Press Release: December tour canceled; Jan & Feb dates postponed

[tvrman]

Yellow is impossible to read on the light skin.

Changed to red.

[Heather.]

I very much doubt new shows will be confirmed until Billie is a lot nearer to being fit to do a full blown tour. that`s why the full european tour hasn`t been announced yet! and those shows have been booked for a while from the impression I had!

I wonder if they were holding out on announcing the European tour before he started rehab, if they had a sense it might be coming...

Anyway, spring sounds really nice, but I don't want to get too optimistic. I hope Billie's working super hard on himself, for his own good and ours

[gmcloughlin]

I can't say I'm surprised that the tour has been postponed, all of this was never gonna resolve itself overnight. Honest to God, I never saw all of this stuff with Billie coming. Then again I don't watch vids from every show. I was at the Shepherd's Bush show and ya, I think Billie came out with a beer in his hand, but I didn't take any notice of it or read into it. I was so upset when I heard about his situation. All I want is for him to get better for himself and his family. Then the tour can go ahead, but not as a priority. I'll wait as long as it takes for that to happen.

Look on the bright side, now when the tour officially begins we'll have 3 albums worth of new material to sing along to

[Heather.]

I don't have the time or energy for that many shows anymore. More power to ya.

Either does Billie apparently. Jk. I am still curious what a sober Billie Joe show is gonna be like.

It's not a new thing. Billie even talked about his drinking from like 4:57-650 in this recent interview. He refers to a period where he didn't drink, presumably on their last European tour. Then later on he talks about "it depends if I'm drinking or I'm not drinking... you choose your battles."

http://ondemandpopout.musicradio.com/station/59/audio/205313

My point is it's not like Billie's been buzzed at every show. He's perfectly capable.

[Annie, get your gun]

This news makes me extremely sad I can't even imagine how Billie, Mike and Tré feel right now... I hope Billie Joe gets well soon; he's surrounded by so many people who loves him, so that will make it easier ♥ Can't wait too see them appear everywhere again, with beautiful smiles on their faces.

[InvaderPhantom]

So, I was reading an old Rolling Stones article from 1995 and found this:

ARMSTRONG: I think I have a bit of an alcohol problem right now. I drink every day, and I use it as a crutch to relax me. I'm not abusive, I just think I drink a little too much sometimes. The main thing of choice for us – well, Tré really likes pot – but the main thing of choice was speed. People think that we're this big pot-smoking band even though we sound like an amphetamine band, but I dabbled a lot in speed for a long time. That was the drug of choice on the scene I came from.

Man, when I read this it really sent shivers down my spine. This is really sad... I'm actually glad he's in rehab because that means when he's out, he will (hopefully) be clean and will never have alcohol problems ever again.

It's actually kind of amazing that Billie has had alcohol problems for nearly 20 years but only now he is going to rehab. Please get well, Billie! I'm sure when he's out of rehab, he will be a completely "new" fresh Billie, full of energy and he will be even better and more energetic live than he has ever been!

[Heather.]

And drinking that much for so many years is dangerous.

I see I'm not the only one reading all these things on the new Rolling Stone page

He also said this in 1994:

"The Replacements, for example, gave me a new respect for drinking a lot. They took drinking a lot to this new art-form level – not about being a total idiot but about being this beautifully perfect drunk. I know that when I drink, it makes me able to relax and not care as much, and when I write lyrics, it allows me to go at it with no holds barred and attack what's on the paper. When I'm sober, I think, 'Maybe I shouldn't.' It's kind of pathetic, but. . ."

[stories and songs]

I can recall MANY times in interviews that mentioned Billie talking about deciding to stop drinking for a month, or a period that he wasn't drinking, stuff like that. It seemed that he knew when he needed a break from it. Obviously it is impossible to know for sure, but perhaps this time he just needed some extra help with stopping.

It's a good thing. It always seemed (to me, anyway) that drinking was a bit of a demon for Billie. When he gets sober, that will be such a positive accomplishment. I said it once before - even though as fans it is difficult to be hearing about him going through these issues and seeing the effects of it (postponed tour, no promo, etc), this is actually probably the END of what was a difficult time for the band. Things seem bad right now, but this is good in the long run.

Wolstein Center and The Liacourias Center say the new date will be in spring, maybe revealing more than they should have

YAY! I'm going to the Liacourias Center show! I didn't see this info (but my dad got the email, lol). Makes me happy. It's nice to know a vague timeframe of when the shows will be - I'm trying to plan a Disney trip for May, so having an idea of when the new concert will be helps (well, sorta, haha).

*sigh* Green Day is the only reason I'd delay booking a Disney World trip. The only people on the planet who are more important than Mickey Mouse, lol.

[Slave To The Network]

So, I was reading an old Rolling Stones article from 1995 and found this:

ARMSTRONG: I think I have a bit of an alcohol problem right now. I drink every day, and I use it as a crutch to relax me. I'm not abusive, I just think I drink a little too much sometimes. The main thing of choice for us – well, Tré really likes pot – but the main thing of choice was speed. People think that we're this big pot-smoking band even though we sound like an amphetamine band, but I dabbled a lot in speed for a long time. That was the drug of choice on the scene I came from.

Man, when I read this it really sent shivers down my spine. This is really sad... I'm actually glad he's in rehab because that means when he's out, he will (hopefully) be clean and will never have alcohol problems ever again.

It's actually kind of amazing that Billie has had alcohol problems for nearly 20 years but only now he is going to rehab. Please get well, Billie! I'm sure when he's out of rehab, he will be a completely "new" fresh Billie, full of energy and he will be even better and more energetic live than he has ever been!

Yes, it's very good that he's in rehab now! This is the best possible thing he could have done for himself. It could be saving his life even. I kind of really hate alcohol right now. It's such an evil thing. I guess I'm a little more worried about Billie having read that little excerpt there. If he's been doing that for this long that isn't good. Thank god he's in rehab because I think the alcohol abuse was starting to finally take it's toll on him physically as well as mentally in the months before he checked in. I've wondered ever since Green Day canceled that concert in Italy what exactly was wrong with Billie then. They never explained it and just said vague things about him getting seriously dehydrated from vomiting so much, but looking back on that now, I'm pretty sure it was probably due to the alcohol problem. That's exactly what can happen with alcohol abuse because it's so damaging to the stomach. It basically erodes away the inside of it because alcohol causes increased acid production and then there's too much. I read a lot of medical articles and stuff because that type of thing is interesting so that's how I found out about all this stuff. I've also learned about some it through psychology classes that cover substance abuse.

Anyway, I hope that wasn't happening to Billie. I hope my hunch about that is wrong because that type of thing causes lots of problems, can be deadly if it gets bad enough, and can't be reversed by rehab because the damage is already done. Maybe I'm just rambling now, but I really wanted to get my concerns out.

I bet he will be fine when he comes out of rehab and gets back to doing what he loves, though. That is of course the hope of all of us and probably will become a reality before we know it. Billie has so much support and love from his friends, family, and all of us that it will hopefully make it easier and quicker for him to get through this.

We all love you, Billie! So don't give up! Get better and come back at the top of your game!

[TheJedi]

And drinking that much for so many years is dangerous.

I see I'm not the only one reading all these things on the new Rolling Stone page

He also said this in 1994:

"The Replacements, for example, gave me a new respect for drinking a lot. They took drinking a lot to this new art-form level – not about being a total idiot but about being this beautifully perfect drunk. I know that when I drink, it makes me able to relax and not care as much, and when I write lyrics, it allows me to go at it with no holds barred and attack what's on the paper. When I'm sober, I think, 'Maybe I shouldn't.' It's kind of pathetic, but. . ."

[AngelBlue_]

oh shit. I hope he'll finally fight this abuse forever.

Too much alchool kills you.

[PigSniffingGlue]

oh BABY BABY IT'S RANT TIME O__O

this whole thing... made me feel so miserable ever since iHeart....

when I saw that performance, from the moment he started singing, out of tune, with his drunk voice, it already made me worry that he brought himself to this state. I can't say I couldn't watch, but I definitely didn't like seeing him like this. I continued watching, as it slowly started to become worse every (ONE FUCKING) minute. Even then he wasn't acting like his usual self, he seemed so angry and intoxicated.

Then suddenly they started playing St Jimmy. I was both still scared seeing him like that, and amazed on how it fitted the moment. That was him, Billie, Saint Jimmy. He wrote this song about himself, about his darker side, about the demons he tends (or hopefully, TENDED) to have. He wrote this song, like all his songs, right from his heart, and at that moment you could see it well, and that's what was amazing about it, if anything.

and then, after a few angry remarks, BAM! it happened. his now famous iHeart radio rant.

Most people thought it was funny,I was literally shocked. of all things, from all people, he was the last person I thought who could have such a breakdown on stage. I wasn't and I'm not judging him, I was just shocked, that anger.... from all of the times I saw videos of them play, I've never seen him act like this. I've seen him acting punk (...that sounded JUST like that host from recovery TV , btw XD), I saw Billie kicking a guy's ass while he was performing, I saw the time he shouted "shout the fuck up" to that host on a festival, but I've NEVER seen him that angry. He was always really nice at all the festivals and events that they were invited to. Even when he was goofing around in some of them, it never seemed that angry, it was for fun. I really hoped for the first few seconds this was all a joke, it all seemed so surreal to me. I was kind of shocked for a couple of hours and tried to understand what happened, I could bareley speak. I knew something's going to happen.

When GDA posted about the announcement the official site made, I saw the thing that I suppose I was hoping to see, because I was really happy he's getting help. At the same time, I was really really worried and sad. I'm still worried. He's like family to me, maybe even more than some family members, he gave me so much, and seeing him in trouble is so painful to me.

Every time I see an update on insagram, I feel happy that he tries to get back on his feet, or that he's having A good dAy, and each time I hear a show is canceled, I feel like my heart breaks a little bit more. This will only end when he finally gets better and is back, playing stadiums, smiling from ear to ear and making fans smile too.

[stories and songs]

^ I 100% agree. I felt like I was overreacting or something because so many people were cheering him on for it, but I was just kind of... shocked. Because just like you said, I had never seen him act that way before. He had a look in his eye that scared me, because for the first time I was like "Who is this person?"

The bright side though is that when he gets through this, he is going to be so much better off all around. And I will be SO happy to see that. You really have nothing if you don't have your health, so it's great that he's taking this time to take care of himself. I hope that the band realizes that even though cancelled and postponed shows are disappointing for fans, we also know that the wait is most certainly well worth it!

[-Billiejoezee-]

I didn't get tickets, and I'm sort of glad I didn't to be honest. But even if I did, I'd understand this. It's better to Have him in good health and doing an awesome show, than have him doing a fast recovery and doing shows all tired.

[Jon Benjamin]

I won't believe it until it's official. I refuse to get excited. Bad things (like tours getting cancelled/postponed) happen when I get excited...

But fuck, "spring" makes it seem so close... Springtime is warm and makes me happy. This would be enough springtime happiness to get me through the dreary wintertime for sure.

Not to shit on your parade, but does thinking its not even winter yet make that sound so soon?

[*dry_ice*]

obviously I'm happy if I have Tre! one month before... but if there are changes I think that means that not everything is going well... and this scares me so much...

[gerardsangel4977]

I've said this before, but people are doing some insane post-news rationalisation here. Apparently everyone just knew something was off in all these promo interviews, appearances and gigs, yet no one said anything. We don't know the nature of the problem or when it started. All we know is that the reaction here to huge swathes of their promotion this time around was excitement, not fear. They've played some great gigs: the two in England were superb, and Irving Plaza - so often cited as a disaster now - has some amazing moments and great playing. It's all there on the videos you used to enjoy. Their interviews have been funny and on-point; if anything, I'd say Billie was more lucid than he's been in a long time. We've had some great, insightful features on the band. The band themselves have said what a great time they had making the records - something that is clearly evident in all the videos - yet now all anyone can speculate about is what a nightmarish slog it was. Billie clearly has some problems he's getting help for, but I promise you didn't fucking see it in that way he glanced at Tre that one time at 00:17 into that one video that one time.

THIS....and you know, even if people *were* made uneasy by certain little things here and there, I'm sure none of it set off any huge alarm bells before iHeart. And, not only that, but people have clearly been extrapolating and piling on more "signs". I mean, honestly, Billie stage-diving and crowd-surfing is seen as an indication of a downward spiral now? Give me a fucking break.

Also, as someone who was *at* the Irving Plaza show, the only time I ever felt that it got uncomfortable was during WMUWSE (for obvious reasons). There was a ton of energy in the air that night, great vibes all around, the setlist rocked, and the band sounded great for the most part. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I feel very fortunate to have been a part of (even more so now that the US tour has been cancelled), and I really wish that people would stop making it sound like some horrific shitfest that they were glad they didn't have to sit through.

[PigSniffingGlue]

^ I 100% agree. I felt like I was overreacting or something because so many people were cheering him on for it, but I was just kind of... shocked. Because just like you said, I had never seen him act that way before. He had a look in his eye that scared me, because for the first time I was like "Who is this person?"

The bright side though is that when he gets through this, he is going to be so much better off all around. And I will be SO happy to see that. You really have nothing if you don't have your health, so it's great that he's taking this time to take care of himself. I hope that the band realizes that even though cancelled and postponed shows are disappointing for fans, we also know that the wait is most certainly well worth it!

yeah I felt like that too, I saw comments everywhere, saying "OMG BILLIE(/Y) YOU RULEEEE HAHAHA", and I thought I was the only one who didn't understand why were they cheering him on that..

And yes, I'm really happy that he decided, and that his amazing friends/ band mates understood that he needs to take care of his health, and we'll be waiting for when it's over :3

[AngelBlue_]

guys....I'm really hate alcohol right now....and I think how is it possible that he's been drinking for too long, oh man.... hopefully he's getting help now...FINALLY!! I know that he used to drink before going on stage...but during these last few shows he was drinking on stage too... the show at the irving plaza wa so....powerfull and full of energy from what I saw from the videos on you tube...don't get me wrong, I don't think it was a bad show. the setlist was AMAZING and the way they performed too...but there was something...different... too much energy... too much emotions...I don't even know how I can describe it.... BUT I never thought that he had such a big problem of substance abuse....

and the perform of the Iheart radio festival....he was sooo different... full of rage....the way that he screamed in the beginning of the performance was soo angry.... as someone said before...I really thought: who is this man?? I mean...I've never seen Billie in that way....

I know, also during the Foxboro shows he was fucked up on stage...but how many foxboro shows they had?? less then 10??

Now.... after the incident in Bologna (I'm Italian but I can't go to the show), something was too confuse....the show before Bologna was in Germany...and If you saw some video of it, You'd be blind saying that nothing was different in Billie....

I really really hope that he finally fights his abuse.....for his life and for his family....

I really want a sober Billie ...even if this will give us a less "funny" Billie on stage.....I'm really worried for his health now...

(sorry if my english isn't good...I'm italian. hope you understand what I want to say)

[TheJedi]

guys....I'm really hate alcohol right now....and I think how is it possible that he's been drinking for too long, oh man.... hopefully he's getting help now...FINALLY!! I know that he used to drink before going on stage...but during these last few shows he was drinking on stage too... the show at the irving plaza wa so....powerfull and full of energy from what I saw from the videos on you tube...don't get me wrong, I don't think it was a bad show. the setlist was AMAZING and the way they performed too...but there was something...different... too much energy... too much emotions...I don't even know how I can describe it.... BUT I never thought that he had such a big problem of substance abuse....

and the perform of the Iheart radio festival....he was sooo different... full of rage....the way that he screamed in the beginning of the performance was soo angry.... as someone said before...I really thought: who is this man?? I mean...I've never seen Billie in that way....

I know, also during the Foxboro shows he was fucked up on stage...but how many foxboro shows they had?? less then 10??

Now.... after the incident in Bologna (I'm Italian but I can't go to the show), something was too confuse....the show before Bologna was in Germany...and If you saw some video of it, You'd be blind saying that nothing was different in Billie....

I really really hope that he finally fights his abuse.....for his life and for his family....

I really want a sober Billie ...even if this will give us a less "funny" Billie on stage.....I'm really worried for his health now...

(sorry if my english isn't good...I'm italian. hope you understand what I want to say)

i agree with everything you say. (and your english is good, dont worry)

I wan't a sober Billie too. Everyone who says that they don't want him to be sober are fucking egoistic.

He wasn't drunk onstage during the 21st Century Breakdown tour (i think) and he was still funny and awesome! it's way more fun to see them live and knowing that they're having a good time too. and not only the audience. they will definitely have more fun when Billie's healthy

[AlissaGoesRAWR]

Not to shit on your parade, but does thinking its not even winter yet make that sound so soon?

Yup. Still does. Think of how long we've been waiting since the announcement of the trilogy last spring. It's been a while, and that time flew by. Now in a little over a month we'll already have all three albums. Hard to believe, really. I don't mind waiting if it means a healthier band, physically and mentally, and a better show.

this whole thing... made me feel so miserable ever since iHeart....

when I saw that performance, from the moment he started singing, out of tune, with his drunk voice, it already made me worry that he brought himself to this state. I can't say I couldn't watch, but I definitely didn't like seeing him like this. I continued watching, as it slowly started to become worse every (ONE FUCKING) minute. Even then he wasn't acting like his usual self, he seemed so angry and intoxicated.

Then suddenly they started playing St Jimmy. I was both still scared seeing him like that, and amazed on how it fitted the moment. That was him, Billie, Saint Jimmy. He wrote this song about himself, about his darker side, about the demons he tends (or hopefully, TENDED) to have. He wrote this song, like all his songs, right from his heart, and at that moment you could see it well, and that's what was amazing about it, if anything.

and then, after a few angry remarks, BAM! it happened. his now famous iHeart radio rant.

Most people thought it was funny,I was literally shocked. of all things, from all people, he was the last person I thought who could have such a breakdown on stage. I wasn't and I'm not judging him, I was just shocked, that anger.... from all of the times I saw videos of them play, I've never seen him act like this. I've seen him acting punk (...that sounded JUST like that host from recovery TV , btw XD), I saw Billie kicking a guy's ass while he was performing, I saw the time he shouted "shout the fuck up" to that host on a festival, but I've NEVER seen him that angry. He was always really nice at all the festivals and events that they were invited to. Even when he was goofing around in some of them, it never seemed that angry, it was for fun. I really hoped for the first few seconds this was all a joke, it all seemed so surreal to me. I was kind of shocked for a couple of hours and tried to understand what happened, I could bareley speak. I knew something's going to happen.

yeah I felt like that too, I saw comments everywhere, saying "OMG BILLIE(/Y) YOU RULEEEE HAHAHA", and I thought I was the only one who didn't understand why were they cheering him on that..

And yes, I'm really happy that he decided, and that his amazing friends/ band mates understood that he needs to take care of his health, and we'll be waiting for when it's over :3

Completely agree. I was on GDC while it was happening and most people here were even criticizing people who weren't "amused" by it because it was "so punk." But I was never, and will never, be amused by the iHeart performance/rant. Even if Billie does get drunk often, it was still a different type of drunk -- uncharacteristically angry and very sad to see. It wasn't funny and the fact that it went viral and everyone was entertained by a man with a serious problem hurts my heart.

[gerardsangel4977]

Yup. Still does. Think of how long we've been waiting since the announcement of the trilogy last spring. It's been a while, and that time flew by. Now in a little over a month we'll already have all three albums. Hard to believe, really. I don't mind waiting if it means a healthier band, physically and mentally, and a better show. Completely agree. I was on GDC while it was happening and most people here were even criticizing people who weren't "amused" by it because it was "so punk." But I was never, and will never, be amused by the iHeart performance/rant. Even if Billie does get drunk often, it was still a different type of drunk -- uncharacteristically angry and very sad to see. It wasn't funny and the fact that it went viral and everyone was entertained by a man with a serious problem hurts my heart.

I do agree with this. The iHeart Radio fest is the point where the shit really hit the fan, and while some people thought it was awesome, it also made a lot of people very uncomfortable and uneasy. One thing that both sides can agree on--whether they liked the rant or not--is that it was a very different performance than what we've seen from Green Day in a long time, or ever, really.

But *aside* from that rather large wake up call, it was really hard for anyone to know anything was amiss beforehand....even the things that had sparked arguments prior to that, with the "Oh Love" video and various other promotional aspects of the trilogy, weren't really being talked about in terms of "Oh, Billie must've fallen off the wagon." People said "sellout" and "midlife crisis" and "alienating their fanbase" and "out of touch" and "they've changed" and "they're not the people I thought they were, so I can't respect them anymore." No one knew what the fuck was going on, but now everyone wants to act like they were in on some big secret

[deadair]

Not to shit on your parade, but does thinking its not even winter yet make that sound so soon?

Well, Spring was a relief to me too because I thought they were going to postpone the U.S. dates until after the European tour which would have been late summer-early fall.

[gerardsangel4977]

Another point to consider, in light of some of the quotes posted over the past pages, is that Billie Joe having ADHD means substances are going to have a different affect on him than the average person. The top two prescribed treatments for ADD and ADHD are Ritalin (an amphetamine) and Adderall (a barbiturate). With people for whom taking the pills is a problem (because they have trouble swallowing them or trouble affording them or they're experiencing too many side effects, etc), many professionals will suggest drinking coffee as an alternative treatment because it has high levels of caffeine, a natural amphetamine that, therefore, has largely the same effects as Ritalin. By the same token, a regular, controlled serving of alcohol, being a natural barbiturate, would have mostly the same effects as Adderall. And while that avenue is generally *not* recommended as a sanctioned alternative to prescription meds, it is still effective, and I have known quite a few people with various attention disorders who have used it to self-medicate in lieu of being able to afford a prescription.

Now, I will say that I do not necessarily think that Billie Joe was doing this, BUT, intended or not, drinking alcohol would likely present as having a positive effect on him, initially, as it would make him less anxious and more focused. More "normal". His observations in that one interview about drinking making it easier for him to write songs, while seeming like the ramblings of an yet another substance abusing artist on the surface, actually sound like a fairly accurate observation of the alcohol treating his ADHD symptoms, even if he didn't realize that's what it was, himself.

Of course, just as with a prescribed substance, if you take more than you need to, any positive aspects are going to ultimately be undone, and addiction and abuse are always risks that can lea to much more serious, long term problems. And, if combined with other substances (if, for example, he was given an actual prescription for his ADHD later on or, likewise, some sort of Anxiety medication, but was still drinking on top of that), it could easily cause further problems and have unintended affects, as well.

[Schlappy]

Another point to consider, in light of some of the quotes posted over the past pages, is that Billie Joe having ADHD means substances are going to have a different affect on him than the average person. The top two prescribed treatments for ADD and ADHD are Ritalin (an amphetamine) and Adderall (a barbiturate). With people for whom taking the pills is a problem (because they have trouble swallowing them or trouble affording them or they're experiencing too many side effects, etc), many professionals will suggest drinking coffee as an alternative treatment because it has high levels of caffeine, a natural amphetamine that, therefore, has largely the same effects as Ritalin. By the same token, a regular, controlled serving of alcohol, being a natural barbiturate, would have mostly the same effects as Adderall. And while that avenue is generally *not* recommended as a sanctioned alternative to prescription meds, it is still effective, and I have known quite a few people with various attention disorders who have used it to self-medicate in lieu of being able to afford a prescription.

Now, I will say that I do not necessarily think that Billie Joe was doing this, BUT, intended or not, drinking alcohol would likely present as having a positive effect on him, initially, as it would make him less anxious and more focused. More "normal". His observations in that one interview about drinking making it easier for him to write songs, while seeming like the ramblings of an yet another substance abusing artist on the surface, actually sound like a fairly accurate observation of the alcohol treating his ADHD symptoms, even if he didn't realize that's what it was, himself.

Of course, just as with a prescribed substance, if you take more than you need to, any positive aspects are going to ultimately be undone, and addiction and abuse are always risks that can lea to much more serious, long term problems. And, if combined with other substances (if, for example, he was given an actual prescription for his ADHD later on or, likewise, some sort of Anxiety medication, but was still drinking on top of that), it could easily cause further problems and have unintended affects, as well.

hmmm how interesting. i wonder if Billie really has ADHD or ADD. i remember in an interview once Tre joked about him having it because of the way he pieces songs together. something along the lines of "he writes down songs everywhere he goes, its the good kind of ADD" (dont ask what magazine, not a clue). he might really have it, but tre might have also been joking.