"We
really wanted to go down different avenues this time, and stretch as much
as possible," says Green Day singer-guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong. "In
the past, I think there is a small sense that we were holding back from
going in different musical directions. This time we went for it."
Billie
Joe is talking proudly about Nimrod, the Berkeley, CA band's fifth full
length album and third for Reprise, following Insomniac, Dookie, Kerplunk,
and 39/Smooth, the latter two released by Berkeley's Lookout Records.
Nimrod
was recorded over four months during the summer of '97, with long-time
co-producer Rob Cavallo behind the board.
"I
think we pushed ourselves as hard as we possibly could," says Billie Joe.
"It was probably the most difficult record to make...the longest process
we've ever undertaken, definately. Each song has it's own character and
identity, so we wanted to bring that out as much as possible."
Guests
on Nimrod include violin player Petra Haden of L.A. band That Dog, who
plays on two songs, as well as horn players Gabe McNair and Stephen Bradley,
who have both toured with No Doubt.
This
album can be seen as a new starting point for Green Day. Having already
patented their oft-copied melodic pop-punk style, the band now moves beyond
what they've already accomplished, with a new record that's bound to please
their fans and surprise those who might who might have been foolish enough
to dismiss the group as one-dimensional.
After
a three-week break away from each other following the Insomniac tour, Billie
Joe, Mike and Tre began writing and rehearsing the songs that would become
Nimrod.
"I
was really excited when it came time to record," says Billie Joe. "I think
we went into the studio wanting to prove something to ourselves, that we
could branch out musically, but still maintain that 'Green Day' character."
And
branch out they did. Among many other surprises on the 18-song album, Nimrod
contains a surf-inspired instrumental ("Last Ride In"), a string section
(on "Good Riddance") and a personal expression of lost youth ("Walking
Alone").
"Songs
like 'Dominated Love Slave' [from Kerplunk] or 'All By Myself' or 'Knowledge'
[from the Slappy EP] were sort of like a small door...to show that we're
capable of doing more," says Billie Joe. "But do it in a sort of tongue-in-cheek
way. These songs opened doors for our new songs, like 'Good Riddance' or
'King For A Day.'"
"We
just didn't hold back this time from the other styles of music that we
like," adds Mike. "We've always written different types of music - 'Longview'
being jazzy - and we've made songs sound like 'Sesame Street' before...things
like that. There have always been hints of what we can do. This time, if
we could hear it in our heads, we recorded it."
Dookie
and Insomniac have sold a combined 14 million copies in the U.S., but the
band wasn't about to try and recreate those albums just to sell more records.
"I think Nimrod is very much a punk rock record, but it also branches out
into different things," says Billie Joe. "We don't want to give off the
impression that we're copping out as a punk band and going this pop route,
or going this experimental route."
All
three guys agree that, of the five albums they've made, Nimrod was the
most difficult to record, but also the most rewarding. "I sacrificed every
other aspect of my life for this record," says Tre Cool. "I put everything
I had into it - we all did. We didn't think about anything else."
"I
have thsi great sense of relief right now," adds a confident Billie Joe.
"I have so much fun listening to Nimrod. I think it's a great record. It's
one of the best records that's been put out in the last ten years, that's
my personal feeling. I've never really said stuff like that before, but
I know it. I know it's great, and that's really the only thing that matters."
Beginning
with a few dates in Europe in the fall of '97, Green Day will embark on
an extensive world tour in support of Nimrod - a road trip that, if all
goes as planned, will ultimately hit places on the planet that they've
never played before, like South America.
"Playing
songs for people sends energy to the crowd," says Tre Cool. "And then they
send it right back to you, and it's a blast. Playing new songs is always
really fun, and we haven't played the old ones in so long, so they'll have
a whole new feeling to them."
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 it's 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 foem. If you
don't have that, I think your just kidding yourself, and kidding your listener."
"Punk
rock had already been proven that it couldn't be popular," says Mike. "We
were playing punk shows and just doing our thing. We had no clue whatsoever
that it could go as far as it did. But when it got to the point where we
thought it could, we either had to get bigger or break up."
Fan
Bio
Green
Day was part of the California punk scene. Childhood friends Billie Joe
Armstrong (guitar, vocals) and Mike Dirnt
(bass; born Mike Pritchard) formed their first band, Sweet Children, in
Rodeo, California when they were 14 years
old. By 1989, the group had added drummer Al Sobrante and changed their
name to Green Day. That year, the band independently
released their first EP, 1,000 Hours, which was well received in the punkscene.
Soon, the group had signed a contract with the local independent label,
Lookout! Records. 39/Smooth, Green Day's first
album, was released later that year. Shortly after its release, the band
replaced Kiftmeyer with Tre Cool (born Frank
Edwin Wright, III); Tre Cool became the band's permanent drummer.
Throughout
the early '90s, Green Day continued to cultivate a cult following, which
only gained strength with the release of their
second album, 1992's Kerplunk. The underground success of Kerplunk led
to a wave of interest from major record labels;
the band eventually decided to sign with Reprise. Dookie, Green Day's major
label debut, was released in the spring of
1994. Thanks to MTV support for the initial single "Longview," Dookiebecame
a major hit. The album continued to gain momentum throughout the summer,
with the second single "Basket Case" spending
five weeks on the top of the American modern rock charts. At the end of
the summer, the band stole the show at Woodstock
'94, which helped the sales of Dookie increase. By the time the fourthsingle
"When I Come Around" began its seven week stay at number one in the modern
rock charts in early1995, Dookie had sold over five million copies in the
US alone; it would eventually top eight million in America,selling over
eleven million copies internationally. Dookie also won the 1994 Grammy
for Best Alternative Music Performance.
Green
Day quickly followed Dookie with Insomniac in the fall of 1995; during
the summer, they hit number one again on the
modern rock charts with "J.A.R.," their contribution to the Angus soundtrack.
Insomniac performed well initially, entering
the US charts at number two, and selling over two million copies by the
spring of 1996, yet none of its singles --
including the radio favorite "Brain Stew/Jaded" -- were as popular as those
from Dookie. In the spring of 1996, Green
Day abruptly canceled a European tour, claiming exhaustion. Following thecancellation,
the band spent the rest of the year resting and writing new material. The
end result is what is called by many, the best album of their career, Nimrod.
More information on Nimrod and Green Days current success will be put up
in the coming months.
Bio
courtesy of Jason Holmes at www.greenday.net
