Green Day is the kind of band that music listeners hold dear to their heart. A band that is so good, the lucky few who knew about them early on can't help but wonder "Why isn't this band blaring out of everyone's cars at full volume?" Yet while these people wonder this, they also take a certain pride in knowing that they listened to that band first. And hell, once the band becomes popular, it takes some of the charm away. It's happened a hundred times.

Green Day will be the next band to be popular enough to scare away a few fans. Mixing melody and energy with easy-to-sing tunes, Green Day has hit the winning combination. Damon Way interviewed Green Day earlier this year to find out more about this trio. The band is from Berkeley, and Mike plays bass, Tre plays drums, and Billie Joe plays guitar and sings.

Blunt: So, where do we start?
Mike: Let's start with a how-you-doing-I-haven't-seen you-in-a-while?

Tre:Yeah, man.

B: How did your tour go?

Mike: Good. I stuck Eight Ball and Droors stickers all over the U.S. Kids would ask me if I skate and I'd tell 'em 'Yeah, I'm sponsored.'

Tre: I would say 'I don't skate, man, I shred.'

B: What do you guys like best about skateboarding?

Tre: I like that high energy that makes you feel like you're fourteen again, fucking up your toenails.

Mike: I like the idea of knocking down old ladies as they're walking out with their groceries.

Tre: Most skaters steal things.

Mike: All skaters are theives.

Tre: Well, we could say most skaters steal things.

Billie: They have these big clothes so they can walk through a store and take anything they want and they'll never know. There is so much extra space that they can even frisk and not find anything.

Tre: I know a guy in Cleveland who does heroin and wears big clothes. He steals meat and sells it on the black market and gets money for heroin. I swear to God.

B: Do you guys like snowboarding?

All: Oh yeah, man we shred.

Tre: I'm the mogul master.

B: Once again, how did the tour go?

Mike: It was wonderful, we had a great time.

Tre: We're sorry Louisville. Who else are we sorry for?

Mike: We're sorry we were sick all over the place. We had bronchitis and walking pneumonia.

Billie: We're sorry Salt Lake City.

B: What was your best show?

Billie: Soma in San Diego.

Tre: I don't know, but we played plenty of places where skating was against the law.

B: What did you think of Soma?

Tre: The owner has a nice car and a cellular phone.

B: Are you into meeting girls on tour?

Mike: Yeah, I met my girlfriend.

Tre: Yeah, I met your mom.

B: What do you guys do on an average day up in Berkeley?

Mike: Wake up and do bong hits.

Tre and Billie: Burn bowls.

B: Do you still listen to Metallica?

Tre: Yeah, man, I still do.

Mike: I'm from the same town, I have to.

B: What other bands do you like?

Tre and Billie: Tilt.

Mike: Tilt is a great band but the Potato Men suck.

B: What bands did you play with on tour?

Tre: A band called Judge Nothing. They helped us dookie the pot.

Billie: I dookied in a girls' pot.

Mike: I pissed in her ice trays.

Tre: I put eggs behind her couch and rubbed them in.

B: What do you think of the hardcore scene?

Mike: I'm not really into pornos myself.

B: Do you think punk is coming back?

Billie: The thing is that punk has always been here it's just that MTV has monopolized the whole thing, inspiring the mainstream to look a little more punk than usual. Like how Motley Crue kicked out Vince Neil because they wanted a singer who was more punk. And Lars Ulrich shaved his head and grew a goatee.

B: So what's up with getting signed to a major label?

Billie: We're doing it man. We've been talking to Ian MacKaye and we're going to do a little thing on Dischord. We have to change our lyrics though. Make them address political issues.

B: What do you think a major will do to you guys?

Tre: Fuck us in the ass.

Billie: Probably ream us. I'm open for a rim job, though.

B: Do you think they'll try to clean you up and throw you on MTV?

Tre: I don 't think they'll clean us up because our next record is going to have swear words in every other song.

B: Do you think you will be promoted like Nirvana was?

Billie: I hope not man. It just seems like everyone was hoping to find the next Nirvana. I want to be completely separate from the whole grunge thing. I don't even think the whole so-called grunge people are even into being called grunge. We played in Florida and this guy with a TV camera, who was totally dressed up in a suit and was from the Fox Network was asking us, "So what is grunge and what does it mean to you?" We were like, "This sucks."

B: What do you think of Rocket From The Crypt?

Tre: I saw a guy with his whole back done up with tattoos, so I guess they must be pretty good. They got paid a lot of money so they've got to be the next Nirvana, or someones going to be really screwed because it was something like $750,000.

B: What kind of equipment do you guys have?

Mike: I've got a bunch of broken down basses. I just got a Gibson Les Paul and the neck twisted on me five days later because of the humidity in Florida. I also have a Gibson G-3 that's broken. I have the one I was playing tonight that broke during the show.

Billie: I have one guitar (a Stratocaster) and it's the one that I use all the time and it's fucked up.

B: Have you ever broken any equipment on stage?

Tre: I just kicked my cymbal stand and broke my high hat.

Mike: On this tour I've broken four basses, four straps, and my speaker cabinet. I've also blown two heads before.

B: What other stuff are you into besides the band?

Mike: Camping and living life to the fullest.

Billie: Legalization of marijuana or anything productive. People should just do what the fuck they want.

B: Are you vegetarians?

All: Yes.

B: Any last words?

Billie: Live hard, die young.