The Real Story, chapter 1
"Yes! Yes! YES!" Tre celebrated, as he ran into the dressing room. "That was an awesome concert! You know why? BECUASE WE'RE GREEN DAY! And you know why we're Green Day? BECAUSE I`M IN IT." He continued to celebrate a little more as other band mates, Mike Dirnt and Billie Joe Armstrong came in.
"I got a rock and roll band! I got a rock and roll life! I got a rock and roll girlfriend, and another ex-wife...duh, na na I haven't drank or smoked nothin in over 22 days, so get off of my case, off of my case. OFF OF MY CASE!" He attacked Billie Joe.
"Did you not see me! DID YOU?! I was so BEUATIFUL! FUCK! Awesome me, awesome show. Can anything be more awesome?"
"My headache if you don't shut up!" said an irritated Mike.
"Is it my fault you had to drink so much before the show?"
"You were the one who spiked my coffee with beer!"
The two band mates kept fighting while Billie Joe watched in amusement. He didn't bother to stop them; he was used to things like this.
Mike Dirnt had been Billie Joe's best friend since they were 10 years-old. The two of them had been through a lot. Billie's father had died when he was ten and when Mike was seven, his adoptive parents divorced. Billie's step-dad was an ass-hole and Mike's mom married a guy after one night. But unlike Mike, Billie Joe dropped out halfway through his senior year to dedicate more time to the band. It was called Sweet Children then, but later on, they changed it to Green Day, before their old drummer, John Kiffmeyer, left the band to go to college. That was when Tre came into the picture. Tre had a pretty decent childhood. He was born in Germany as Frank Edwin Wright III. His family then moved to California and he learned to play the drums. Tre ended up playing for Green Day when Billie Joe and Mike were looking for a new drummer. Tre was in the Lookouts beforehand. And the rest was history. Green Day steadily created a punk-rock empire and now, with the release of American Idiot they were one of the greatest bands in the world.
"--Well next time, you should check your drink before drinking it!" yelled Tre, narrowly dodging a pillow.
"Guys," said Billie Joe, jerked out of hi reverie. "We should pack up." So they started to pack up their instruments and (in Tre's case) any extra booze.
Two hours later, Billie Joe, Mike, and Tre were on the tour bus, headed to Florida. "ARE WE WE ARE THE WAITING?!" screamed Tre. "ARE WE--shit! Mike, that hurt!"
"Then shut up," he said simply.
"Come on. You have to admit. This has been the best record, like, EVER!"
"Yeah. Who would've thought that a rock opera was the way to go?"
"It worked out better than I thought it would," said Billie, more to himself than to the others. "Jesus was right."
This caught the other's attention.
"What do you mean 'Jesus was right?' Did he, what, talk to you in a dream or something?" asked Tre.
"Is there something that we don't know about American Idiot?" asked Mike, eyeing Billie. He hesitated. They were suspicious and would question him further if he didn't say anything. Might as well tell them. They were bound to find out anyway.
"Well, right after our master tapes were stolen and we wrote the song American Idiot, we needed some new ideas. So while I was on one of my walks, I bumped into some guy. He kept his hood up, so I never saw his face. He asked me if I was Billie Joe Armstrong. Then he handed me a packet of papers. I didn't know what they were, so I asked him. All he said was that it was what I was looking for. Then he just went away and I never saw him again."
"You never found out his name?" Tre asked.
"It was on the packet. It said, 'From the son of rage and love, the Jesus of Suburbia.'"
"Wait," said Mike, catching on to something. "In 'Bullet in a Bible' you said that the line just came to you."
"Jesus--if that's his real name--told me not to tell anyone where the material came from."
"But 'Nobody Likes You' and 'Rock and Roll Girlfriend' were our songs," said Tre, pointing to him and Mike.
"I know, but on the American Idiot inlay, remember that song was on a postcard to St. Jimmy? The songs were kind of like this one scene that was in the papers Jesus gave me, so the inlay made sense with it."
Mike thought he got it, but Tre was still confused.
"Hold on. I think I have it with me," said Billie. He got up and rummaged around it. There was some rustling until he managed to find it.
"Ok, here it is," he announced. "It was an ordinary manilla envelope that looked like it held a huge stack of papers. On the front was scribbled, "To Green Day. From the son of rage and love, the Jesus of Suburbia." Billie took it out and Mike and Tre saw that it was in the form of a long letter that went on for pages.
"Whoa," said Mike, eyes wide.
"You bring that around with you?" Tre asked.
"Yeah. I like reading it." Billie smoothed out the first page and started to read them.
"I got a rock and roll band! I got a rock and roll life! I got a rock and roll girlfriend, and another ex-wife...duh, na na I haven't drank or smoked nothin in over 22 days, so get off of my case, off of my case. OFF OF MY CASE!" He attacked Billie Joe.
"Did you not see me! DID YOU?! I was so BEUATIFUL! FUCK! Awesome me, awesome show. Can anything be more awesome?"
"My headache if you don't shut up!" said an irritated Mike.
"Is it my fault you had to drink so much before the show?"
"You were the one who spiked my coffee with beer!"
The two band mates kept fighting while Billie Joe watched in amusement. He didn't bother to stop them; he was used to things like this.
Mike Dirnt had been Billie Joe's best friend since they were 10 years-old. The two of them had been through a lot. Billie's father had died when he was ten and when Mike was seven, his adoptive parents divorced. Billie's step-dad was an ass-hole and Mike's mom married a guy after one night. But unlike Mike, Billie Joe dropped out halfway through his senior year to dedicate more time to the band. It was called Sweet Children then, but later on, they changed it to Green Day, before their old drummer, John Kiffmeyer, left the band to go to college. That was when Tre came into the picture. Tre had a pretty decent childhood. He was born in Germany as Frank Edwin Wright III. His family then moved to California and he learned to play the drums. Tre ended up playing for Green Day when Billie Joe and Mike were looking for a new drummer. Tre was in the Lookouts beforehand. And the rest was history. Green Day steadily created a punk-rock empire and now, with the release of American Idiot they were one of the greatest bands in the world.
"--Well next time, you should check your drink before drinking it!" yelled Tre, narrowly dodging a pillow.
"Guys," said Billie Joe, jerked out of hi reverie. "We should pack up." So they started to pack up their instruments and (in Tre's case) any extra booze.
Two hours later, Billie Joe, Mike, and Tre were on the tour bus, headed to Florida. "ARE WE WE ARE THE WAITING?!" screamed Tre. "ARE WE--shit! Mike, that hurt!"
"Then shut up," he said simply.
"Come on. You have to admit. This has been the best record, like, EVER!"
"Yeah. Who would've thought that a rock opera was the way to go?"
"It worked out better than I thought it would," said Billie, more to himself than to the others. "Jesus was right."
This caught the other's attention.
"What do you mean 'Jesus was right?' Did he, what, talk to you in a dream or something?" asked Tre.
"Is there something that we don't know about American Idiot?" asked Mike, eyeing Billie. He hesitated. They were suspicious and would question him further if he didn't say anything. Might as well tell them. They were bound to find out anyway.
"Well, right after our master tapes were stolen and we wrote the song American Idiot, we needed some new ideas. So while I was on one of my walks, I bumped into some guy. He kept his hood up, so I never saw his face. He asked me if I was Billie Joe Armstrong. Then he handed me a packet of papers. I didn't know what they were, so I asked him. All he said was that it was what I was looking for. Then he just went away and I never saw him again."
"You never found out his name?" Tre asked.
"It was on the packet. It said, 'From the son of rage and love, the Jesus of Suburbia.'"
"Wait," said Mike, catching on to something. "In 'Bullet in a Bible' you said that the line just came to you."
"Jesus--if that's his real name--told me not to tell anyone where the material came from."
"But 'Nobody Likes You' and 'Rock and Roll Girlfriend' were our songs," said Tre, pointing to him and Mike.
"I know, but on the American Idiot inlay, remember that song was on a postcard to St. Jimmy? The songs were kind of like this one scene that was in the papers Jesus gave me, so the inlay made sense with it."
Mike thought he got it, but Tre was still confused.
"Hold on. I think I have it with me," said Billie. He got up and rummaged around it. There was some rustling until he managed to find it.
"Ok, here it is," he announced. "It was an ordinary manilla envelope that looked like it held a huge stack of papers. On the front was scribbled, "To Green Day. From the son of rage and love, the Jesus of Suburbia." Billie took it out and Mike and Tre saw that it was in the form of a long letter that went on for pages.
"Whoa," said Mike, eyes wide.
"You bring that around with you?" Tre asked.
"Yeah. I like reading it." Billie smoothed out the first page and started to read them.
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