billie joe armstrong

Biography

Early life

Armstrong is the youngest of six children born in Oakland, California, and raised in Rodeo, California. His father, Andy Armstrong, was a jazz musician and truck driver who died of cancer when Armstrong was ten. His mother, Ollie Jackson, was a waitress at Rod's Hickory Pit, where Billie Joe and his friend Mike Drint worked during their teen years. Armstrong's father was of English and Italian descent, while his mother has Scottish, Dutch, Irish and Cherokee ancestry. Rod's Hickory Pit was where Armstrong and his band Sweet Children performed their first show. Due to his mother Ollie being high on pain killers, she misspelled his name on his birth certificate, naming him Billie rather than the conventional Billy. He insists that his name is spelled with an 'ie'. He is the only member of Green Day who uses his given name, as the other two members, Michael Ryan Pritchard (Mike Dirnt) and Frank Edwin Wright III (Tré Cool), have switched to shorter nicknames.

Green Day's Early Years

During his stay in school, he was nicknamed "Two Dollar Bill", because he was supplying the school with joints for two dollars.^{citation needed]} In 1988, Armstrong formed a band called Sweet Children with childhood friend Mike Drint. In 1989, they formed Green Day with Isocracy drummer Al Sobrante (b. John Kiffmeyer), and subsequently recorded 1,000 Hours, on Lookout! Records. Ernie (from Sesame Street) used the term "green day", and it became an inside joke. In 1990, Sobrante left Green Day for college and was eventually replaced by Tré Cool (born Frank Edwin Wright III), who made his debut on Green Day's second album, Kerplunk!, playing all but 4 songs.

Collaborations

Apart from working with Green Day,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-gos ("Unforgiven"), former Avengers singer Penelope Houston ("The Angel and The Jerk" and "New Day"), written a song for Rancid ("Radio"), sung backing vocals with Melissa Auf Der Maur on Ryan Adams' "Do Miss America" and recorded lead guitar with Green Day for two tracks, where they acted as the backing band for Iggy Pop on his "Skull Ring" album ("Private Hell" and "Supermarket"). He has recently played a duet with Elvis Costello on a VH1 Special including versions of "Basket Case", "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" and "Wake Me Up When September Ends".

Personal life

As of 2006, Billie Joe Armstrong is 34 years of age and has been in his band for 17 years-- half of his life. Armstrong married Adrienne Nesser on July 2, 1994. The ceremony itself lasted just five minutes. The day after their wedding Adrienne found out she was pregnant with her first son, Joseph Marciano (born March 15, 1995). Three years later they had their second son, Jakob Danger (born September 12, 1998).

Adrienne was born October 6, 1969 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her brother, Steve Nesser, is a professional skateboarder. While studying Sociology in Minnesota State University, Nesser met Armstrong and asked him where she could buy a copy of their album. Armstrong has remarked that he had spotted Nesser as he peered into the crowd from the stage during the gig and he was immediately taken by her beautiful long, black hair. The two kept in touch over the phone. Their first kiss inspired an old Green Day classic, 2,000 Light Years Away. The song 80 is also about Adrienne. Armstrong arranged two tours around Minnesota, simply for the purpose of seeing Nesser, but, after dating for a year-and-a-half, they resigned themselves to the fact that they couldn't be together due to distance.

Armstrong and Nesser became engaged soon after, and planned their wedding in about two weeks.^{citation needed]}

In the documentary Behind the Music, Nesser says "We didn't think about it, we just did it." The ceremony took place in Armstrong's back yard and lasted five minutes; they wrote their own vows: one Protestant, one Catholic and one Jewish, because they were of no particular religion. The couple spent a week in the Claremont Hotel for their honeymoon (a ten minute walk away from their house).

With these problems resolved, Adrienne is often seen backstage at Green Day's shows. She works at Adeline Records and co-owns Adeline clothing.

In 2002 rumors had been circling that Armstrong had died in a tragic car accident, until a statement on Green Day.net cleared things up. Ironically the next year he was pulled over for drunk driving. He later served community service for this.

Armstrong and Green Day actively promoted the candidacy of John Kerry in the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election, co-headlining the Vote For Change tour and lending a track to the Rock Against Bush benefit album.

Equipment

Billie Joe has used a modified Marshall Superlead as his amp, but has also used Hiwatt amplifiers in the past. His guitars are mostly Stratocasters, but more recently he has been using mostly Vintage Les Paul Juniors since the recording of Warning. He now has his own signature Les Paul Junior. He now mostly plays vintage Gibsons from the mid fifties both live and in the studio.

Billie Joe received his first guitar, a Fernandes Stratocaster copy named "Blue", when he was eleven from his mother after his father died. Since then Billie has used Blue for his first few albums and for most of his videos (e.g.: "Basket Case", "Stuck With Me", "Longview", "Geek Stink Breath", "Hitchin' a Ride" and "Minority)". Billie has made several replicas of this guitar and used them in many concerts.

Awards

• Armstrong was given an "Esky" for Best Frontman in Esquire's 2006 Esky Music Awards in the April issue.
• In 2005 Kerrang! magazine awarded him the Best Dressed Star and Hero of the Year.

Films

• Live Freaky! Die Freaky! - Charlie Manson
• Bullet in a Bible - Himself

Trivia

• Billie Joe Armstrong appears as a hidden character in Tony Hawk's American Wasteland.
• He used to suffer from panic attacks which is portrayed in the music video "Basket Case".
• Billie Joe has played guitar for punk rock band, Fear.
• He's known Mike Dirnt since they were both 10 years old, they've been best friends since.
• His father died of cancer when Billie was 10 years old. Years later he wrote Wake Me Up When September Ends, but did not release until 2004 because he said that back then he wasn't emotionally ready to release a track like that.
• Billie Joe Armstrong once aided Rancid on their album Let's Go.
• His favorite sport is baseball.
• His father was a minor-league catcher.

External links

• Green Day.com
• Billie Joe Biography, as well as information on his stint in Common Rider
• Billie Joe Armstrong at the Internet Movie Database
• Green Day Online
• Green Day Australia
• Billie Joe Armstrong - Friend of Liberty
• Billie Joe Armstrong Signature Les Paul Junior