Green day band name meaning

After Green Day left the independent music label Lookout! Records and signed with major label Reprise Records, many fans of the underground punk scene considered Green Day to be sell-outs. It took a little while following that shift, but most punk fans eventually came back around to Green Day. Since then, the band—composed of the power trio Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool—has helped to usher in mainstream popularity for the punk rock genre. Just look at the success that the band’s third album (and debut album with Reprise), Dookie had on the music world. (“Basket Case,” anyone?)

But where, oh where, did the name Green Day come from? Spoiler: It’s exactly what you think.

Where the name “Green Day” came from.

The band adopted its Green Day band name in 1989. Before then, the band had been operating under the name Sweet Children and got their start performing at local venues in the Bay Area of California. (Armstrong and Dirnt were only 14 years old at the time of their first live shows.) After signing to Lookout! Records, the band dropped the name Sweet Children in favor of Green Day. This change occurred due to the fact that there happened to be another band named Sweet Baby in the area, so Armstrong and crew opted for Green Day to avoid confusion.

And, as far as where Green Day came from, it’s likely exactly what you think. It’s about marijuana.

In an interview with TV host Bill Maher, Armstrong affirmed this storyline. “I always thought, maybe it’s an urban myth, that it was about pot,” Maher said.

“It was absolutely about pot,” Armstrong immediately confirmed. “We were trying to be like the Cheech & Chong of punk rock for a while, and some of us still are the Cheech & Chong of punk rock.”

More specifically, a “green day” is a day spent entirely smoking pot with little regard for anything else.

9 December 2022, 14:00

Green Day have had their name for over 30 years, but do you know the origins of the East Bay punk rockers' moniker? Find out here.

It's hard to believe thatGreen Day have been at it for over three decades.

First formed in 1986 by Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt, the East Bay punk rockers have made up a formidable threesome with Tré Cool, who replaced John Kiffmeyer in 1990.

30 years and 13 albums later, the punk rock trio are still going strong, with their lates album Father of All Motherf**kers released on 7 February 2020.

Watch the video for the album's title track here:

You can't deny that Green Day are an alternative household name, but how did Green Day come up with their name, and what does it mean? Find out here...

READ MORE: Green Day's best lyrics

What's the story behind Green Day's name?

Green Day started off their life as Sweet Children - a name coined by Armstrong and Dirnt in 1986 at the age of 14 in East Bay, California.

However by 1989, the band needed to change their name to avoid confusion with another band who were called Sweet Baby. Their debut EP, 1,000 Hours, was released under the moniker Green Day, which was also the title of one of their songs.

Some fan sites say Billie Joe picked the name after "chilling in the basement of a Berkeley University building," while others say it was the decision of the whole band.

However, what they all agree on is the fact that a Green Day was Bay-area slang for a day of doing literally nothing but smoking weed.

The song Green Day alludes to this type of thing, with phrases "My lungs comfort me with joy" and "Laying in my bed / I think I'm in left field / I picture someone, I think it's you".

A couple of days before Green Day were induc

American rock band

"Sweet Children" redirects here. For their EP, see Sweet Children (EP).

Green Day is an American rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their major-label debut Dookie, released through Reprise Records, became a breakout success and eventually shipped over 20 million copies in the U.S. Alongside fellow California punk bands Bad Religion, the Offspring, Rancid, NOFX, Pennywise and Social Distortion, Green Day is credited with re-popularizing mainstream interest in punk rock in the U.S.

Before taking its current name in 1989, the band was named Blood Rage, then Sweet Children. They were part of the late 1980s/early 1990s Bay Area punk scene that emerged from the 924 Gilman Street club in Berkeley, California. The band's early releases were with the independent record label Lookout! Records, including their first album, 39/Smooth (1990). For most of the band's career, they have been a power trio with Cool, who replaced John Kiffmeyer in 1990 before the recording of the band's second studio album, Kerplunk (1991). Though the albums Insomniac (1995), Nimrod (1997) and Warning (2000) did not match the success of Dookie, they were still successful, with Insomniac and Nimrod reaching double platinum status, while Warning achieved gold. Green Day's seventh album, a rock opera called American Idiot (2004), found popularity with a younger generation, selling six million copies in the U.S. Their next album, 21st Century Breakdown, was released in 2009 and achieved the band's best chart performance. It was followed by a trilogy of albums, ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré!, released in September, November, and December 2012, respectively. The trilogy did not perform as well as expected commercially, in comparison to their previous albums, largely due t

Green Day – one of the best known pop punk bands in America today, and often credited for helping to bring the genre into the mainstream and influence acts in a similar vein. Green Day have left their mark on pop culture ever since their rapid rise to fame in the 1990s. Through their decade-spanning career, they have released a great amount of music and many songs that have become must-listens in pop punk and rock music as a whole. In order to commemorate the 30th anniversary of their breakout album, “Dookie,” the 20th anniversary of their mid-career chart topper “American Idiot,” and the release of their brand-new album “Saviors,” we will take a look into a history of the band’s music, from where they came from to where they are now. Let’s begin.

Introduction/Formation

Green Day’s initial members would come together within the San Fransisco Bay Area of California, where residents Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt would form a band named Sweet Children with bassist Sean Hughes and drummer Raj Punjabi in 1987. One of the most notable places the group would play in was 924 Gilman Street, a club in Berkley where many independent punk bands at the time would perform to work on their sound. After a short time, Hughes and Punjabi would leave the band, their parts being taken by Dirnt and newcomer John Kiffmeyer (also known as Al Sobrante) respectively. The band would be signed to Lookout! Records, under which they would release their first EP (“1,000 Hours”) and album (“39/Smooth”) under the new name “Green Day.”

“39/Smooth,” released in 1990, is a project which showcased Green Day’s potential at an early stage.  The album pairs catchy and fast-paced guitar riffs with a knack for lyrical melody that shone through the more raw and rough-around-the-edges style of production the band was working with. Emotionally charg