Skip to Search Skip to Live Player Skip to Content Skip to Footer

Pierre Robert | 10:30am – 3pm

Pierre Robert | 10:30am – 3pm

Pierre Robert | 10:30am – 3pm

On This Day in Rock History: Green Day Release Their Debut Album

Author Pierre Robert
Billie Joe Armstrong went mainstream in 1994 as the frontman to rock band Green Day. But while the celebrity is no stranger to headlines, it’s not widely known that he’s been openly bisexual since 1995. That was when he told 'The Advocate:' "I think I've always been bisexual… I think people are born bisexual, and it's just that our parents and society kind of veer us off into this feeling of, 'Oh, I can't.' They say it's taboo. It's ingrained in our heads that it's bad, when it's not bad at all. It's a very beautiful thing." Armstrong also touched upon his sexuality in the song “Coming Clean” from Green Day’s 1994 album 'Dookie.'

On this day (4/13) in 1990, Green Day came onto the scene with their very first LP, 39/Smooth.

The band were still teenagers at the dawn of the 90s, but they were hungry. This adolescent fervor drives the album’s ten tracks forward like a cannonball. Green Day posted about this initial release on Instagram:

“Green Day’s 10 song debut studio album on Lookout! Records. It was later reissued in 1991 under the title 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, which included their earlier EPs “1,000 Hours” and “Slappy” Features original drummer John Kiffmeyer a.k.a (Al Sobrante) on the drums. Inside handwritten by Billie Joe and Artwork designs by Jesse Michaels and released on Lookout! by Larry Livermore who also did their first 7” records and was in the band “the Lookouts” with Tré Cool… Recorded in a few days over New Years and released April 13th 1990. This never before seen video is in a backyard in Oakland, CA is a few weeks before that 3/25/90.”

The video mentioned in their post can be seen here, and it shows a youthful Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt tearing through a small outdoor gig with the band’s first drummer, John Kiffmeyer.

Green Day - ‘39/Smooth’

Released April 13, 1990.

Every Green Day Gig in the Philly Area, From '93 to '23

Welcome to paradise! Green Day ringmaster Billie Joe Armstrong celebrates his birthday today (2/17). The Oakland trio have always had a second home in Philly – they’ve been playing gigs here since their pre-Dookie days, and even immortalized their ’97 show at the Electric Factory in their new Nimrod box set.

MMR has spoken with the gang many times, and you can always spot Pierre Robert bringing you complete concert coverage from the pit. In fact, when Pierre spoke with all three members of Green Day a few years ago, he brought along a list of past gigs, and Tre Cool was quite impressed with the history.

Birthday boy Billie Joe is a natural showman, so we thought we’d honor him with a tally of every time he’s brought the house down in the City of Brotherly Love. Scroll through the list and tell us how many of these shows you were at on Twitter and Instagram.

  • January 16, 1993: JC Dobbs

    Could you imagine seeing this arena-level band at a 125-person bar on South Street? Whenever he plays Philly, Billie Joe asks the crowd “Who was with us at JC Dobbs?!”, and far more than 125 cheer in response. If you were actually there, you witnessed rock history in the making.

  • February 13, 1993: The Pennant East

    Just two months after their Philadelphia debut, Green Day graduated to the 300-cap Pennant East in Bellmawr, NJ. That club closed in 2011.

  • February 18, 1993: Trocadero Theater

    A few days later, the gang went across the river to the historic Trocadero in Chinatown.

  • February 23 + 26, 1993: Grape Street Pub

    Grape Street hosted the trio for 2 nights in the same week. (They’ve still got the volume up over in Manayunk.)

  • February 27, 1993: Khyber Pass Pub

    Billie Joe, Mike and Tre really made the rounds in Philly in the first half of 1993! Their next stop was Old City for a show at the Khyber.

  • March 5, 1993: Silk City Diner

    Do you think they ordered a post-show vegan mushroom cheesesteak?

  • August 2, 1994: Trocadero Theater

    On the heels of the release of their breakthrough record Dookie, the trio returned to the Troc with a batch of new songs that would go on to become classics, including “Longview”. See if you can spot hidden references in the album art.

    Green Day Setlist at Trocadero Theatre, Philadelphia

    Get the Green Day Setlist of the concert at Trocadero Theatre, Philadelphia, PA, USA on August 2, 1994 from the Dookie Tour and other Green Day Setlists for free on setlist.fm!

  • December 1, 1994: Philadelphia Convention Hall

    This ripper of a set at the Convention Hall included a mix of Dookie tracks (which were brand new at the time), plus covers of the Who and Operation Ivy, and early songs like “Going to Pasalacqua”.

    Green Day Setlist at Philadelphia Convention Hall and Civic Center, Philadelphia

    Get the Green Day Setlist of the concert at Philadelphia Convention Hall and Civic Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA on December 1, 1994 from the Dookie Tour and other Green Day Setlists for free on setlist.fm!

  • November 14, 1995: Civic Center

    About a month after dropping Insomniac, we witnessed Green Day live at the Civic Center.

  • November 14, 1997: Electric Factory

    This entire epic show is now available as part of the Nimrod anniversary set, as Pierre explains in his unboxing of the reissue.

    Green Day Setlist at Electric Factory, Philadelphia

    Get the Green Day Setlist of the concert at Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA, USA on November 14, 1997 from the Nimrod Tour and other Green Day Setlists for free on setlist.fm!

  • July 14, 2000: Blockbuster-Sony Music Entertainment Centre

    In 2000, Billie Joe, Mike and Tre returned to the E-Centre for punk rock summer camp, aka Warped Tour.

    Green Day Setlist at Warped Tour 2000

    Get the Green Day Setlist of the concert at Blockbuster-Sony Music Entertainment Centre, Camden, NJ, USA on July 14, 2000 from the Vans Warped Tour 2000 Tour and other Green Day Setlists for free on setlist.fm!

  • May 29, 1998: Blockbuster-Sony Music Entertainment Centre

    By 1998, Green Day had reached dizzying heights with chart-toppers like “Good Riddance”,  which they played for the Y-100 FEZtival at the E-Centre in Camden.

    Green Day Setlist at Y100 FEZ 1998

    Get the Green Day Setlist of the concert at Blockbuster-Sony Music Entertainment Centre, Camden, NJ, USA on May 29, 1998 from the Nimrod Tour and other Green Day Setlists for free on setlist.fm!

  • June 23, 2001: Kahunaville

    Thanks to listener Andrew in West Chester for reminding us that Green Day once played in a volcano… well, if Kahunaville in Wilmington, DE counts. (It totally does.)

    Green Day Setlist at Kahunaville, Wilmington

    Get the Green Day Setlist of the concert at Kahunaville, Wilmington, DE, USA on June 23, 2001 from the Warning: Tour and other Green Day Setlists for free on setlist.fm!

  • May 28, 2002: Tweeter Center

    With 6 LPs now under their belt, Green Day found themselves back in Camden for the Pop Disaster tour in 2002.

    Green Day Setlist at Tweeter Center, Camden

    Get the Green Day Setlist of the concert at Tweeter Center, Camden, NJ, USA on May 28, 2002 from the Pop Disaster Tour and other Green Day Setlists for free on setlist.fm!

  • October 29, 2004: Liacouras Center

    Green Day became the biggest band in the world not once, but twice: if Dookie was the catalyst that brought pop-punk into the mainstream, American Idiot was the second coming of the genre, dominating the airwaves and permeating pop culture worldwide.

    Green Day Setlist at Liacouras Center, Philadelphia

    Get the Green Day Setlist of the concert at Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA on October 29, 2004 from the American Idiot Tour and other Green Day Setlists for free on setlist.fm!

  • September 7, 2005: Wachovia Center

    By mid-2005, the rock opera American Idiot was one of the best-selling new albums in the world. The setlist on this tour pulled largely from that LP, with their 90s hits sprinkled throughout.

    Green Day Setlist at Wachovia Center, Philadelphia

    Get the Green Day Setlist of the concert at Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA on September 7, 2005 from the American Idiot Tour and other Green Day Setlists for free on setlist.fm!

  • July 21, 2009: Spectrum

    This was one of the last rock shows in our old air conditioned girl, the Spectrum, which closed later in 2009 with Pearl Jam’s legendary 4-night run.

    Billie Joe Armstrong at the Spectrum in 2009

    Billie Joe Armstrong at the Spectrum in 2009

    Billie Joe Armstrong at the Spectrum in 2009

    Billie Joe Armstrong at the Spectrum in 2009

    Green Day Setlist at Wachovia Spectrum, Philadelphia

    Get the Green Day Setlist of the concert at Wachovia Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA, USA on July 21, 2009 from the 21st Century Breakdown Tour and other Green Day Setlists for free on setlist.fm!

  • August 3, 2010: Susquehanna Bank Center

    When Green Day released yet another concept album, 21st Century Breakdown, we wondered if it could possibly be as fantastic as its predecessor American Idiot. Spoiler alert: it totally was.

    Billie Joe Armstrong in Camden in 2010

    Billie Joe Armstrong in Camden in 2010

    Green Day Setlist at Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden

    Get the Green Day Setlist of the concert at Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden, NJ, USA on August 3, 2010 from the 21st Century Breakdown Tour and other Green Day Setlists for free on setlist.fm!

  • August 3, 2013: Liacouras Center

    At Green Day’s stop on Temple’s campus, we witnessed Derrick from Macungie rip through “Jesus of Suburbia” on Billie Joe’s guitar with unbelievable precision. Pierre caught up with an ecstatic Derrick after the show, and a few years later played that audio for Billie Joe, who choked up over the emotion on display.

    Green Day Setlist at Liacouras Center, Philadelphia

    Get the Green Day Setlist of the concert at Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA on April 3, 2013 from the 99 Revolutions Tour and other Green Day Setlists for free on setlist.fm!

  • September 29, 2016: Tower Theater

    By 2016, there weren’t many venues that the band had *not* hit in Philly, but on this night they checked another one off the list: the iconic Tower Theater in Upper Darby.

    Green Day Setlist at Tower Theatre, Upper Darby

    Get the Green Day Setlist of the concert at Tower Theatre, Upper Darby, PA, USA on September 29, 2016 from the Revolution Radio Tour and other Green Day Setlists for free on setlist.fm!

  • August 31, 2017: BB&T Pavilion

    Now on their 12th studio album Revolution Radio, the boys returned to Camden, and this time all three of them sat for an interview with Pierre. Check out the concert gallery here.

    Pierre Robert with Green Day, 2017

    Pierre chats with Green Day

    August 2017 at the BB&T Pavilion

    Green Day Setlist at BB&T Pavilion, Camden

    Get the Green Day Setlist of the concert at BB&T Pavilion, Camden, NJ, USA on August 31, 2017 from the Revolution Radio Tour and other Green Day Setlists for free on setlist.fm!

  • August 20, 2021: Citizens Bank Park

    After a long break – made even longer by the COVID pandemic – Green Day triumphantly returned to Philly with the Hella Mega Tour for a bombastic show at the ballpark. See more photos here!

    Billie Joe Armstrong

    Green Day

    Green Day /
    Hella Mega Tour /
    Citizens Bank Park /
    Philadelphia, Pa /
    August 20, 2021 / DerekBrad.com

    Green Day Setlist at Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia

    Get the Green Day Setlist of the concert at Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA, USA on August 20, 2021 from the Hella Mega Tour and other Green Day Setlists for free on setlist.fm!

  • Honorable Mention: The Longshot at the First Unitarian Church

    Since it’s Billie Joe’s birthday, we’ll include one of his side projects on this list. The Longshot played the Church basement in the summer of 2018, and it was so hot that the walls were sweating.

    The Longshot Setlist at First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia

    Get the The Longshot Setlist of the concert at First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, PA, USA on June 2, 2018 from the Love is for Losers Tour and other The Longshot Setlists for free on setlist.fm!

From roughly 10:30am to somewhere around 3 (we call it Pierre Standard Time) weekdays Philadelphia rocks with (and loves) Pierre Robert on WMMR. Pierre Robert began his illustrious career at the pioneering progressive rock station KSAN, in his hometown San Francisco, but it’s through his uninterrupted 42-year tenure at Philadelphia‘s legendary WMMR that he’s made his mark. One of the city’s most recognizable celebrities will write about being at the center of its live music scene and greeting his legions of fans as if personal friends in the smallest clubs and largest stadiums.

RELATED: Pierre Robert’s Backstage Interview with Green Day

Get The MMR Insider Newsletter Delivered To Your Inbox

Get the good stuff sent straight to your inbox: Rock news, concert info, what's happening around town, plus exclusive contests, games, and more.

*
By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.
Author Pierre Robert
Category:
Tags:
,

More 93.3 WMMR

Load More