I went digging through some old articles, which are among my favorite things to read about Green Day. In part I was inspired by this video interview (Part 1, Part 2) for a Mexican TV show, done at a concert stop in Florida during the Insomniac tour, which I hadn’t seen before. The guys are pretty sullen and cynical. The band is asked: “Is there anyone you admire, or would like to play with?” Answer from all three: “No.” “what band do yo think deserves to be signed to a major?” “Nobody deserves that.” (As in: we wouldn’t wish something so awful on anyone.) The video includes interviews with fans, which are pretty cringe-worthy.

At the end of Part 2 there’s also an interview with the opening band, The Riverdales (who were earlier, and then again later, Screeching Weasel).

This article also from the Insomniac period, also includes quotes from The Riverdales. But what I liked the most was the description of Green Day’s encore:

Mike and Tre return first, with ball caps pulled low over their faces. They sing the faux-hick song “Dominated Love Slave”. Later, Billie Joe runs out to join them, only now, he has no clothes on. With his guitar strategically placed, he is perfectly at ease. He sings “When I Come Around”. Last, before saying good-bye, BJ smirks at the crowd. He turns around and flexes his buttocks. Backstage, in a towel, he shrugs his shoulders, “I had to give them something to remember. The Replacements are one of the first bands I ever saw play. I saw them play the Fillmore when I was 15. My sister got me into them when I was really young, and I actually got a chance to meet Tommy Stinson. Paul Westerberg, I wouldn’t have a thing to say to him. He’s a fucking genius.”

This article too is from the Insomniac time, but the parts I thought are the most interesting are descriptions of the band’s 1991 tour.

The first time Green Day came to Alabama, in 1991, they arrived in the wee hours of the morning in an old van. The boys - all a year or two shy of legal drinking age at the time - had come straight from New Orleans. After an evening of revelry, they had returned to their van to find that it had been robbed. The bag containing their tour money was gone. That night, Green Day and several dozen college students crowded into the living room and kitchen of a rental house on Samford Avenue for a frenetic set of northern California punk rock. Earning the band enough money for food and gas, the show was considered a great success.

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