Billie Joe on the cover of Rolling Stone "The Road Back From Hell"

[Akshat]

Can one of the admins post the scans on the gda website main page whenever they get them?It's been a day now and I can't wait any longer.Never been more exited in my life than when Tre came out.

[inthehallwaynow]

does anyone recall when this happened to robert downey jr? and that was heroin..im sure billie will be just fine if hes serious about whats important..its always in the news for a while and then everyone forgets until the next person falls from grace

[MaraGreenDay]

does anyone recall when this happened to robert downey jr? and that was heroin..im sure billie will be just fine if hes serious about whats important..its always in the news for a while and then everyone forgets until the next person falls from grace

True, and Robert Downey almost die, it´s good that Billie didn´t go to that point, not that we really know, but, yeah, im´sure he´s gonna be fine.

[Ritz]

Rolling Stone India has Anthrax on the cover, no mention of Billie Joe. fml.

[Mandy_PunkRock]

Rolling Stone India has Anthrax on the cover, no mention of Billie Joe. fml.

Rolling Stone Spain has Rihanna on the cover

[Akshat]

Rolling Stone India has Anthrax on the cover, no mention of Billie Joe. fml.

Ek hafte tak rukna padega shayad

[stories and songs]

I just read the article again, and noticed something I didn't really pick up on the first few times. This interview is so striking because it is definitely not a "I've been sober for [x amount of time] and I feel great!"

It is still very new, very fresh. He's still trying to figure out how he's going to stay sober and make it stick while continuing with his career. He clearly WANTS to make it stick and is committed to doing so, but he has a healthy amount of caution. He knows how sick he was, that it was destructive, and that he never wants to go back to that place again. At the same time, he doesn't sound completely sure of where he's going just yet. And that's okay; that's human. I'd much rather see that than have him just be totally confident that he has everything under control when under the surface he has no idea what to do. He was so, so honest about the fact that he's still navigating. The interview doesn't tie things up in a neat little package, but you know what? When it comes to this kind of thing, there is no neat package. It was so realistic.

[HolyHandGrenade]

Since Billie pledged to stay clean, does that mean Mike, Tre, and Jason will be too? It would be pretty hard for BJ if everyone else around him kept their habits - and did so right in front of him.

[SaintJimmyOfSuburbia]

It might be hard to stop Tre...

[VisionsofGreenDay115]

Since Billie pledged to stay clean, does that mean Mike, Tre, and Jason will be too? It would be pretty hard for BJ if everyone else around him kept their habits - and did so right in front of him.

I think that the rest of them would suck it up and deal with it for a while, just until Billie is comfortable around it all.

[HolyHandGrenade]

I think that the rest of them would suck it up and deal with it for a while, just until Billie is comfortable around it all.

The question there is how long will that take (if ever?) ?

[VisionsofGreenDay115]

The question there is how long will that take (if ever?) ?

I do wonder that as well, I would think it would finally come to a point where he was okay with it around him, but the time it will take is questionable. I would guess by the end of the UNO, DOS, TRE tour, everything will be fine. The article did say that he was having a party with like 70-75 people who drink, so clearly he's comfortable with it around; and this time he knows what to do if its offered, simply to say, "no."

[EJN]

Sorry if someone already said this but I just had this thought. Anyone now interpreting Restless Heart Syndrome a little differently? Perhaps that attack on big pharma contains more personal anger than the song lets on

[HolyHandGrenade]

Sorry if someone already said this but I just had this thought. Anyone now interpreting Restless Heart Syndrome a little differently? Perhaps that attack on big pharma contains more personal anger than the song lets on

Yeah, we've all pretty much accepted the blatancy and autobiographical qualities of it. When people said they were surprised it was abuse of meds, RHS was one of the first thing referenced.

[gerardsangel4977]

Sorry if someone already said this but I just had this thought. Anyone now interpreting Restless Heart Syndrome a little differently? Perhaps that attack on big pharma contains more personal anger than the song lets on

I always figured that song had some personal connotations to it. Even before we knew it was about his own experiences, I always figured he'd at least had a friend or something that had dealt with it.

[solongfromthestars]

You really have to have blinders on to *not* see the current chapters of Billie's autobiography written all over the Trilogy, whether explicitly or in various metaphors. He writes what he feels, that's what we know about him, he freely admits to it in the RS interview, and that's all I'm saying.

I don't think you do at all but hey that's just me. I know he writes what he feels but that doesn't mean the trilogy has to be 100% related to this - there will have been other feelings and events in his life that weren't about this at all. The addiction is probably just one piece in the puzzle.

[Slave To The Network]

Rolling Stone India has Anthrax on the cover, no mention of Billie Joe. fml.

Rolling Stone Spain has Rihanna on the cover

Maybe you can order one online!

[Ritz]

Maybe you can order one online!

That would cost me 300% more than the original rate

[BJ_UNOXX]

Billie shud keep the same hairstyle for the upcoming tour

[Mykee Mexx]

Since Billie pledged to stay clean, does that mean Mike, Tre, and Jason will be too? It would be pretty hard for BJ if everyone else around him kept their habits - and did so right in front of him.

Why should everybody else change now? Alcohol will always be his temptation, you can never ever keep it away from him. And that´s exactly what he´s got to learn, what eyeryone addicted to alcohol has to learn: you can get it easily, and you have to stay away. You have to change, not the others. Or as my boss stated: drink in front of my eyes, because I can´t avoid life.

Well, if the rest of the gang will stay away from alcohol, too, it´s okay. But only, if they do it for themselves, not for anyone else. It´s just another challenge.

[Hermione]

they've said many times that they do shots of whiskey before every show, right before going on stage. it'll be very hard. he can do it, but it'll be hard.

I don't think I've heard that "many times" or that it's before "every show". Billie's also said he's gone through short on/off periods of drinking and not drinking during tours. I don't think there's any way for us to know his exact drinking habits, we shouldn't assume.

[Hero_Of_The_Hour]

It might be hard to stop Tre...

Why Tre as opposed to anyone else?! If we are talking about not having alcohol around Billie are you seriously suggesting Tre is less concerned about Billie's wellbeing than Mike or Jason? Or maybe you think he is just unable to control his desire for having fun (which includes alcohol im assuming) over any reasonable knowledge that Billie is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict. All this leads me to wonder a few things. Do you still see Tre as a stoned out twenty year old rather than a forty year old father of two children (one of whom is an adult now)? Did you read the section in RS where Billie said Tre was scared? Did you register ANY of the looks on Tre's face over the past year while he was onstage, his eyes pretty much glued on Billie? If you didn't get the chance to see them live you may have seen Irving Plaza or Reading (lets ignore Vegas as that is obviously breaking point)...Tre had an almost constant expression of worry on his face & the same is true for the secret show (Shepherds Bush) in London when I saw him & he even had to open the show as there was an argument backstage. My main point is: unless you have been living under a rock this past year you have seen the change from lighthearted Tre to concerned Tre (obviously now we know it was concern for BJs health so why put it in danger for his own amusement?!?!). Also maybe it's more than time people realised Tre is not some irresponsible child who can't grasp the seriousness of situations...he has a few kids of his own, probably older than some of the fans on here. Its pretty damn rude to make assumptions such as this...

[Hermione]

Tre had an almost constant expression of worry on his face & the same is true for the secret show (Shepherds Bush) in London

First I've heard of this.....funny how absolutely no one mentioned it at the time. Nobody thought there was anything strange about Tre (or Billie) after that show myself included, everyone just said it was a great show. I agree with most of what you're saying but it works both ways. Making judgements that a band member doesn't care or hasn't helped is silly but so is going back and looking for "signs" of something wrong. No one knows what was going on in their minds at any particular moment, I really don't see the point in trying to psychoanalyze.

[BlackBaboon]

I think the band will be able to ensure there won't be any alcohol backstage. When the Pixies got back together, Kim Deal requested the same thing and the band managed it just fine. In fact, even though one of the members became something of an alcoholic on the reunion tour, they still managed to keep alcohol away from the group activities. The entire road crew is definitely just going to have to suck it up. Surrounding Billie with the same setting as before only telling him that just he can't participate would not be a very effective form of therapy. However, I'm sure this is not lost on Mike and Tre. They know what rehabilitation entails and they know that if they want to continue touring in the near future they are going to have to avoid bringing alcohol backstage. It's that simple.

In regards to the revelation of prescription medications being one of Billie Joe's vices and how these things effect my view of recent albums, I will say only that it makes some songs seem much more autobiographical than before. I always sort of assumed that Billie had a tendency to use hyperbole in his songs, hence Basket Case seeming to be about someone who is completely incapable of functioning despite the fact that it was only written through the perspective of anxiety disorder. In essence, I thought Billie used exaggeration and generalization to convey broader topics, but perhaps some of the time he was being very honest and it was instead, I, who was generalizing the meanings of the songs so I could relate better.

I don't know that this interview means the view of the trilogy as Billie releasing all of his personal drug demons is vindicated though. By his own admissions, all of this has been going on for a long time yet I don't think most people would argue that American Idiot is explicitly related to his habitual drug use or party fever. I think he burned out on the trilogy and that gave all of these theories weight. Certainly a song like 'Lazy Bones' has taken on a completely new persona, but not everything will work that way. I don't suddenly think 'Missing You' is about Billie craving a fix instead of a relationship. I'm not going to start arguing that 'Brutal Love' is a description of his mutually destructive relationship with drugs and alcohol. Some things are clearer, but in general, I don't think the meanings behind most songs have changed at all.

[Hero_Of_The_Hour]

First I've heard of this.....funny how absolutely no one mentioned it at the time. Nobody thought there was anything strange about Tre (or Billie) after that show myself included, everyone just said it was a great show. I agree with most of what you're saying but it works both ways. Making judgements that a band member doesn't care or hasn't helped is silly but so is going back and looking for "signs" of something wrong. No one knows what was going on in their minds at any particular moment, I really don't see the point in trying to psychoanalyze.

Even before Shepherds Bush people were talking about Tre acting more "quiet" and "off" for example when the Billboard photoshoot behind the scenes thingy came out & other media. I specifically remember that. So I am not going back and looking for clues. Also the night of Shepherds Bush it was obvious something was wrong with the delay & weird opening. Everybody was talking about it around me and with me there. I never said I saw anything off with Billie (though I found it odd at the time that Tre said he had laringitis when he started the show though he sounded alright and that was my impression immediatedly not as reflection)...however I did think Tre was less "happy" than usual and I was slap bang in front of him, he gave me his drumstick & as a huge fan of his I guess I watched him a lot. Also this is not the only place in world...none of the girls I was in the front row with even visit this site...and they all thought Tre wasnt himself too. Anyway just watch Reading/Irving Plaza...you would need to be blind to not notice his expression...its not psychoanalyzing its just fact. If I wasnt on my phone I would use two simple examples...normal Tre is a giant happy smiley...Tre last summer was a shifty sad smiley. Read back a few pages...several people agree. Its kind of Specsavers stuff.