2. The Band Green Day were formed in 1987 in East Bay, California. The band consists of lead singer and lead guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tré Cool. They are known for their catchy pop/punk and rock anthems, which have gained them worldwide recognition. They have so far released 8 studio albums, 3 EP’s, 5 live albums and 3 compilation albums, and they have sold over 65 million albums worldwide, including 24.65 million in the United States alone. They have also created 29 music videos, including hits such as Basket Case, American Idiot and 21 Guns.
3. Early Years As shown by the images, during their younger years, Green Day’s main image was the use of baggy clothing and bright hair colours, such as red, green and blue, to define themselves within the pop-punk image. Many other pop-punk bands emulated this kind of image of baggy clothing and crazy hair colours, such as Blink-182, Sum 41 and Simple Plan also does similar things, as it was seen as a symbol of pop-punk.
4. Early Years Green Day played mostly very upbeat pop-punk rock music, with simple chords structures, yet catchy lyrics and riffs, hence making them so popular. Some music videos that show this include Basket Case, Longview and Walking Contradiction. These earlier music videos show a clearer indication of the bands style and image, along with their musical genres, and teenage based themes.
5. Present Years During their more recent years, Green Day have redefined their image, with the band mainly always wearing black, with parts of white and red, and this has become a bit of a trademark feature for the band. They continue to dye their hair, but darker colours, such as black, to match the rest of their image, showing the transformation of the band.
6. Present Years Green Day have also reinvented their musical style, while keeping to their original pop-punk style, they have turned more rock, such as American Idiot and Know Your Enemy, and in some songs also heavier, while also they have created a few slower rock songs, such as 21 Guns. Their newer music however is more political, which has caused some controversy, however remains popular as some as their songs are seen as rebellious anthems to such things as the government.
7. Change In Image Green Day was originally known for their wacky hair colours such as blue, red and green, with baggy clothing, and possibly motif T-Shirts, however now they are known for their almost black image, black skinny jeans, black shirt, Billie Joe Armstrong’s black hair, however they add things in such as white or red ties or red Converse, which has now become their trademark image and dress sense.
8. Change In Music Green Day’s music started very pop-punk, and despite the genre still largely remaining the same, they have also become a bit more rock, and a bit heavier, and also at the end of every show the encore is acoustic, showing how their music has evolved. Their lyrics were mainly about teenage life, drugs etc, however they have moved on more onto more politically based lyrics, also showing an evolution over time.
