Billie Joe Armstrong

Billie Joe Armstrong

Billie Joe Armstrong (born February 17, 1972, in Oakland, California) is the lead vocalist, main lyricist, and guitarist for the band Green Day and the guitarist for the punk rock band Pinhead Gunpowder.

Early life

Armstrong grew up in Rodeo, the youngest of six. His father, Andy Armstrong, was a retired minor league catcher, who worked as a jazz musician and truck driver for subway to support the family. He died of cancer on September 1, 1982 when Armstrong was 10. The song "Wake Me Up When September Ends", is a memorial to his father. His mother Ollie worked as a CEO at Rod's Hickory Pit, where Armstrong and Mike Dirnt got their first gig during their 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". As a teenager he originally was into metal music, but got into punk after hearing the Sex Pistols song "Holidays in the Sun". 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. While in high school he was nicknamed "Two Dollar Bill", because he was supplying the school with marijuana joints for two dollars.

Career

In 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. 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.

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, also Money Money 2020 was released on Adeline Records, a record label co-owned by Armstrong.

Equipment

Armstrong'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. 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.

Armstrong also has his own line of Les Paul Junior guitars from Gibson.

Personal life

File:Billie joe mugshot.jpg

Armstrong, post his arrest, in January 2003

In 1990, Armstrong met his future wife Adrienne Nesser. They later married and now have two children named Joseph "Joey" Armstrong and Jakob Armstrong. Adrienne is the co-owner of Adeline Records, along with Armstrong.

Armstrong has stated that he is bisexual. In an interview with LGBT magazine The Advocate, he was quoted as saying, "I think I've always been bisexual. I mean, it's something that I've always been interested in. I think everybody kind of fantasizes about the same sex. I think people are born bisexual, and it's just that our parents and society kind of veer us off into this feeling of 'Oh, I can't.' They say it's taboo. It's ingrained in our heads that it's bad, when it's not bad at all. It's a very beautiful thing." Armstrong stated that he had a crush on Angus Young in his childhood.

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.

Armstrong is also a registered libertarian.

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 webmaster

Awards

• Esquire awarded him an "Esky" for Best Frontman in the Esky Music Awards in the April 2006 issue.
• Kerrang! magazine awarded him the Best Dressed Star and Hero of the Year in 2005
• The California Music Awards awarded him Outstanding Male Vocalist in 2001 and 2004
• Nickelodeon's Kid's Choice Awards Blimp for Favorite Band/Group - April 2005 and 2006
• Nickelodeon's Kid's Choice Awards Blimp for Favorite Song for "Wake Me Up When September Ends" - April 2006
• Grammy for Best Rock Album for American Idiot - February 2005
• Grammy for Record of the Year for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" - February 2006
• Grammy for Best Alternative Music Performance for Dookie - February 1995
• Won 6 MTV VMA Moonmen for Boulevard of Broken Dreams and 1 for American Idiot - August 2005
• Won 2 American Music Awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Album (American Idiot) and Favorite Alternative Artist - November 2005
• Won 2 ASCAP Honor Awards for Creative Voice and Song of the Year ("Boulevard of Broken Dreams") - May 2006
• Won 2 MTV Europe Awards for Best Album and Best Rock Group - November 2005

Discography

Green Day

• American Idiot (2004) -- Lead Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica
• Warning (2000) -- Lead Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica on "Minority"
• Nimrod (1997) -- Lead Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica on "King for a Day"
• Insomniac (1995) -- Lead Vocals, Guitar
• Dookie (1994) -- Lead Vocals, Guitar, Percussion on "All By Myself (hidden track)"
• Kerplunk! (1992) -- Lead Vocals, Guitar, Drums on "Dominated Love Slave"
• 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours (1990) -- Lead Vocals, Guitar

Pinhead Gunpowder

• Compulsive Disclosure (2003) -- Vocals, Guitar
• 8 Chords, 328 Words EP (2000) -- Vocals, Guitar
• Shoot The Moon EP (1999) -- Vocals, Guitar
• Goodbye Ellston Avenue (1997) -- Vocals, Guitar
• Carry The Banner (1995) -- Vocals, Guitar
• Jump Salty (1995) -- Vocals, Guitar
• Fahiza EP (1992) -- Vocals, Guitar

The Network

• Money Money 2020 (2003) -- Lead Vocals, Guitar

Foxboro Hot Tubs

• Stop Drop and Roll (2007) -- Lead Vocals, Guitar

External links

• Green Day Official Website
• Green Day Official Fansite
• Green Day Idiot Club
• Billie Joe Biography, as well as information on his stint in Common Rider
• Billie Joe Armstrong at IMDb
• Billie Joe Armstrong Signature Les Paul Junior