked me where I was staying. I told him Carson and he was like “its ok, we’ll sort you out.” Oh my God! I was pretty much just offered a ride home by Billie Joe! I said bye, shook his hand again and said I would maybe see him after the show and down the front in a minute. I was totally stoked now and couldn’t wait for the show to start, so I could go mad!

So, to the show. Again, the band took to the stage at about 11pm. All the members apart from Reverend Strychnine twitch came on via the door next to the stage, or, the stage door, if you will! There was no sign of the Reverend. Then the crowd started turning round. So I turned, and there he was, surfing through the crowd to the stage, literally. He was on a surf board! How cool? He stayed on most of the way, having to duck under the ceiling just above him. He eventually lost balance and fell off, the crowd carrying him the last couple of meters to the stage. I’d seen Green Day live 10 times before this and the Foxboro Hot Tubs once, but this was about to become the best show of my life so far…. Probably ever.

Again, I got pretty near the front of the stage as Reverend Strychnine did his introductions saying ‘Oh My God!’ a number of times. They launched into “Stop, Drop and Roll” and I along with the rest of the place, went wild. I was much more energised than the previous night at The Roxy and was able to really go for it.

It just got better and better.

Before long, I was pretty much right at the front and I thought the Reverend pointed at me when he saw me (maybe it was someone else, it wouldn’t matter). I’m not sure how all 6 of the band fit on the tiny stage, but it worked well and like last night, much of the crowd would follow. I resisted the temptation to jump on for much of the show to keep my place, as they ripped through the album tracks and covers once again.

Just about everything that could’ve happened for me, did. I’d brought a pair of sun glasses with me as I knew Reverend Strychnine like to grab and wear the crowds glasses and hats during the show. I handed my pair to him towards the end of ‘Highway 1’ and he put them on for a minute before handing them straight back to me! Even writing this I still can’t believe all this happened. It was funny at one point, when a girl next to me grabbed my attention and then proceeded to pull a hair out of her mouth and showed it to me. She said “that’s Billie Joe’s hair” and then tucked it straight back in the side of her mouth!! What can you say?!

There was as much energy as the previous night and plenty more beer was guzzled, at one pointed some poured in my mouth by the Reverend himself! There was more crowd surfing by the band and more everything. Strychnine teased the guitarist a little, introducing him as ‘Chinatown.’ He introduced Mike Dirnt as “Miguel Dirntez” which I thought was funny.

They continued to bang out the tunes, including my (current) favourite, ‘The Pedestrian.’ The security guys at the front were having a hard time controlling the crowd and keeping people back from the stage. I was struggling with many others to prevent myself getting crushed!

I can’t remember exactly when, but I got a tap on the shoulder and it was Kylie and she was in! It didn’t matter how… I gave her a big hug and like I said, it just kept getting better and better! We got on with rocking out the rest of the show.

For ‘Dark Side of Night’, Reverend Strychnine asked for the bar to turn out the lights and I realised I was standing right at the front at the very centre of the stage, with only the 1 foot stage in front of me. I was quite simply standing in the best spot in the whole world right then and it was worth every penny I spent and every mile I’d travelled to get there.

I almost forgot to mention that the Reverend brought down the Microphone to me at one point to sing along. I didn’t know all the words to the song yet, so I was just singing along randomly to the tune. I got up to the stage at one point and then managed to get back to my place at the front.

It was during the encore and their final song, The Who’s ‘A Quick One While He’s Away’ that the night was topped off for me – Reverend Strychnine Twitch invited the crowd on to the stage and put his hand out and pulled me up and embraced me for what felt like a long time, at least 10 or 20 seconds. He was hugging me as much as I was hugging him. Incredible! The rest of the crowd were getting on there and everyone was dancing around. It was just unbelievable. I hugged my Mike Dirnt while he played out the last few chords. Then the crowd picked Reverend Strychnine up and held him aloft in celebration, just like the previous night at The Roxy. I then got pulled off stage by security just before the end and saw the band depart the stage for the last leg of their “World Tour.”