I love stories of fan encounters with Green Day, and this one has to be one of my favorites. It was written by a fan who sat next to the guys in Green Day on a plane in August of 1994, when they were at their cheekiest and silliest.

Even before boarding, the fan writes that Billie Joe was “loudly warbling his version of Tom Petty’s ‘Refugee,’ playing along on an acoustic guitar.” During the flight, Billie Joe hilariously “staggered up to the intercom and attempted to ask the entire plane if any of the stewardesses could bring him ‘another bag of penis.’” That bit made me snort out loud. If I had been drinking something when I read it I would have done a spit-take.

But perhaps the most telling and sweet part is about Mike Dirnt:

“I have two enduring memories. One was the quizzical (and slightly worried) expression on my stepdad’s face, as he tried to figure out why we were getting off the plane, kidding and laughing, with three spiky-headed, pierced musicians. The other was Mike, rushing to his purple-haired girlfriend’s arms, and then looking back at us and mouthing, ‘See, this is her!’ Because I can still picture that moment, Mike Dirnt will never be a spoiled, arrogant rock star to me, no matter what else he does with his life.”

Read it all here.

~Courtney Love talks to New York Magazine about Billie Joe: “Billie Joe Armstrong is my new BFF. It’s awesome. Nobody gets him. Like, he’s a very peculiar person and I’m really very meat-and-potatoes, way more than people think.” [Sent by Abbey]

~I thought it was cool to read so many positive comments about Green Day: the post is about Stephanie, the girl who played guitar on stage July 27.

~Fans camp out all night in NYC for a chance to meet Green Day and get their CD autographed. At the signing, with video. Personal story. All from MTV. [ Photos ]

~Billie Joe reportedly was at last night’s show of Aaron Cometbus’s new band, Thorns of Life, at the Hemlock Tavern in San Francisco. As you know, Aaron is also in Pinhead Gunpowder and writes the zine Cometbus. (Earlier posts on Thorns of Life, including links to video of a performance last November, here and here.)

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This new photo of Mike Dirnt was taken at an art gallery opening in Santa Monica on Dec. 13, 2008. The show is a benefit to raise money for the health care bills of musicians and artists with no health insurance. The gallery’s press release says: “The music and art community is filled with talented people who share the plight of having no access to adequate healthcare. There is a national problem with our healthcare system and we all need to help each other in these dark times.”

It’s good to see a pic of him, looking good as always, and to know he’s always interested in a good cause.

Yesterday was Jason White’s birthday. In his honor, this is a nice little story about Green Day playing a show in Little Rock, AR, Jason’s hometown, back in 1991, told from four different viewpoints, including Jason’s. He says: “They were great. They had just gotten robbed in New Orleans and had no money and were wearing borrowed clothes. Billie Joe had on a shirt with a pig on the front and back. He announced a new song called ‘One For The Razorbacks… and I’m not kidding.’” Ah, “One For The Razorbacks” as a new song… sigh!

I don’t know if this was the first time Jason ever joined Green Day on stage, but it could be. Burt Taggart writes: “In a strange twist of fate, Chino Horde’s Jason White ends up on stage to help sing on the Operation Ivy cover “Knowledge”. Some 12 years later, Jason will join them onstage again, this time hired by Green Day as a second guitarist on their Warning tour.”

There are some other cute bits, including a reminder of how sweet the members of Green Day have always been: “Green Day wrote, I don’t know in what, maybe chalk?, a big thank you and love you to Catherine and everyone for being so hospitable before they left that night.” And I had to smile at the reference to a, uh, charming stage antic that carried over into Green Day’s superstardom with the release of Dookie: “I’m pretty sure this was the first time any of us had seen a performer spits lugis in the air and catch them in his mouth.”

Read all the bits and see a flyer for that night’s show here.

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I love the little personal stories of fans, and when they come with pictures, all the better. This one was posted by a fan who went to a signing in Australia in 1996. He got his copy of Dookie autographed by all three band members, and Mike even left his teeth marks on it! (Well, it’s not exactly clear if it was him or another fan who got his or her copy marked in such a personal and, uh, heartfelt way.)

I also love that Mike is wearing something on his head — what is that thing? It looks like something Groucho Marx would wear to bed…. And Billie Joe’s ridiculous 70s-style tie worn over a t-shirt is priceless too. Ah, I get all giddy when they’re being goofballs. There are more photos if you click on the link.

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This photo of Billie Joe was taken at the B.A.D. girls roller derby, Richmond Wrecking Belles vs. Oakland Outlaws, on October 11, 2008. (I think that’s right…) Here’s another really blurry one.

~According to Jade Puget of AFI, members of Green Day were at producer Jerry Finn’s memorial last week. He writes: “I went to Jerry Finn’s memorial last week. It was sad and poignant, but at the same time people were having a good time, telling stories about Jerry, talking about all the things he accomplished. It was nice to see guys from such a wide array of bands, Rancid, Green Day, the Vandals, Bad Religion, Sum 41, and Blink 182 all standing around reminiscing about a guy who touched their lives.”

~Tre Cool was spotted “in the balcony section rocking out to the Fratellis” at a concert by Airborne Toxic Event and the Fratellis at the Hob in Anaheim, CA on Monday.

It’s not news exactly… Okay it’s not news at all, but it’s a little tidbit. It seems Billie Joe was on a plane to San Francisco from L.A., and the flight attendant got his autograph, with encouragement from the blogger who posted the story and photo. The autograph is on Billie Joe’s boarding pass, and here’s a picture of it:

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