Can the world’s biggest punk band capture the zeitgeist on their new album like
American Idiot once did? They talk about staying positive in the age of Trump – and how people have forgotten to love each other• Why Green Day and 90s punk still resonates with today’s young
music fans
Green Day are in their modest rehearsal space in their hometown of Oakland,
California, a little haven in a country on the turn. The trio of 47-year-olds – still the world’s biggest punk band – are posing for photos with singer-guitarist-songwriter Billie Joe Armstrong’s prized Triumph motorcycle. Then someone remembers that the band’s forthcoming Hella Mega Tour, alongside fellow alt-rock survivors Fall Out Boy and Weezer, is sponsored by Harley-Davidson. The Triumph is put back under its protective sheet.
“Welcome to Trump’s America,” sighs bassist Mike Dirnt when I tell him of my journey via San Francisco, where I was shocked to see so much desperate homelessness. “A place where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Sadly, I don’t think we’ve seen anything yet.” The band own a number of Oakland businesses – “it’s important for us to do what we can to lift up our local area,” Dirnt says – while Armstrong still goes on
protests and attends local punk shows.