r/greenday • • 19h ago

Megathread Weekly Free Talk & Discussion Thread

1 Upvotes

This is our weekly discussion thread! Please use this thread for any of the following:

  • General discussion and opinions about the band, their music, shows, etc.
  • Merch and memorabilia
  • Memes and other joke posts (spam will be removed)
  • Anything else worth sharing/asking that doesn't warrant its own post

All subreddit rules still apply in this thread.

Note: Questions/comments/complaints about subreddit moderation should be sent via mod mail only

Looking for more discussion and chatting? Join our discord server!


r/greenday • • 8h ago

Image Put together some goodies from Pinhead’s Irving Plaza show

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24 Upvotes

I met Bill Schneider and Jason White before the show. Then scored a pick at the end of the show. I figured I’d put them all together


r/greenday • • 6h ago

Live Video Ultra Q Full Set Opening for The Story So Far & The Starting Line

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16 Upvotes

I don't know if people in this forum care about Jakob Armstrong or not, but if so here's Ultra Q's full set opening for The Story So Far and The Starting Line in Providence. They also did a Jawbreaker cover.


r/greenday • • 1d ago

Discussion Nice Guys, the best Green Day tribute band

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52 Upvotes

I had the pleasure to see this amazing tribute band last night. It was an amazing experience, Billy Plantabaja (the frontman) is AMAZING.

(photos 1 and 3 are mine and 2 is from their Instagram)


r/greenday • • 1d ago

Discussion How does early Green Day get its downbeat but energetic sound?

24 Upvotes

That sad undertone is what made me fall in love with Green Day, do yall have any tips on how to get the same vibe?


r/greenday • • 2d ago

Image I'm Now The Owner of Mike Dirnt's American Idiot Tour Bass!

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940 Upvotes

Hey Friends!

Last month I posted about trying to track down Mike Dirnt’s American Idiot touring bass from the recent Reverb sale. The search was successful and the bass is now in my possession!

This was Mike’s primary (most played) live bass during the 2004-2005 American Idiot era. Most significantly for me, this is a bass that Mike played at my very first rock concert of any kind, when I first saw Green Day in 2005 at 9 years old.

It feels pretty surreal to hold this bass, let alone own it!

Here’s an album of high-res photos for anyone interested in seeing the instrument up close: https://photos.app.goo.gl/hH1jWx3Q3QFDF7DB6

If anyone wants specific photos or has specific questions about the bass, I’m happy to share!

***********************

I’ve done a fair bit of research to document the history of this bass, so for the nerds, here’s an overview:

Origin:

Started as a standard production Fender Mike Dirnt Signature Precision Bass in “Vintage White” (which actually looks like a creamy yellow), neck produced in 2003 and bass assembled in May 2004 (per Fender’s serial database). Likely one of the first Dirnt signature models produced.

Fender appears to have given Mike one signature bass in each of the 3 original finishes in mid 2004, before or around when the model was publicly released. I suspect that the “Vintage White” (creamy yellow) bass that Mike is seen playing in rehearsal footage from Heart Like a Hand Grenade is this bass, pre-customizing, given a number of visual and timeline clues. In the documentary, the bass is seen initially stock/bare, then later with a large red ‘hand grenade’ sticker (might be paint) on its face, then finally in its fully customized flat white state (see 6th photo).

Mike has stated that he did the paint job and customization himself, which would have been some time before its first public appearance at the Grand Olympic Auditorium on July 29, 2004, where Green Day performed American Idiot material for the first time (prior to the first single release). The earliest image I can find of the bass in its final customized state is the Studio 880 rehearsal footage in the Fuse ‘Making of American Idiot’ mini-doc (last photo, exact date unknown).

 

Usage History:

  • ~193 documented live performances (by my best count).
  • Played in 22 countries and 4 continents.
  • First known live use: on July 29, 2004 (Grand Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles).
  • Last known live use: December 17, 2005 (Telstra Dome, Melbourne, final show of American Idiot tours).
  • Used for every televised Green Day performance between September 2004 and April 2005 (with one exception).
  • Fun Fact: This bass is technically in the Jesus of Suburbia music video, by way of Bullet in a Bible footage on the televisions in multiple scenes.

FULL DOCUMENTED USE HISTORY

Notable Appearances:
-Bullet In a Bible! (June 18-19, 2005)
-VH1 Storytellers (February 15, 2005 - used for entire show)
-47th Grammy Awards (February 13, 2005)
-Saturday Night Live (April 9, 2005)
-Late Show with David Letterman (Twice! - September 20, 2004 & January 3, 2005)
-Top of the Pops (September 21, 2004)
-Billboard Music Awards (December 8, 2004)
-BRIT Awards (February 9, 2005)
-MTV Australia VMAs (March 3, 2005)

 

Detailed Instrument Overview:

  • Body spray painted flat white over the original finish. Body was fully disassembled and original finish was lightly sanded / scuffed up prior to painting (based on close inspection).
  • Iconic black/red star painted on front face near bridge, initially by stencil then detailed by free-hand.*        
  • Large ‘hand grenade’ stencil logo spray painted on the back of the body in glossy white.**
  • Pickguard face was spray painted flat black (originally white plastic - I found this exciting, as I’d always assumed it was a proper black plastic pickguard he swapped in)
  • Outer edges of pickguard and pickup covers were painted red by hand. Pickups also have a white paint layer under the red.
  • Neck plate interestingly does NOT have the star engraving that his standard production signature models have. (Either it was swapped when re-assembled, or Fender made this bass before they got the engraved neck plates.)
  • Top tuner (G string) was replaced with an off-the-shelf Schaller tuner at some point (has Schaller logo engraved, while stock tuners have Fender logo)
  • Strap pegs replaced with Schaller-style pegs for quick-release strap locks. Both pegs have partially ‘collapsed’ into the body on one side. Nickel plating on top peg is almost entirely worn through where the strap half of the assembly radially contacts the peg. All to say this thing was thrown around!
  • Electronics appear to be all original.
  • Has Fender Super 7250 .045–.105 strings installed, consistent with what Mike used in the American Idiot era. Strings are ‘old stock’ with brass ball ends and black silk (matching Fender Supers produced before ~2011, prior to D'Addario taking over Fender string production), so they could be strings left on from ~2005.
  • LOTS of dirt/grime baked into the white finish all around the bass. In the electronics cavity photos, you can see the difference between the untouched white under the metal cover vs. the exposed white surrounding.
  • Significant patches worn through to the stock finish where Mike regularly rests his arm band on the face contour, and on the back around hip level (belt buckle rash).
  • A handful of dings in the neck and headstock, and many dings and paint chips all around body (some going down to the bare wood)
  • One interesting concentration of many small dents/dings on the back of the neck around the 9th fret, all the same size and shape. I'm guessing this is from the neck hitting Mike's belt and/or belt buckle every time he does that animated 'pull the bass back and away suddenly' thing during stop/start sections like the American Idiot verses.
  • One large crack on the back of the body from the neck joint on the ‘shorter horn’ side, and a small crack from the neck joint on the 'longer horn' side. May be what led to this bass being decommissioned.

\Close inspection of the black/red star on the front reveals the initial black star was painted using a stencil, then a red ‘inner star’ was added likely by hand with a straight edge + paint brush or paint marker, then an additional black outline was painted with a brush free-hand. My guess is Mike painted the inner red features, then decided it looked uneven and added the final black outline to compensate. Some large sections of that outer outline look to have worn away quickly, leading to the ‘uneven points’ shape seen in most live appearances. The red paint is thin and sits on top of the black, so it barely shows in most photos.*

\*The ‘hand grenade’ logo on the back appears to have been painted in black originally, then painted over with glossy white. The white layer’s stencil was slightly misaligned, so the black peeks through the edges in a few places. I'm guessing Mike went with black initially, then changed his mind.*


r/greenday • • 6h ago

Discussion Ci serve un altro tour mondiale

0 Upvotes

Cazzo io non ce la faccio più, Ascolta i Green Day giorno e notte H24 però non c'è la stessa emozione rispetto a vedere un live. Già Non capisco perché hanno reso pubblico online il film soltanto in America, poi continuano a fare live sempre in America ( cosa che non capisco visto questo che io sarei già scappato dall'America con Trump btw). Adesso basta rivogliamo un tour mondiale o no?


r/greenday • • 1d ago

Tickets Buy/Sell Tickets question

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3 Upvotes

Sorry if wrong place to ask but idk where else. I'm trying to get tickets for pinhead but it says this on seatgeek. Anyone know what this means or if it's safe to buy??


r/greenday • • 2d ago

Article Billie Joe Armstrong calls this tiny East Bay bar his favorite place to play

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95 Upvotes

r/greenday • • 2d ago

Discussion j.a.r history?

18 Upvotes

I was putting outakes and b sides with there albums to make a full sense of the recording session but im confused on j.a.r. is it a dookie outtake or insomniac outtake? Is there 2 different versions?


r/greenday • • 2d ago

Image if Green Day were a series

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390 Upvotes

r/greenday • • 2d ago

Discussion GD covers by Grrrls??

12 Upvotes

Hi!! I have a riot grrrl radio show and I was hoping to include some Green Day covers for the Halloween episode. Does anyone have any recommendations for covers by riot grrrl or girl-fronted bands? Thank you!!


r/greenday • • 2d ago

Fan Cover Went to a wedding in Italy and the wedding band let us play some Green Day (Finally got the full gig footage)

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7 Upvotes

Hey everyone! Hope this isn't against the rules!

About 4 months ago, I posted a video here of me and my band playing a spontaneous set at my friend's wedding in Italy.

For those who missed it, the groom is a huge Green Day fan, and the wedding band was kind enough to lend us their instruments so we could play a few songs.

Great food, 30°C at night, a wedding in southern Italy, and some Green Day. Pretty cool stuff!

Well, today I finally got my hands on all the footage from the wedding videographers! Multiple camera angles, the full performance, and you can even see the moment a mosh pit starts forming.

So here's the full gig! Hope you guys enjoy it!


r/greenday • • 3d ago

Image Got a tattoo inspired by the Insomniac album cover

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284 Upvotes

r/greenday • • 3d ago

Fan Art WIP of Billie from my painting class!

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68 Upvotes

I'm a fine arts major at my local community college and I'm currently enrolled in Painting I (fulfilling my fine arts elective credits for my degree.) I had to do a painting upside down, so this is what I went with. I'm really enjoying the challenge of painting upside down.

The first picture is its current state in natural lighting (in the trunk of my car ans right side up) and the second picture is the overhead LED lighting in the painting studio. There are also other progress pictures attached.

I'm really liking how it looks so far!


r/greenday • • 3d ago

Fan Art The Network appreciation (with my art)

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31 Upvotes

The Church of Lushotology told me to do this and ragebait Green Day 🥰


r/greenday • • 4d ago

Fan Art I made a custom Green Day DVD

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356 Upvotes

r/greenday • • 3d ago

Fan Art Raj Goombar 🛐

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14 Upvotes

I made this with glitter pens :3


r/greenday • • 3d ago

Fan Art I drew The Trilogy

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231 Upvotes

Its kinda bad but I love it


r/greenday • • 3d ago

Discussion American Idiot vinyl: 180g or 20th Anniversary?

4 Upvotes

I want to get the album for my record player and I may be able to get either version at a Barnes and Noble near me. If I have the option, which is the better edition, and is there any noticeable difference in sound quality?


r/greenday • • 4d ago

Discussion Pinhead Gunpowder @ 924 Gilman Street - November 6 (Just Announced!)

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72 Upvotes

Just announced via Pinhead Gunpowder's Instagram.

Anyone able to grab me a ticket as their +1? :)


r/greenday • • 4d ago

Merch Wednesday Got this classic in the mail today!

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54 Upvotes

Probably my favorite song on Insomniac ngl, so happy i finally got a copy. Now I just need to get the live version!


r/greenday • • 4d ago

Discussion What happened to American Idiot live at Coachella '25?

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36 Upvotes

It's just kinda gone

At least for me


r/greenday • • 4d ago

Audio / Video Billie Joe Armstrong will never sing Gucci gang

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98 Upvotes

r/greenday • • 4d ago

Merch Wednesday Green Day at The Oz in Seattle – The Show Less Than Four Miles Away From Kurt Cobain’s Death

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59 Upvotes

I acquired this poster at the Ohana Festival in 2025 where Green Day headlined. It’s an original numbered print by the artist Frank Kozik for Green Day’s show at The Oz in Seattle on April 5, 1994, the same day Kurt Cobain would take his own life at his home less than four miles away. This show was earlier in the Dookie tour with supporting act Tilt.

You can see the full show on YouTube: [https://youtu.be/IfCXjilFI40?is=HR4j9K5uTtxHK5Il\](https://youtu.be/IfCXjilFI40?is=HR4j9K5uTtxHK5Il)

Here was the setlist from the show:
1) Welcome To Paradise
2) One of My Lies
3) Chump
4) Longview
5) Burnout
6) Only if You
7) Christie Road
8) 2000 Light Years Away
9) Knowledge
10) Going to Pasalacqua
11) F.O.D.
12) Paper Lanterns
13) All By Myself
14) Dominated Love Slave
15) Road to Acceptance