Pembentukan The Killers

The Killers adalah band rock Amerika yang berasal dari Las Vegas, Nevada, Amerika Serikat. Kelompok ini dibentuk pada tahun 2001. Anggota band terdiri dari Brandon Flowers (vocal, keyboard), Dave Keuning (gitar, backing vocal), Mark Stoermer (bass, backing vocal), dan Ronnie Vannucci Jr. (drums, perkusi).
Album debut, Hot Fuss (2004) membawa mereka menuju kesuksesan. Album kedua The Killers, Sam's Town, dirilis tahun 2006, dan album kompilasi Sawdust berisi materi lama dan baru, dirilis tahun 2007. Album studio mereka yang ketiga, Day & Age, diproduseri oleh Stuart Price, dirilis tahun 2008.
Band ini telah menjual lebih dari 5 juta album di Amerika Serikat, lebih dari 4,5 juta di Inggris, dan lebih dari 15 juta di seluruh dunia.

Sejarah

Formasi dan tahun awal (2001-2002)

Pada tahun 2001, Brandon Flowers ditinggalkan oleh band pertamanya, band synthpop yang dikenal sebagai Blush Response, setelah ia menolak untuk pergi dengan sebagian dari mereka ke Los Angeles, California. Setelah menonton Oasis bermain di Hard Rock Hotel, Flowers memutuskan ia ingin ada di band rock dan mulai mencari pemain gitar. Ia kemudian bertemu Dave Keuning setelah menjawab sebuah iklan yang di taruh Keuning di surat kabar Vegas yang menulis Oasis, The Cure, U2, dan The Beatles sebagai influens nya. Mereka mulai bermain bersama dan pada akhir 2001 mereka telah merekam demo tape (yang mana menjadi single utama Mr. Brightside) dengan bantuan drummer bernama Matt Norcross dan bassis bernama Dell Neal. Keuning dan Flowers memainkan live show pertama mereka di Cafe Espresso Roma di Las Vegas pada awal 2002, pada musim gugur tahun 2002 Norcross dan Neal mempunyai dan digantikan dengan pemain bass Mark Stoermer dan drummer Ronnie Vanucci Jr., yang mana keduanya bersahabat dengan Keuning dan Flowers ketika bermain dengan band lain di live circuit di Las Vegas. Nama "The Killers" diambil dari bass drum band fiksi dalam music video untuk lagu New Order "Crystal".

Mendapat kontrak (2003)

Pada awalnya, The Killers bermain di klub-klub kecil di Las Vegas, Nevada, dimana mereka sering bermain dalam pertunjukkan yang berlarut-larut. Dengan susunan band yang tak berubah-ubah dan daftar lagu yang meningkat, mereka menarik perhatian dari Alex Gilbert, perwakilan Warner Bros Inggris. Meskipun Warner Bros tidak menyukai band tersebut, ia membawa demo tersebut kembali, dan menunjukkan nya kepada temannya, Ben Durling, yang bekerja di label indie UK, Lizard King dan BBC Radio DJ Zane Lowe. Ketika kepala label Martin Heath diwawancarai oleh HitQuarters apa yang menarik baginya dari band tersebut, dia berkata, "suara lagu yang original, bagus dan menarik. Ketika kami bertemu Brandon Flowers untuk pertama kalinya, sangat jelas bagi saya bahwa ia adalah bintang besar. Ia mempunyai kharisama yang besar. Ia sepenuhnya percaya pada apa yang ia lakukan. Ia hanya berdiri dan menyanyikan musik". The Killers menandatangani kesepakatan dengan label Inggris pada Juli 2003.
Pada 19 Agustus 2003, "Mr. Brightside" premier di DJ Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show di Inggris. The killers kemudian pergi ke London dan mulai bermain di bar-bar dan klub, keramaian meningkat setiap malam melalui mulut ke mulut dan laporan media yang sangat positif. Segera setelah kembali ke Amerika mereka di kontrak oleh Island Def Jam.

Hot Fuss (2004-2006)

The Killers tampil pada tur Sam's Town pada 2006.

The Killers merilis album mereka Hot Fuss pada Juni 2004, di Inggris di Marrakesh Records dan di Amerika Serikat di Island Records. Hot Fuss mencapai nomor 1 di Inggris dan mendapat 6x platinum oleh BPI. Mencapai peringkat teratas di Australia, dimana mendapatkan 3x platinum, dan juga 3x platinum di Amerika Serikat dan Kanada. Band ini juga sukses dengan single nya, "Mr. Brightside", yang mana mencapai Top 10 di Inggris dan Amerika Serikat, "All These Things That I've Done,", "Somebody Told Me," and "Smile Like You Mean It." Pada Juli 2005, The Killers tampil di live 8 concert di panggung London, memainkan "All These Things That I've Done". Robbie Williams menggabungkan refrain lagu "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier" pada penampilannya.

Sam's Town (2006-2007)

Album kedua The Killers, Sam's Town, dirilis pada Oktober 2006 dibawah naungan Island Def Jam Music Group. Brandon Flowers berkata bahwa Sam's Town akan menjadi "salah satu album terbaik yang akan orang ingat 20 tahun dari sekarang", meskipun album tersebut menerima tanggapan yang beragam dari kritikus dan fans. Album tersebut terjual lebih dari 706.000 kopi di seluruh dunia di minggu pertama rilis, dengan debut nomor dua pada chart billboard. Rekaman tersebut telah mendapat 4x platinum di Inggris dan platinum di Amerika Serikat. Album tersebut menghasilkan empat single: "When You Were Young" dirilis pada September 2006, "Bones" yang dirilis pada November 2006, "Read My Mind" yang dirilis pada Februari 2007, dan "For Reasons Unknown" yang dirilis pada juni 2007.
The Killers merekam live session di Abbey Road studio untuk acara live from Abbey Road pada 29 Nopember 2006. Mereka tampil sebagian besar secara akustik, termasuk membawakan hit dari Dire Straits "Romeo and Juliet". Pada Desember 2006 band ini merilis lagu amal natal "A Great Big Sled", yang mana keuntungannya disumbangkan untuk Product Red. Pada Februari 2007, The Killers menghadiri Brit Awards di Inggris, dimana mereka menampilkan "When You Were Young". Band ini memenangkan dua penghargaan Best International Group & International Album. Pada Juni 2007, The Killers menjadi ikon Glastonbury Festival

Sawdust (2007-2008)

Band ini merilis sebuah album kompilasi yang disebut Sawdust, yang berisi side-B, langka, dan beberapa materi baru, pada Nopember 2007. Sawdust mendapatkan platinum dari BPI. Single pertama album tersebut "Tranquilize" kolaborasi dengan Lou Reed, dirilis pada bulan Oktober 2007. Album ini juga berisi lagu-lagu "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town", (Kenny Rogers dan The First Edition cover), "Romeo and Juliet", (Dire Straits cover), dan "Daddy's Eyes", B-side dari "Bones"/Best Buy Bonus Track dari Sam's Town. Band ini merilis versi cover "Shadowplay" dari Joy's Division di iTunes store Amerika pada bulan yang sama. Dalam sebuah artikel di majalah Rolling Stone, Sawdust dibandingkan dengan album klasik Smiths, Hatful of Hollow, mereka juga merilis single kedua Natal berjudul "Don't Shoot Me Santa" yang disumbangkan lagi untuk Product Red.

Day & Age (2008-2010)

The Killers selesai mengerjakan album ketiga, yang dirilis pada tanggal 24 Nopember 2008 di Inggris dan 25 Nopember 2008 di Amerika Utara. Brandon Flowers mengkonfirmasi judul album tersebut adalah Day & Age dalam sebuah wawancara dengan NME. Mereka bekerja sama dengan Stuart Price yang melakukan remix "Mr Brightside" untuk Thin White Duke dan memproduksi "Leave the Bourbon on the Shelf" dan "Sweet Talk". Single pertama dari album ini adalah "Human", meskipun awalnya direncanakan untuk Sawdust, lagu tersebut dirilis pada 22 September, dengan video musik nya yang dirilis di iTunes pada tanggal 16 Oktober. Day & Age menjadi album studio ketiga band ini, yang mencapai nomer satu di Inggris dan Irlandia, mencapai nomor enam pada chart album Billboard 200. Band ini merilis single ketiga Natal pada bulan Desember 2008, "Joseph, Better You Than Me". Menampilkan Elton John dan Neil Tennant dari Pet Shop Boys. Hasil dari download akan disumbangkan untuk Product Red.
Selama musim panas tahun 2009, The Killers membintangi sejumlah festival di Eropa termasuk acara Friday night show of 2009's Hard Rock Calling di Hyde Park, London, mereka juga membintangi festival Amerika Lollapalooza dan Coachella untuk pertama kalinya. Pada 5-6 Juli di Royal Albert Hall, London The Killers merekam DVD live pertama mereka. Dirilis pada bulan Nopember.
UNICEF, MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) dan Agen Amerika serikat untuk International Development menggunakan versi singkat dari lagu "Goodnight, Travel Well" dalam video untuk mempromosikan kesadaran terhadap perdagangan seks. The Killers juga merilis sebuah single Natal pada bulan Desember 2009 berjudul "Happy Birthday Guadalupe", dan pada bulan Nopember 2009 lagu mereka "A White Demon Love Song" dimasukkan ke soundtrack New Moon.
Pada akhir Februari 2010, The Sun (koran Inggris) menerbitkan berita bahwa ibu Flowers meninggal setelah dua tahun melawan kanker otak. Ini berarti penutupan lebih cepat tur Day & Age, mereka membatalkan kunjungan ke Asia. Dua kunjungan ke Australia di Sydney dan Perth dibatalkan, namun, konser di Gold Coast dan Melbourne tetap berjalan, dengan penutupan tur Day & Age di Melbourne pada tanggal 21 Februari sebagai aski utama di Good Vibrations Festival di Flemington Racecourse.

Kekosongan dan Album Keempat (2010-sekarang)

Pada Januari 2010, band ini mengumumkan bahwa mereka akan mengambil libur sejenak setelah perjalanan yang baik selama enam tahun.
Band ini diundang oleh Presiden AS Barrack Obama, bermain di halaman selatan Gedung Putih pada tanggal 4 Juli 2010 untuk konser "Salute To The Military" United Service Organizations tahun kedua sebagai bagian dari perayaan Hari Kemerdekaan, dimana Flowers menganggapnya sebagai "kehormatan besar". Meskipun dalam kekosongan, band ini memainkan lagu "Human", "Somebody Told Me", "Mr Brightside", "A Dustland Fairytale", "God Bless America / Read My Mind" dan "When You Were Young" bersama.
Pada tanggal 15 Juni 2010, Flowers telah mengkonfirmasi bahwa The Killers telah menetapkan tanggal untuk kembali ke studio dan mengerjakan album penerus Day & Age.
Dalam sebuah wawancara pada Agustus 2010, seperti yang dikutip, Brandon Flowers mengatakan bahwa ia telah "menyimpan kartu as" perihal lagu yang telah ia tulis untuk album solonya Flamingo, tetapi kemudian ia memutuskan akan menyimpannya untuk album The Killers berikutnya. Dalam sebuah wawancara dengan Zane Lowe untuk BBC Radio 1, Brandon mengatakan The Killers akan kembali bersama untuk bekerja pada rekaman berikutnya "sesegera mungkin pada tahun 2011". Juga dalam sebuah wawancara dengan Q Magazine, Flowers mengatakan dia memperkirakan album The Killers yang baru akan keluar sekitar 2012.

Kolaborasi dan proyek solo

Pada 24 Februari 2010, majalah [[Rolling Stone]] mengungkapkan bahwa Ray Davies telah memilih The Killers untuk berkontribusi pada cover album lagu The Kinks', yang keluar pada akhir tahun.
Pada bulan April 2010, ia mengumumkan bahwa Ronnie Vannucci Jr akan bergabung dengan Mt. Desolation, bersama anggota Keane dan Mumford & Sons, yang akan merilis album country dalam waktu dekat. Pada tanggal 29 April, Brandon Flowers mengatakan bahwa ia akan merilis album solo, berjudul Flamingo. Dengan 10 lagu, album ini akan dirilis pada tanggal 6 September di Inggris dan 14 September di Amerika Serikat. Single pertama album ini, "Crossfire", dirilis pada tanggal 21 Juni 2010, melalui iTunes di Amerika Serikat dan Kanada. Album ini dirilis di Inggris pada tanggal 23 Agustus 2010.
The Killers juga memiliki Battle Born Studios di mana semua anggota merekam Day & Age dan Flamingo. Artis lain yang tercatat termasuk sebagai anggota antara lain Motley Crue, Elton John, Third Eye Blind, Aerosmith, Kansas, dll.

Penerimaan

Penghargaan dan nominasi

The Killers telah memenangkan empat NME Awards: Best International Band pada tahun 2005, 2008 dan 2009 dan Best Video untuk "Bones" di tahun 2006. Mereka juga meraih dua penghargaan dalam NME Awards Amerika Serikat pertama pada 2008 untuk Best Band dan Best Track untuk "Tranquilize". The Killers juga telah dinominasikan untuk tujuh Grammy Awards, tapi belum pernah memenangkannya. Pada tahun 2006 band ini memenangkan BRIT Award untuk Best International Band dan album Sam's Town mem
enangkan Best International Album.

Jajak pendapat dan grafik penjualan

Hot Fuss merupakan album terlaris ke-26 dekade ini di Inggris. Dimana menghabiskan 173 minggu di UK Albums Chart, lebih dari album lainnya. Sam's Town merupakan album terlaris ke-70 selama satu dekade di Inggris dan The Killers adalah Artis ke 21 dengan Penjualan Terbaik selama satu dekade di Inggris.
The Killers berada pada nomor 4 dalam jajak pendapat MTV Greatest Superstars yang berlangsung sepanjang Agustus 2009 di MTV: jajak pendapat termasuk semua genre musik.
Pada bulan November 2009, "Mr Brightside" terpilih sebagai lagu terbaik dekade ini oleh pendengar dari stasiun radio rock alternatif Inggris XFM. Lebih dari 14.000 suara diberikan oleh pendengar XFM melalui website resmi radio tersebut. "Somebody Told Me" menduduki peringkat # 9 dan "All These Things That I've Done" menduduki peringkat # 22. "When You Were Young" juga menduduki peringkat # 31 dan "Read My Mind "di peringkat # 86, dan "Human" pada peringkat # 94.
Pendengar Absolute Radio juga memilih "Mr Brightside" sebagai lagu terbaik dekade ini.
Para pembaca dari majalah musik Amerika [[Rolling Stone]], pada bulan Desember 2009, memilih Sam's Town sebagai the most underrated album dekade ini. Majalah ini juga menaruh Hot Fuss sebagai album ke-43 terbaik dalam daftar 100 album terbaik mereka pada dekade ini. Dan Mr Brightside menduduki peringkat ke-48 Lagu Terbaik pada dekade ini.
The Killers berada di peringkat # 2 pada daftar Last.fm "Best of 2009" dengan 12.471.571 scrobble album.
Amazon.com Inggris merilis daftar dari penjualan-artis terbaik dan album mereka dari dekade ini, dengan The Killers berada di peringkat # 3 di Top 10 artis terlaris dekade ini dan album Day & Age mereka berada pada peringkat # 10 dalam Top 10 album terlaris dekade ini.
Majalah Spin memilih The Killers diantara 30 Konser Terbesar pada tahun 2009 untuk pertunjukan 19 Januari mereka di Magness Arena di Denver, Colorado. Spin's Tim Dwenger yang menulis tentang acara itu mengatakan, "Kualitas produksi dari acara tersebut merupakan taktik yang hebat, dan itu jelas mengapa The Killers berada di arena itu".
Pada bulan Desember 2009, "Mr Brightside" terpilih sebagai lagu terbaik kedua pada dekade ini (dan lagu terbaik oleh artis non-Inggris) di acara TV Channel 4 Inggris Greatest Songs of the Noughties.

Kontroversi

Sejak mendapatkan platinum, band ini telah memancing sedikit persaingan, terutama dengan The Bravery dan Fall Out Boy, yang keduanya berada dalam satu label (Island Records), serta Green Day, setelah rilis DVD Bullet and The Bible mereka pada tahun 2005. Flowers mengatakan bahwa band-band tersebut mengekor terhadap keberhasilan mereka, dimana frontman The Bravery Sam Endicott menjawab dengan menyebut Flowers "seorang gadis kecil" dan "anak di kursi roda".
Selain itu, dalam sebuah artikel NME, Flowers mengaku Fall Out Boy memonopoli orang A & R terhadap saham kedua band, berangkat bassis Fall Out Boy Pete Wentz. Namun, setelah Wentz berkomentar terhadap persaingan tersebut di blog-nya pada bulan September 2005, dia menawarkan berdamai. Flowers telah meminta maaf kepada The Bravery, Fall Out Boy, dan Panic at the Disco, mengatakan "Aku ingin menarik perkataanya kembali - mereka hanya melakukan apa yang mereka ingin lakukan , sama seperti aku, "dan mengatakan bahwa ia" tidak bangga " atas tindakannya.
Setelah band ini memecat mantan manajer mereka, Braden Merrick bulan Mei 2005, ia mengajukan gugatan pelanggaran kontrak sebesar $ 16 juta di pengadilan federal, di Los Angeles terhadap band ini pada bulan Februari 2006. Gugatannya menyatakan bahwa band hanya berhenti membayar biaya jasa 25% (dari pendapatan kotor tahunan band) untuk kontrak yang diklaim Merrick berlaku selama 2007. The Killers cepat mengajukan balik gugatan pelanggaran kontrak mereka, menuduh manajemen miskin Merrick telah membebani band tersebut jutaan. Gugatan dicabut pada tanggal 9 Oktober 2009 setelah penyelesaian dicapai oleh kedua belah pihak.

Anggota-anggota

• Brandon Flowers – penyanyi utama
• David Brent Keuning – pemain gitar, penyanyi pendukung
• Mark August Stoermer – pemain bas
• Ronnie Vannucci Jr. – pemain dram

Pembentukan Hoobastank

Hoobastank merupakan grup musik asal Amerika Serikat yang beraliran rock modern yang melejit lewat lagu "The Reason" pada tahun 2004. Kata Hoobastank diambil dari kata "Hooba" dan "Slank". Kedua kata tersebut diambil dari bahasa pergaulan sewaktu masih duduk di bangku sekolah. Grup musik ini terdiri dari Douglas Robb (vokal), Dan Estrin (gitar), Markku Lappalainen (bass) dan Chris Hesse (drum). Hoobastank merilis lagu single perdananya yang berjudul "Crawling in The Dark pada November 2001. Lagu tersebut melejit hingga masuk di posisi 68 tangga Billboard Hot 100 dan di pisisi 3 untuk tangga modern rock. Kemudian single kedua pun diluncurkan dengan judul "Runnung Away" yang juga menembus posisi ke 44 untuk Billboard 100 dan di posisi ke 2 untuk rock modern. Pada album kedua, lagu andalan "The Reason" meledak dipasaran Amerika, Asia dan Eropa. Hoobastank saat ini sudah merilis album Basketball Shorts, Hoobastank (2001), The Reason (2003) dan Every Man For Himself (2006).Sebelum album Every Man For Himself rilis,Markku Lappalainen keluar dan digantikan Josh Moreau.

Album Every Man For Himself (2006)

• The Rules
• Born To Lead
• Moving Forward
• Inside Of You
• The First Of Me
• Good Enough
• If I Were You
• Without A Fight
• Don't Tell Me
• Look Where We Are
• Say The Same
• If Only
• More Than A Memory

Album The Reason (2003)

• Same Direction
• Out Of Control
• What Happened To Us?
• Escape
• Just One
• Lucky
• From The Heart
• The Reason
• Let It Out
• Unaffected
• Never There
• Disappear

Album Hoobastank (2001)

• Crawling In The Dark
• Remember Me
• Running Away
• Pieces
• Let You Know
• Better
• Ready For You
• Up And Gone
• Too Little Too Late
• Hello Again
• To Be With You
• Give It Back

Album Basketball Shorts

• Can I Buy You A Drink?
• Earthsick

Educated Fool

Foot In Your Mouth

Karma Patrol Lyrics

Naked Jock Man

Our Song

Stuck Without A Voice

The Dance That Broke My Jaw

The Mirror

Lagu single lainnya

• Connected
• Did You
• Losing My Grip
• Right Before Your Eyes
• Divine
• End Of Our Rope
• My Grip
• Never Saw It Coming
• Now Or Never
• Open Your Eyes
• Paper Promises
• The Critic
• Tin Walls
• Up And Gone (Acoustic)

Pembentukan MCR

 My Chemical Romance adalah grup musik asal New Jersey, yang dibentuk pada bulan September tahun 2001 oleh Gerard Way dan Matt Pelissier. Saat ini, band ini diawaki oleh Gerard Way (vokal), Mikey Way (bass), Ray Toro (lead guitar), Frank Iero (gitar), dan Mike Pedicone (drum) yang menggantikan Bob Bryar yang merupakan drummer sebelumnya yang keluar pada Maret 2010. Nama band ini terinspirasi oleh buku karangan Irvine Welsh yaitu Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance.
My Chemical Romance adalah grup band yang menurut media bergenre pop punk,^[1] post-hardcore,^[1] "punk revival",^[1] rock alternatif. Namun grup ini mendeskripsikan musik mereka sebagai musik "rock" atau "pop yang kasar",^[2] dan menolak diklasifikasikan sebagai emo.^[3] Grup ini telah merilis empat album yaitu I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love pada tahun 2002, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge pada tahun 2004, The Black Parade pada tahun 2006 dan Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys yang dirilis pada tanggal 22 November 2010.
Band ini mendapat inspirasi dari Queen, Black Flag, Iron Maiden, The Misfits, Morissey, At the Gates, Pink Floyd, The Smashing Pumpkins, Descendents, Pantera, The Cure, dan The Smiths. Selain terinspirasi, mereka juga menginspirasi sekelompok anak muda asal Indonesia yang akrab disebut kelompok SGW.

Album studio

• 2002: I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love
• 2004: Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
• 2006: The Black Parade
• 2010: Danger Days : The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjo

DVD

• 2006: Life on the Murder Scene
• 2008: The Black Parade Is Dead!
• 2009: Venganza

Pembentukan Mr Big

Mr. Big adalah grup musik rock asal Amerika Serikat yang dibentuk pada 1988.
Mr Big adalah grup hard rock yang dibentuk pada tahun 1988. Band ini adalah kuartet terdiri dari Eric Martin (vokal), Paul Gilbert (gitar), Billy Sheehan (bass), dan Pat Torpey (drum); Mr Big juga termasuk Richie Kotzen, seorang gitaris blues berbasis reputasi yang menggantikan Gilbert pada tahun 1999 . band ini dikenal terutama untuk musik yang mereka, dan mencetak sejumlah hit. [1] lagu mereka sering ditandai dengan vokal yang kuat dan harmoni vokal. hit mereka termasuk "To Be With You" nomor (100 Billboard Hot satu pun di 15 negara selama berminggu-minggu, tahun 1991) dan "Green-tinted Sixties Mind".
Mr Big tetap aktif dan populer selama lebih dari dua dekade, meskipun konflik internal dan perubahan tren musik. Mereka bubar pada tahun 2002, tetapi setelah permintaan dari penggemar bersatu kembali pada tahun 2009; tur pertama mereka di Jepang, pada Juni 2009.

Anggota

• Eric Martin (vocals)
• Pat Torpey (drums)
• Billy Sheehan (bass)
• Paul Gilbert (guitar 1988-1997)
• Richie Kotzen (guitar 1997-2002)

Formasi (1988-1989)
Setelah pemain bass Billy Sheehan meninggalkan David Lee Roth pada tahun 1988, ia mulai piecing bersama sebuah band baru dengan bantuan Mike Varney dari pecahan peluru Records, label khusus dalam shredding genre. Dia merekrut Eric Martin, penyanyi solo yang berorientasi rock dan bersandarkan pada soul, dan tidak lama kemudian ditambahkan Gilbert gitaris dan drummer Torpey. Gilbert sudah menjadi gitaris yang sangat dihormati yang telah merilis dua album dengan Los Angeles berbasis nya band Racer X. Torpey datang ke California dari Arizona, dan melakukan tur dengan beberapa seniman berprofil tinggi, terutama Robert Plant.
Terobosan (1989-1997)
Band yang baru terbentuk mempekerjakan Herbie Herbert, mantan manajer Journey, Eropa, dan Santana, untuk menjadi manajer mereka. Pada tahun 1989, mereka menandatangani kontrak dengan Atlantic Records dan merilis debut berjudul-diri mereka pada tahun yang sama. Rekor tidak mendapatkan sebuah band rock mainstream penonton di Amerika Serikat, namun sukses di Jepang. Pada bulan Juni 1990, kelompok ini melakukan tur di Amerika untuk membuka Rush.
album kedua Mr Big pada tahun 1991 Lean Into It, merupakan sukses dipasaran, terutama dua balada, "To Be With You" (nomor satu lagu di lima belas negara) dan "Just Take My Heart, dan" Green-tinted Sixties Mind " . Mereka melakukan tur Inggris pada bulan April dan Mei 1991 dan lagi pada tahun 1992, merilis album live, Mr Big Live, pada tahun 1992. Selama tiga malam, mereka band pembuka untuk Aerosmith di London's Wembley Arena.
Pada tahun 1993, balada lain, sebuah cover dari "Cat Stevens Wild World", (dari album ketiga mereka, Bump Ahead) menempati posisi # 27 di Billboard Hot 100. Band ini juga memberikan kontribusi soundtrack untuk rilis Sega Mega CD The Amazing Spider-Man vs Kingpin.
Mereka merilis Hei Man pada tahun 1995. Lagu "Take Cover" termasuk pada soundtrack untuk seri kartun Mega Man.
Walaupun band ini pernah sukses sebelumnya direplikasi di pasar AS, popularitas mereka terus meroket di Jepang, mereka juga memperoleh stabler baru berikut di pasar Asia Tenggara seperti Thailand dan Korea Selatan. [Sunting] Di Jepang dan di seluruh Asia, di sisi lain, mereka terus menjual wisata, mengakibatkan sejumlah rilis hidup untuk pasar Jepang.
Live At Budokan adalah salah satu rilis hidup ditujukan untuk pasar Jepang saja. Pada saat itu muncul album kelompok telah dimasukkan di atas es sebagai anggota band individu menjadi lebih asyik di proyek lain; band bubar sementara pada tahun 1997.
Gilbert keberangkatan dan baru line-up (1997-2002)
Gilbert meninggalkan band pada tahun 1997, dan akhirnya direformasi Racer X. Richie Kotzen, seniman lain pecahan peluru dan mantan gitaris Poison, dibawa masuk sebagai pemain gitar. Dua album studio yang dirilis oleh lineup ini: Dapatkan Lebih dari itu pada tahun 2000, dan Ukuran sebenarnya pada tahun 2001. Dapatkan Lebih dari itu dirilis pada September 1999, di Jepang, dan menghasilkan "Superfantastic," nomor multi-platinum satu hit di Jepang. Mr Big melakukan tur tanggal dua puluh Jepang diikuti dengan Malam Tahun Baru 1999 menunjukkan dengan Aerosmith di Tokyo Dome di Tokyo. Get Over It 'dirilis di Amerika Serikat pada Maret 2000, diikuti oleh karya tugas klub singkat di "Roxy", California.
Pada tahun 2001, Mr Big dirilis Ukuran sebenarnya di Asia. CD duduk di tangga lagu di nomor tiga spot dan "Shine", yang nomor satu, itu. Lagu ini juga digunakan sebagai lagu penutup untuk seri Hellsing animasi.
Namun, ketegangan telah dikembangkan antara Billy Sheehan dan anggota lainnya, dan band itu bubar pada tahun 2002.
Reuni (2009)
Pada tanggal 1 Februari, 2009 pengumuman radio "Presents Burrn Koh Sakai's: Heavy Metal Syndicate" berisi pesan singkat dari Mr Big mengumumkan reuni di Jepang untuk merayakan ulang tahun kedua puluh dari album debut mereka. Sebuah konferensi pers di Jepang pada bulan Februari yang dihasilkan banyak kegembiraan, [6] dan tur ke negara dimulai pada bulan Juni diumumkan, dengan pertunjukkan di lokasi sepuluh (termasuk Budokan). Mereka mengadakan reuni pertama mereka konser di luar Jepang di Rock Cafe di Tallinn, Estonia pada bulan September 2009 melanjutkan tur mereka.
Warner Music Japan merilis remaster salinan dari empat album studio, serta greatest hits CD dan DVD. Ada dua lagu studio bonus pada album, lagu baru "Next Time Around", dan sampul dari "Argent's Hold Your Head Up".

Diskografi

Mr. Big (1989)	Lean Into It (1991)	Bump Ahead (1993)	Hey Man (1996)
Get Over It (2000)	Actual Size (2001)

Pembentukan Queen

 

Queen adalah kelompok musik rock dari Britania Raya yang berjaya di tahun 70-an sampai 90-an. Bahkan sampai sekarang mereka masih terkenal, terutama karena lagu-lagunya yang sering diputar seperti "We Are the Champions", "Bohemian Rhapsody" dan "We Will Rock You". Mereka sejak awal sampai akhir tidak pernah mengalami pergantian personel, dengan empat anggota John Deacon, Brian May, Freddie Mercury dan Roger Taylor. Queen sempat vakum di awal 1990-an ketika Freddie Mercury meninggal dunia karena AIDS. Meskipun begitu, mereka masih sempat mengeluarkan album baru, yaitu Made In Heaven pada 1995 dengan menggunakan suara Mercury yang direkam sebelumnya. Mereka juga sempat mengeluarkan singel baru, No-One But You (Only The Good Die Young) pada 1998. Di singel ini, gitaris Brian May merangkap sebagai vokalis karena Queen belum mendapatkan vokalis tetap. Sebelumnya, Queen sempat mengadakan proyek Queen + .... Proyek ini adalah proyek di mana Queen berkolaborasi dengan artis-artis lainnya seperti George Michael, Elton John, Luciano Pavarotti, dan sebagainya. Queen + ... sudah terlihat sejak diadakannya Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert untuk mengenang Freddie Mercury pada 1992. Hanya saja, Queen + ... cuma menyanyikan lagu-lagu lama mereka yang menjadi hits, seperti Somebody to Love, Too Much Love Will Kill You, dan sebagainya. Setelah rilis singel No-One But You (Only The Good Die Young), basis John Deacon memutuskan untuk mengakhiri kebersamaannya dengan Queen. Pada 2004, Queen menemukan vokalis baru, yaitu Paul Rodgers. Mereka sempat mengadakan show di Hyde Park, Sheffield, Inggris. Pada 2008, Queen dan Paul

Diskografi

      Album

• Queen (1973)
• Queen II (1974)
• Sheer Heart Attack (1974)
• A Night at the Opera (1975)
• A Day at the Races (1976)
• News of the World (1977)
• Jazz (1978)
• Live Killers (1979)
• The Game (1980)
• Flash Gordon (1980)
• Hot Space (1982)
• The Works (1984)
• A Kind of Magic (1986)
• Live Magic (1986)
• The Miracle (1989)
• Innuendo (1991)
• Live at Wembley '86 (1992)
• Made In Heaven (1995)
• Queen on fire - Live at the Bowl (2004)

 Kompilasi

• Greatest Hits [Elektra] (1981)
• The Complete Works (1985) - all albums from 1973-1985 plus bonus material
• Queen at the Beeb (1989)
• Greatest Hits, Vol. II (1991)
• Classic Queen (1992)
• Greatest Hits [Hollywood] (1992)
• Greatest Hits [Parlophone] (1994)
• At the BBC (1995)
• Greatest Hits, Vols. 1-2 (1995)
• Queen Rocks (1997)
• Dragon Attack - A Tribute to Queen (1997) - tribute album
• The Crown Jewels (1998)
• Greatest Hits III (1999)
• Platinum Collection, Vols. 1-3 (2000)
• Greatest Hits: We Will Rock You Edition (2004)
• Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen (2005) - tribute album

Pembentukan Green Day

  

Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987.^[1] The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tré Cool. Cool replaced former drummer John Kiffmeyer in 1991, prior to the recording of the band's second album, Kerplunk, and has been a member of the band ever since.
Green Day was originally part of the punk scene at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley, California. The band's early releases for independent record label Lookout! Records earned it a grassroots fanbase.^[2] In 1994, its major label debut Dookie became a breakout success and eventually sold over 10 million copies in the U.S. and 15 million worldwide.^[3] As a result, Green Day was widely credited, alongside fellow California punk bands The Offspring and Rancid, with popularizing and reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the United States.^[4][5] Green Day's three follow-up albums, Insomniac, Nimrod, and Warning did not achieve the massive success of Dookie, but they were still successful, reaching double platinum, double platinum, and gold status respectively.^[6] Their 2004 rock opera American Idiot reignited the band's popularity with a younger generation, selling five million copies in the U.S.^[7] The band's eighth studio album, 21st Century Breakdown, was released in 2009.
Green Day has sold over 65 million records worldwide and 24.639 million in the US alone.^[8] They have won four Grammy Awards: Best Alternative Album for Dookie, Best Rock Album for American Idiot, Record of the Year for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", and Best Rock Album for the second time for 21st Century Breakdown. In 2010, a stage adaptation of American Idiot debuted on Broadway. The musical has been nominated for several Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Scenic Design, and has received generally positive reviews.

Band history

Formation and Lookout years: 1987–1993

In 1987, friends Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt, 15 years old at the time, formed a band called Sweet Children. The first Sweet Children show took place on October 17, 1987, at Rod's Hickory Pit in Vallejo, California where Armstrong's mother was working.^[1] In 1988, Armstrong and Dirnt began working with Sean Hughes and the former Isocracy drummer John Kiffmeyer, also known as Al Sobrante. Kiffmeyer served as both the band's drummer and business manager, handling the booking of shows and helping the band establish a fan base, and Sean Hughes served as the band's bassist.^[9] As said in the film Punk's Not Dead, Armstrong cites the band Operation Ivy (which featured Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman of Rancid) as a major influence, and a band that drove him to form a band.
After Hughes left Green Day in 1989, Larry Livermore, owner of Lookout! Records, saw the band play an early show and signed them to his label. In 1989, they recorded their first EP, 1,000 Hours. Before 1,000 Hours was released, the band dropped the name Sweet Children; according to Livermore this was done to avoid confusion with another local band Sweet Baby.^[10] The band adopted the name Green Day, allegedly due to their fondness of marijuana.^[11]
Lookout! would release Green Day's first album, 39/Smooth in early 1990. Green Day would record two EPs later that year, Slappy and Sweet Children, the latter of which included some older songs they had recorded for Minneapolis indie label Skene! Records. In 1991, Lookout! Records released 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, a compilation of the 39/Smooth, Slappy, and 1,000 Hours EPs. In late 1990, shortly after the band's first nationwide tour, Sobrante left the East Bay area to attend college.^[9] The Lookouts drummer Tré Cool began filling in as a temporary replacement, and when it became clear that Sobrante did not plan to commit to the band full time, Cool's position as Green Day's drummer became permanent. The band went on tour for most of 1992 and 1993, and played a stretch of shows overseas in Europe. The band's second full length album Kerplunk sold about 50,000 copies in the U.S.^[12]

Billie Joe Armstrong performing at Woodstock 1994. The infamous "mud fight" at this concert gained the band notoriety.

Released in February 1994, and recorded in three weeks,^[15] Dookie became a commercial success, helped by extensive MTV airplay for the videos of the songs "Longview", "Basket Case", and "When I Come Around", all of which reached the number one position on the Modern Rock Tracks charts. That year, Green Day embarked on a nationwide tour with queercore band Pansy Division as its opening act. At a September 9, 1994 concert at Boston Esplanade, mayhem broke-out during the band's set (cut short to seven songs) and by the end of the rampage, 100 people were injured and 45 arrested.^[16] The band also joined the lineups of both the Lollapalooza festival and Woodstock 1994, where they started an infamous mud fight. During the concert, a security guard mistook bassist Mike Dirnt for a stage-invading fan and punched out some of his teeth.^[17] Viewed by millions by pay-per-view television, the Woodstock 1994 performance further aided Green Day's growing publicity and recognition,^[18] and helped push its album to eventual diamond status. In 1995, Dookie won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album and the band was nominated for nine MTV Video Music Awards including Video of the Year.^[19]
In 1995, a new single for the Angus soundtrack was released, titled "J.A.R.". The single went straight to number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song was followed by the band's new album, Insomniac, which was released in the fall of 1995. Insomniac was a much darker and heavier response to the band's newfound popularity, compared to the poppier, more melodic Dookie.^[18] The album opened to a warm critical reception, earning 4 out of 5 stars from Rolling Stone, which said "In punk, the good stuff actually unfolds and gains meaning as you listen without sacrificing any of its electric, haywire immediacy. And Green Day are as good as this stuff gets."^[20] The singles released from Insomniac were "Geek Stink Breath", "Brain Stew/Jaded", "Walking Contradiction", and "Stuck with Me". Though the album did not approach the success of Dookie, it still sold two million copies in the United States.^[21] In addition, the album won the band award nominations for Favorite Artist, Favorite Hard Rock Artist, and Favorite Alternative Artist at the 1996 American Music Awards, and the video for "Walking Contradiction" got the band a Grammy nomination for Best Video, Short Form, in addition to a Best Special Effects nomination at the MTV Video Music Awards.^[22] After that, the band abruptly cancelled a European tour, citing exhaustion.^[23]

Middle years and a decline in popularity: 1997–2002

After taking a break in 1996, Green Day began to work on a new album in 1997. From the outset, both the band and Cavallo agreed that the album had to be different from its previous records.^[24] The result was Nimrod, an experimental deviation from the band's standard pop-punk brand of music. The new album was released in October 1997. It provided a variety of music, from pop-punk, surf rock, and ska, to an acoustic ballad. Nimrod entered the charts at number 10. The success of "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" won the band an MTV Video Award for Best Alternative Video for the song's video, which depicted people undergoing major changes in their lives while Billie Joe Armstrong strummed his acoustic guitar.^[25] The song was also used in the second "clip show" episode of Seinfeld and on two episodes of ER. The other singles released from Nimrod were "Nice Guys Finish Last", "Hitchin' a Ride" and "Redundant". The band made a guest appearance in an episode of King of the Hill entitled "The Man Who Shot Cane Skretteberg", which aired in 1997. In late 1997 and most of 1998, Green Day went on a tour to support their new album.
In 2000, Green Day released Warning, a step further in the style that they had hinted at with Nimrod. In support of the new album, they participated in the Warped Tour in 2000. They also had an independent tour to support the album in 2001. Critics' reviews of the album were varied.^[26] Allmusic gave it 4.5/5 saying "Warning may not be an innovative record per se, but it's tremendously satisfying."^[27] Rolling Stone was more critical, giving it 3/5, and saying "Warning... invites the question: Who wants to listen to songs of faith, hope and social commentary from what used to be snot-core's biggest-selling band?"^[28] Though it produced the hit "Minority" and a smaller hit with "Warning", some observers were coming to the conclusion that the band was losing relevance,^[26] and a decline in popularity followed. While all of Green Day's past albums had reached a status of at least double platinum, Warning was only certified gold.
At the 2001 California Music Awards, Green Day won all eight awards that they were nominated for. They won the awards for Outstanding Album (Warning), Outstanding Punk Rock/Ska Album (Warning), Outstanding Group, Outstanding Male Vocalist, Outstanding Bassist, Outstanding Drummer, Outstanding Songwriter, and Outstanding Artist.^[29]
The release of two Greatest Hits compilations, International Superhits! and Shenanigans, followed Warning. International Superhits and its companion collection of music videos, International Supervideos!, sold reasonably well, going platinum in the U.S. Shenanigans contained some of the band's B-sides, including "Espionage" which was featured in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.
In the spring of 2002, Green Day co-headlined the Pop Disaster Tour with Blink-182. Despite the co-headlining title, Green Day would play each show before Blink-182, who at the time were experiencing more success. The tour was documented on the DVD Riding in Vans with Boys.

American Idiot and renewed success: 2003–2006

Tre Cool (bottom left) and Mike Dirnt (right) performing on July 27, 2006.

In the summer of 2003, the band went into a studio to write and record new material for a new album, tentatively titled Cigarettes and Valentines.^[30] After completing 20 tracks, the master tapes were stolen from the studio. It was then revealed that a band called The Network was signed to Armstrong's Adeline Records with little fanfare and information. After the mysterious band released an album called Money Money 2020, it was rumored that The Network was a Green Day side project, and that Money Money 2020 was really Cigarettes and Valentines. However, Billie Joe denied the rumors, but The Network still appears in Green Day box sets and is mentioned in Green Day interviews.
Green Day collaborated with Iggy Pop on two tracks for his album Skull Ring in November 2003. On February 1, 2004 a new song, a cover of "I Fought the Law" made its debut on a commercial for iTunes during NFL Super Bowl XXXVIII. The band underwent serious "band therapy," engaging in several long talks to work out the members' differences after accusations from Dirnt and Cool that Armstrong was "the band's Nazi"^[31] and a show-off bent on taking the limelight from the other band members.
The resulting 2004 album, American Idiot, debuted at number one on the Billboard charts, the band's first ever album to top the chart, backed by the success of the album's first single, "American Idiot". The album was billed as a "punk rock opera" which follows the journey of the fictitious "Jesus of Suburbia".^[32] American Idiot won the 2005 Grammy for "Best Rock Album" and the band swept the 2005 MTV music awards, winning a total of seven of the eight awards they were nominated for, including the coveted Viewer's Choice Award.^[33]
Through 2005, the band toured in support of the album with about 150 dates — the longest tour in its career — visiting Japan, Australia, South America and the United Kingdom. While touring for American Idiot, they filmed and recorded the two concerts at the Milton Keynes National Bowl in England, which was voted 'The Best Show On Earth' in a Kerrang! Magazine Poll.
These recordings were released as a live CD and DVD called Bullet in a Bible on November 15, 2005. This CD/DVD featured hits from American Idiot as well as a few songs from all its previous albums, except Kerplunk and 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours. The DVD featured behind-the-scenes footage of the band, and showed how the band prepared to put on the show. The final shows of its 2005 world tour were in Sydney, Australia, and Melbourne, Australia, on December 14 and 17 respectively. On January 10, 2006 the band was awarded with a People's Choice Award for favorite group.

Green Day live in Germany during the American Idiot tour.

On August 1, 2005, Green Day announced that it had rescinded the master rights to its pre-Dookie material from Lookout! Records, citing a continuing breach of contract regarding unpaid royalties, a complaint shared with other Lookout! bands.^[34] The pre-Dookie material, which remained out of print for about a year, was reissued by the band's current label, Reprise, on January 9, 2007.^[35]
In 2006, Green Day won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"^[36] which spent 16 weeks at the number one position of Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks, a record it shared along with Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Scar Tissue" and Staind's "It's Been Awhile", (the record has been since been beaten by Foo Fighters' 2007 hit "The Pretender" which reigned at the top spot for 18 weeks).

Foxboro Hot Tubs and 21st Century Breakdown: 2007–2009

Green Day engaged in several other smaller projects in the time following the hype of American Idiot. They released a new album under the band name Foxboro Hot Tubs entitled Stop Drop and Roll!!!. In 2008, the Foxboro Hot Tubs went on a mini-tour to promote the record, hitting tiny Bay Area venues including the Stork Club in Oakland and Toot's Tavern in Crockett, CA.^[37]

Green Day performing during a secret show at the Kesselhaus in Berlin on May 7, 2009.

In an interview with Kerrang!, Armstrong revealed that 2008 would "be a fair estimate of the release date of their new untitled eighth studio album for Green Day."^[38] In an interview with Carson Daly, Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson revealed that Butch Vig would be producing Green Day's forthcoming album.^[39] The span of nearly five years between American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown was the longest gap between studio albums in Green Day's career. The band had been working on new material since January 2006. By October 2007, Armstrong had 45 songs written, but the band showed no further signs of progress until October 2008, when two videos showing the band recorded in the studio with producer Butch Vig were posted on YouTube.^[40][41] The writing and recording process, spanning three years and four recording studios, was finally finished in April 2009.^[42]
21st Century Breakdown, was released on May 15, 2009.^[43] The album received a mainly positive reception from critics, getting an average rating between 3 and 4 stars.^[44][45] After the release, the album hit #1 in fourteen different countries, hitting Gold or Platinum in each. 21st Century Breakdown achieved Green Day's best chart performance to date. The band started playing shows in California in April and early May. It was their first live show in about three years. Green Day went on a world tour that started in North America in July 2009 and continuing around the world throughout the rest of 2009 and early 2010.^[46] Wal-Mart refused to carry the album as it contains a Parental Advisory sticker and requested that Green Day release a censored edition. The band members did not wish to change any lyrics on the album and responded by stating, "There's nothing dirty about our record... They want artists to censor their records in order to be carried in there. We just said no. We've never done it before. You feel like you're in 1953 or something."^[47][48]
In 2009, the band met with award-winning director Michael Mayer and many cast and crew members of the Tony Award-winning musical Spring Awakening to create a stage version of the album American Idiot. American Idiot: The Musical opened in the Berkeley Repertory Theatre during the end of 2009. The show features an expanded story of the original album, with new characters such as Will, Extraordinary Girl, and Favorite Son.

American Idiot: The Musical on Broadway and the ninth studio album: 2010–present

On April 20, 2010, American Idiot: The Musical opened on Broadway, and Green Day released the soundtrack to the musical, featuring a new song by Green Day entitled "When It's Time". In June 2010 the UK iTunes Store received the single "When It's Time".^[49]
During the Spike TV Video Game Awards 2009, it was announced that Green Day was set to get their own Rock Band video game, as a follow up to the last band specific Rock Band game, The Beatles: Rock Band. The game was released June 8, 2010. The game features the full albums of Dookie, American Idiot, and 21st Century Breakdown as well as select songs from the rest of Green Day's discography.
Green Day plan on having a follow-up album within the next couple years, but no specific dates have been stated. They have said that they are writing new material.^[50] In an interview with Kerrang! magazine, Armstrong spoke about the possible new album: "We did some demos in Berlin, some in Stockholm, some just outside of Glasgow and some in Amsterdam. We wanted get [the songs] down in some early form."^[51]
On August 24, 2010, the band posted on their Twitter account that there is a possibility that a new live album will be released soon: "We've been recording our live shows since the beginning of tour. Possible Live album coming. A ton of songs! We're in texas!"^[52][53] On August 28, the band mentioned the live album again at a show in Denver, Colorado. Billie Joe told the crowd, "Hey, I just want to tell you something right now. We are recording a live fucking album right now," before playing a "new" song called "Cigarettes and Valentines", which was actually just the title song from the unreleased album from 2003.^[54] They also said they were recording a live album during the entire tour on the last date of the tour in Mountain View, California, also before playing the song "Cigarettes and Valentines".
In October 2010, Mike Dirnt had an interview with the Radio W, mentioning that they have completed the writing process of the ninth studio album and stating that, "We are always working on songs, when its time and when the music is right we will put it out. I like to think that we have enough material right now to put out a great record, but we want to go back home and make sure that it's perfect for everybody before we put it out." In the interview, Dirnt also mentions that the new live album "most likely" will be bundled with a live film.^[55] Shortly after that interview, there was a live Ustream broadcast with the band, where they announce that they have written 30 songs for the ninth album, and that they have recorded every show (audio and video) for the live album. ^[56] Currently, the release date for that live album is rumored to be released Spring/Summer of 2011. ^[57]
On December 5, 2010, Green Day released another side-project with Jesse Malin, a new band named Rodeo Queens, they released their first single called "Depression Times". ^[58]

Green Day performing "King for a Day" a ska-inspired song featuring saxophones and trumpets.

Musical style and influences

Green Day's sound is often compared to first wave punk bands such as the Ramones, The Clash, Sex Pistols, Stiff Little Fingers, The Jam, and the Buzzcocks.^[23][59] Billie Joe Armstrong has mentioned that some of his biggest influences are seminal alternative rock bands Hüsker Dü and The Replacements, and that their influence is particularly noted in the band's chord changes in songs.^[23] In fact, Green Day has covered Hüsker Dü's "Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely" as a B-side for the "Warning" single, and the character "Mr. Whirly" in their song "Misery" is a reference to the Replacements song of the same name.^[60] Among other influences, Green Day have also cited Queen,^[61] The Who, and power pop pioneers Cheap Trick.^[62]
The band has generated controversy over whether the band's musical style and major-label status constitutes as "true punk".^[63] In reaction to both the style of music and the background of the band, John Lydon, former front man of the 1970s punk band the Sex Pistols commented:

"So there we are fending off all that and it pisses me off that years later a wank outfit like Green Day hop in and nick all that and attach it to themselves. They didn't earn their wings to do that and if they were true punk they wouldn't look anything like they do."^[64]

Armstrong himself has discussed their status of being a punk band on a major label, saying "Sometimes I think we've become totally redundant because we're this big band now, we've made a lot of money - we're not punk rock any more. But then I think about it and just say, 'You can take us out of out a punk rock environment, but you can't take the punk rock out of us.'"^[65] English rock musician Noel Gallagher of Oasis also complained about the band semi-jokingly, claiming that they ripped off his song "Wonderwall" with their song "Boulevard of Broken Dreams".^[66]
Cool mentioned in a July 2009 interview that while Armstrong is the primary songwriter, he looks to the other band members for organizational help.^[67]

Related projects

Main article: Green Day related projects

Since 1991, some members of the band have branched out past Green Day and have started other projects with other musicians. Notable related projects of Green Day include Billie Joe Armstrong's Pinhead Gunpowder (which also features Green Day's live backup guitarist Jason White), The Frustrators in which Mike Dirnt plays bass, and The Network, in which all three members of Green Day play under fake stage names.^[68] Billie Joe Armstrong has also confirmed that the main members of Green Day are in the band Foxboro Hot Tubs. A Foxboro Hot Tubs album titled Stop Drop and Roll!!! was released on May 20, 2008.^[69]
In September 2006, Green Day teamed up with U2 and producer Rick Rubin to record a cover of the song "The Saints Are Coming", originally recorded by The Skids, with an accompanying video. The song was to benefit Music Rising, an organization to help raise money for musicians' instruments lost during Hurricane Katrina, and to bring awareness on the eve of the one year anniversary of the disaster.^[70]

.

In December 2006, Green Day and NRDC opened a web site in partnership to raise awareness on America's dependency on oil.^[71][72]
Green Day released a cover of the John Lennon song "Working Class Hero", that was featured on the album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. The band performed the song on the season finale of American Idol. The song was nominated for a Grammy in 2008, but lost to The White Stripes' "Icky Thump". That summer, the band appeared in a cameo role in The Simpsons Movie, where they perform the show's theme song. Their version was released as a single on July 24, 2007.
In 2009, the band collaborated with theatre director Michael Mayer to adapt their rock opera American Idiot into a one-act stage musical that premiered at the Berkeley Rep on September 15, 2009. The show then moved to Broadway on April 20, 2010.
The reviews of American Idiot: The Musical have been positive to mixed. Charles Isherwood of The New York Times wrote an enthusiastic review for the Broadway production. He called the show "a pulsating portrait of wasted youth that invokes all the standard genre conventions ... only to transcend them through the power of its music and the artistry of its execution, the show is as invigorating and ultimately as moving as anything I’ve seen on Broadway this season. Or maybe for a few seasons past." Jed Gottleib of the Boston Herald enjoyed the premise of the show but found that "the music and message suffer in a setting where the audience is politely, soberly seated".^[73] Michael Kuchiwara of the Associated Press found the show to be "visually striking [and] musically adventurous", but noted that "the show has the barest wisp of a story and minimal character development".^[74] Paul Kolnik in USA Today enjoyed the contradiction that Green Day's "massively popular, starkly disenchanted album ... would be the feel-good musical of the season".^[75] Time magazine's Richard Zoglin opined that the score "is as pure a specimen of contemporary punk rock as Broadway has yet encountered [yet] there's enough variety. ... Where the show fall short is as a fully developed narrative." He concluded that "American Idiot, despite its earnest huffing and puffing, remains little more than an annotated rock concert. ... Still, [it] deserves at least two cheers – for its irresistible musical energy and for opening fresh vistas for that odd couple, rock and Broadway."^[76] Peter Travers from Rolling Stone, in his review of American Idiot, wrote "Though American Idiot carries echoes of such rock musicals as Tommy, Hair, Rent and Spring Awakening, it cuts its own path to the heart. You won’t know what hit you. American Idiot knows no limits — it's a global knockout."^[77]
The musical has been nominated for several Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Scenic Design. It was also nominated for a number of Drama Desk Awards and Outer Critics Circle Awards.
In October, a Green Day art project was exhibited at StolenSpace Gallery in London. The exhibition showed artworks created for each of the songs on 21st Century Breakdown, was supported by the band, and led by their manager Pat Magnarella.^[78] He explained in an interview that "[Artists are] basically like rock bands. Most are creating their art, but don't know how to promote it."^[79] For Billie Joe Armstrong, "Many of the artists... show their work on the street, and we feel a strong connection to that type of creative expression."^[80]

Band members

Current members

• Billie Joe Armstrong – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, piano in studio (1987–present)
• Mike Dirnt – bass, backing vocals (1987–present) (briefly guitar in 1987)
• Tré Cool – drums, percussion (1990–present)

Former members

• Al Sobrante – drums, percussion (1987–1990)
• Sean Hughes – bass (1987)

Current touring members

• Jason White – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1999–present)
• Jason Freese – keyboards, piano, saxophone, backing vocals (2003–present)
• Jeff Matika – rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals (2009–present)

Former touring members

• Timmy Chunks – rhythm guitar (1997–1999)
• Garth Schultz – trombone, trumpet (1997–1999)
• Gabrial McNair – trombone, tenor saxophone (1999–2001)
• Kurt Lohmiller – trumpet, timpani, percussion, backing vocals (1999–2004)
• Mike Pelino – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2004–2005)
• Ronnie Blake – trumpet, timpani, percussion, backing vocals (2004–2005)

Discography

Main article: Green Day discography

• 39/Smooth (1990)
• Kerplunk (1992)
• Dookie (1994)
• Insomniac (1995)
• Nimrod (1997)
• Warning (2000)
• American Idiot (2004)
• 21st Century Breakdown (2009)