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It started in 1983 in a Berkeley suburb called Rodeo, when two eleven-year-old geeks named Billie Joe and Mike Dirnt decided they wanted to play guitar.
Banging out their versions of bad heavy metal tunes, the two became good friends and, in 1987, the founding members of Sweet Children. Mike had since taken up bass and Billie Joe was singing the songs and playing the cheap Strat he had picked up four years earlier. The band played a zillion parties and small clubs until 1989, when they changed their name to Green Day (after one of their song titles) and began lobbying Lookout for a record deal. Livermore was skeptical but agreed to listen to the band if they'd make the 200 mile drive up to Mendocino County to audition for him. When the band arrived, they found that the owner of the shack they were to perform in had bailed out on them without giving notice. Standing outside in the middle of a rainstorm was doing them no good, so naturally they broke in and set up, only to discover that there was no roof and no electricity. Oops. Livermore went home and picked up a generator, and the audience of twelve kids held candles in order to see the band as they auditioned in the rain. Livermore was so impressed by their tenacity he singed them immediately.
Kerplunk, released in 1992 solidified Green Day's stature in the independent scene. Recorded for a measly thousand dollars, it quickly broke sales records for Lookout and had fans all over the country clamoring for a spot in line when Green Day came to town.
In early '93, the band left Lookout on friendly terms and eventually hooked up with Warner Bros. They've since released three more album: Dookie (1994), Insomniac (1994), Nimrod (1997), and their latest, Warning, came out October 3, 2000.
Considering Green Day's massive success over the last few years, it can fairly be asked of the three guys if they still feel the same passion and hunger towards their music as they did back in the Gilman Street days.
"I think so," says Billie Joe. "But y'know, time kinda takes its toll on everything and you can't really deny that. You don't have a choice. As long as you're honest. Honesty is the best part of any art form. If you don't have that, I think you're just kidding yourself, and kidding your listener."
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