SWEET CHILDREN
Childhood friends Billie Joe Armstrong (lead vocals and guitar) and Mike Dirnt (bass) are from Oakland (across the San Francisco Bay from San Francisco) and formed a band called Sweet Children when they were just 14. Their first live show was on October 17, 1987, at Rod’s Hickory Pit in Vallejo, California. Drummer John Kiffmeyer joined the line-up in 1988; he was previously in Isocracy. By the time their first EP, 1,000 Hours came out on Lookout! Records in 1989, they had dropped the name Sweet Children, since it was similar to that of another local band, Sweet Baby. Their new name, Green Day was selected because of their fondness for marijuana.
In early 1990, the label released Green Day’s first full album, 39/Smooth, with two other EP’s following later in the year, Slappy and Sweet Children; the latter disc features early recordings by Sweet Children for another label, Skene! Records. The following year, Lookout! Records combined the band’s previous releases (except Sweet Children) as 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours. Later that year saw the release of Green Day’s second album, Kerplunk, which sold 50,000 copies.
(June 2017)
