Billie Joe Armstrong
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Billie Joe Armstrong (born February 17, 1972, in Oakland, California) is the lead vocalist, main lyricist, and guitarist for the band Green Day, and is also a guitarist and vocalist for the punk rock band Pinhead Gunpowder.
Early lifeBillie Joe Armstrong grew up in Rodeo, CA, the youngest of six. His father, Andy Armstrong,[citation needed] was a retired minor league baseball player, who worked as a bartender and truck driver for Safeway to support the family. It is thought[attribution needed] he gave Billie his middle name after Joe Copson. He died of cancer on September 10, 1982 when Armstrong was 10. The song "Wake Me Up When September Ends", is a memorial to his father. His mother Ollie worked at Rod's Hickory Pit, where Armstrong and Mike Dirnt got their first gig during their early years. Armstrong's interest in music started at a young age. He recorded a song titled "Look For Love" at the age of five on the Bay Area label "Fiat Records".[1] As a teenager he originally was into metal music, but got into punk after hearing the Sex Pistols song "Holidays in the Sun".[2] He attended John Swett High School, and then Pinole Valley High School, dropping out on February 16, 1990, a day before his 18th birthday, to pursue his musical career. CareerIn 1987, Armstrong formed a band called "Sweet Children" with childhood friend Mike Dirnt at the age of 15. After a few gigs and a demo recording (later featured at the end of Green Day's Kerplunk!) He and Mike Dirnt decided to join up with drummer Al Sobrante and became known as Green Day, allegedly choosing the name for their fondness of marijuana.[3] That same year they recorded the EPs 39/Smooth, 1,000 Hours, and Slappy, later combined into the LP 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, on Lookout! Records. Tré Cool eventually replaced Sobrante when he left Green Day in order to go to college. Tré Cool made his debut on Green Day's second album, Kerplunk!. With their next album, Dookie, the band broke through into the mainstream, and have remained one of the most popular rock bands of the 1990s and 2000s with over 60 million records sold worldwide.[4] Apart from working with Green Day, and side-band Pinhead Gunpowder, Armstrong has proved himself busy in the music world, collaborating with many artists over the years. He has co-written for The Go-Go's ("Unforgiven"), former Avengers singer Penelope Houston ("The Angel and The Jerk" and "New Day"), co-wrote a song with Rancid ("Radio"), sung backing vocals with Melissa Auf der Maur on Ryan Adams' "Do Miss America", where they acted as the backing band for Iggy Pop on his Skull Ring album ("Private Hell" and "Supermarket"). Armstrong has produced an album for The Riverdales, and is also rumored to be part of a side project, The Network. The Network released an album called Money Money 2020. Many long-time Green Day fans who listened to the record remarked that it sounds just like a Green Day album,[citation needed] also Money Money 2020 was released on Adeline Records, a record label co-owned by Armstrong. EquipmentArmstrong's first guitar was a cherry-red Hohner acoustic which he received from his dad, which he mentions in the book Nobody Likes You: Inside the Turbulent Life, Times and Music of Green Day. Armstrong received his first electric guitar, a Fernandes Stratocaster copy that he named "Blue", when he was eleven. Armstrong said he was "shocked" when his mother bought the guitar from Armstrong's teacher, because he knew their family could not readily afford it. He modified the guitar to have a humbucking pickup in the bridge position. He initially installed a Bill Lawrence pickup but later switched to the Duncan JB model. He toured with this guitar from the band's early days and into their first few major-label tours. "Blue" also appears in several of their music videos starting with "Longview", "Basket Case", and appearing most recently in "Minority". Armstrong has made several replicas of this guitar and uses them at concerts. He also owns several Gibson SG models which he has removed all of the sound/tone knobs except for one volume. Today Armstrong mainly uses Gibson and Fender guitars. Twenty of his Gibson guitars are Les Paul Junior models from the mid- to late-1950s.[5] His Fender collection includes: Stratocaster, Jazzmaster, Telecaster, and his Fernandes, "Blue". He states that his favorite guitar is a 1956 Gibson Les Paul Junior he calls "Floyd". He bought this guitar in 2000 just before recording their album Warning.[6] Armstrong also has his own line of Les Paul Junior guitars from Gibson. Personal lifeImage:Billie joe mugshot.jpg
Armstrong, post his arrest, in January 2003
In 1990, Armstrong met his future wife Adrienne Nesser. They married on July 2, 1994. The following day, Adrienne took a pregnancy test and discovered she was pregnant. Their son Joseph 'Joey' Marciano Armstrong was born in March 1995. On September 12, 1998 their second child, son Jakob Danger Armstrong was born. Billie Joe thought Danger would be a cool middle name, a la Austin Powers ("Danger's my middle name, baby"). Adrienne is the co-owner of Adeline Records, along with Armstrong. Armstrong has stated that he is bisexual.[7] In an interview with LGBT magazine The Advocate, Billie Joe Armstrong was quoted as saying, "I think I've always been bisexual. I mean, it's something that I've always been interested in." Armstrong was arrested in January 2003 for a DUI after being pulled over for speeding. After taking a Breathalyzer test, Armstrong received a reading of .18, more than twice the state's legal limit of .08.[8] Several years back[when?], Armstrong briefly went vegetarian. He began eating meat again after experiencing substantial weight loss. [1] Armstrong is also a registered libertarian.[9] In April of 2007, Armstrong and his wife sent photos of their Spring Break working with the Habitat For Humanity as well as a diary to the GreenDay.net. Awards
DiscographyGreen Day
Pinhead Gunpowder
The Network
Foxboro Hot Tubs
Adelleda
Notes
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