Howard Stern recently opened the SiriusXM Hollywood studios, where he welcomed Green Day to perform live some of their biggest hits, including ‘’American Idiot’’, »Holiday» and ‘’Wake Me Up When September Ends’’, as well as some of their new songs, such as »Bang Bang» and the title track off their upcoming album “Father of All…”.
Billie Joe Armstrong shares the emotional backstory to his Green Day hit before performing the track live with the band. ‘’Wake Me Up When September Ends’’ came about when Billy lost his father at 10 years old. Devastated, he wouldn’t come out of his room, replying with this profound line when he was asked to come outside. This phrase stayed with Billy all this time – he says he avoided writing about his father for many years, but having a breakthrough like that felt good, and that it wasn’t a negative feeling, but it was expressed/received as a way to honour his father. Billy also mentioned that he thinks about his father every day, and that the month of September being the anniversary is always an emotional time.
‘’American Idiot’’, the title track from their Grammy-winning 2004 album. When the album was done recording Billy cried, mentioning that it happened when they recorded the song ‘’Whatsername’’. This was due to exhaustion and his ’brain working overtime for a couple of years straight’, as Billy points out, jokingly adding that it was also because he was hungover too. Listening to the track sonically and the way Mike was playing triggered Billy’s tears in what he called a ‘bitter-sweet moment’.
From the new album, “Father of All…” is the title track. It is a combination of political themes, but also deals with the subject of depression. Billy says that this is the first time he’s ever written about money, hence the line ‘’lying in a bed of blood and money’’. Howard asked Billy about his thoughts on money as he’s ‘got a lot of it’ – Billy replied saying that he has mixed emotions regarding the subject, feeling somewhat of an impostor because of this. He goes on to explain that they all came from ‘broke backgrounds’ and working-class families, so having work compared to when he had not, seemed surreal.
Catch Green Day on their upcoming 2020 tour with Weezer and Fall Out Boy. For more information visit their website.
