It all began in '94when I was only 12 years old hanging out at a friend’s house playing Amiga games when he produced a tape marked “Kerplunk/Dookie”, upon asking who the artist was I was informed Green Day and the moment that tape started my life became engulfed in an obsession with this new found music.
To me hearing these albums was a complete awakening to pastures new having been raised on a diet of classic rock and 60’s soul for the years preceding this moment, there was angst, passion and heartbreak all rolled into short 2-3 minutes bursts that immediately filled me with intrigue. Despite being too young to relate to most of the tales of heartbreak, I was at the ideal age for the concept of a musical rebellion and take to it I did. I soon hit our local newsagents searching for any publication that would provide me more information on my new musical path. During that period I stumbled across an issue of a no longer in print magazine called Raw, said issue not only contained their coverage of Reading ’95, but also an 8 page pull out focusing on the New Wave of US punk rock (something that dominated my bedroom walls for many years!). I had found the mother lode of the information I required to get me started, The Offspring, Rancid and Green Day were the main culprits featured and prompted a visit to my local library (who I thank for patiently putting up with an adolescent teen constantly requesting new tapes to be ordered) whereby I ordered albums by them to test the water. It didn’t end there though as my quest for knowledge was far from over. I turned to checking thanks lists that featured on these albums and started ordering completely random albums based on the fact that I figured if they were held in such high regard to be featured in a thanks list then they would be ideal for myself.
This proved to be the most successful move; despite some stinkers (to this day I still can’t get into Screeching Weasel) most paid off big time and lead to delving deeper into the genre and its related sub genres (a Sam Goody opened in neighbouring Burton that seemed to cater extremely well for the latest imports).
By this point my bedroom walls had become covered in magazine clippings, posters and record/tape sleeves (mostly Green Day), I had at least 4 Green Day t-shirts and I had made the obvious faux pas of dying my hair blue. I even remember scrimping on family Christmas presents one year in order to buy a new poster, and the best bit of all is that I don’t regret a single minute of it all. Green Day had opened my eyes to what was to become my future life, I could have taken a completely different turn somewhere and ended up listening to German Trance alone in my bedroom but I am here now thanks to that tape my friend gave me back in ’95.
Yes, I know everyone nowadays casts a sneer in the general direction of anyone who mentions Green Day, but what most people forget is that they were once a great band and kings of the pop punk genre. Despite all their material post nimrod being shite and the fact that they now have a Broadway musical (soon to be a feature film) based on a hit album, nothing will destroy my opinion of the band that introduced me to a world of amazing music.
