Green Day

Billie Joe’s
road trips

Green Day’s in-your-face front man Billie Joe Armstrong talks about the times of his touring life

FAVORITE SONG TO SING IN CONCERT:
“Scattered.” It’s more emotional than what we’ve done. It’s about my wife, Adrienne, and the idea of doing anything for someone, to the point of dying for them. It’s not quite whiny, but it’s pretty close.
FAVORITE CITY TO PLAY:
Milan, Italy. When [the audience members] are singing your songs, it’s actually louder than the band. And they dance really great. Their way of moshing is more synchronized. Don’t get me wrong- they still puke in the aisles, but it’s not like a typical mosh pit.
FAVORITE STAGE MOMENT:
In New York last May, Tré Cool [Green Day’s drummer, who often sets his drums on fire] filled the drums with a little too much fuel and lit them. A ball of fire soared 15 feet straight up into the air. They had to bring on about five fire extinguishers. When I sang the next song, “Good Riddance (Time of your life),” it was like playing after a volcano erupted, because there was all this ash on the stage.
FAVORITE STAGE ATTIRE:
For the song “King for a Day,” I strip down to these women’s leopard-skin-print thong underwear. Most people seem to like it. Other people seem to get a little weird.
FAVORITE FAN MOMENT:
A 15- or 16-year-old girl gave me a silver necklace with a little Aquarius symbol on my 26th birthday, last February 17th. I put it on and haven’t taken it off since.
FAVORITE ROCK CRITIC’S REVIEW:
Once in Melody Maker [a British music magazine], the review was so bad that I was laughing. The last line of it was: “To summarize: Green Day- F—k off.” That was so funny.
FAVORITE TV PERFORMANCE:
One of our first- on Late Night with Conan O’Brien in ’94. Watching it that night in our hotel in New York, I was like, “Whoa, man, my teeth are, like, so bad.”
FAVORITE TIME OF HIS LIFE:
Watching my son, Joseph, being born three years ago.

From Teen People