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skills to an even sharper edge in the
process. “For me, there are different kinds
of songs,” he explains. “There are songs
that push you out of your comfort zone,
and then there those that just make you
feel good, or that get you high or make you
happy.” The “Father” title cut — which is
so non-Green Day that fans might think
they were sent the wrong download by
mistake — covered all those bases. “It was
a brand new thing for us, and to be able to
say that after 30 years, it is pretty cool, cool
to feel like you can challenge yourself in a
new way.” Going into the recording, he
knew he didn’t want to make American
Idiot, Part 2, he adds. “So the record is real-
ly trying to dive into the history of rock
and roll, whether it’s Little Richard,
Martha and the Vandellas, or even Prince
and stuff like that.” Or, as Dirnt put it, “We
didn’t mail it in — it’s just not in our DNA.
It’s a testament to our blue-collar roots, but
it’s also a testament to Oakland and the
Bay Area.”
And Green Day isn’t claiming to have
singlehandedly put the brakes on global
warming. But you choose your battles,
says Dirnt, who, with Armstrong,
launched the eco-friendly Oakland Coffee
Works, which uses only certified-com-
postable bags and Keurig pods, and has
traveled all over the world researching his
product. His belief system is simple; he
says: “If you stand for something, you’ll
never die for nothing, and I’ve been saying
that to myself for years. Live your life with
purpose. I stand for music, I stand for
being a good dad, and every day when I
wake up, I feel like I’ve got some purpose.
And if you have a job where somebody
pats you on the back every day and says
you did a good job? Hey, that’s a great job
— keep it.”
Cool thinks rapidly-advancing technol-
ogy can actually help our dire fake-
news/alternative facts situation. He’s not a
fan of social media, he says. “And those lit-
tle radioactive rectangles in your pocket? I
think their primary use is for communicat-
ing with your band and your family. But
their SECONDARY use is, you can fact-
check motherfuckers who are talking shit.
Back in the day, some pseudo-intellectual
would be at a bar, going ‘Did you know
that possums are blah, blah, blah?’ But
now, you can go, ‘Oh, really? Lets’s see
what Google has to say about this!’”
Ultimately, concludes Armstrong, the
burning query at the heart of Father of All
Motherfuckers was this: “How do you start
a party in the middle of the world crum-
bling? In front of your very eyes? That’s
kind of what the record is about. But take a
song like “Take the Money and Crawl,”
that’s the sort of toxic shit that’s inside the
album if you really peel back the layers of
the party that’s going on.”
Appearing August 13, 2020, at Wrigley
Field with Fall Out Boy and Weezer.
116 N. Broad St. Griffith, IN 46319
(219) 924-7868 www.dynamite-music.com
LESSONS • BUY • SELL • TRADE
march
2020
illinoisentertainer.com
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