May

Stop, Drop And Roll!!!

The debut album by the Foxboro Hot Tubs entitled Stop, Drop And Roll!!! was released in May 2008 and was supported by a short tour of eight small clubs in the Bay Area with $20 tickets only available on the night. Musically, the album dropped anchor in various ports of the 1960s with guitars, drums and bass supplemented by gloriously cheesy organ. ‘Red Tide’ sounded very much like The Kinks’ ‘So Tired’ whilst ‘Mother Mary’ had the modern friction and panache of The Strokes. Like The Network, the Tubs had a fictional history supplementing club dates, on occasion, by supporting Green Day.

October

Butch Vig Signs Up

‘Right now, it’s that no pressure/fun stage of just getting on a four-track and coming up with some goofy stuff,’ Billie Joe told Billboard magazine about writing songs for the new album, ‘Eventually, something sort of unfolds.’ What unfolded first was Green Day deciding to deploy former Garbage drummer Butch Vig as producer. Vig was best known for producing Nirvana’s colossus Nevermind as well as The Smashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream (1998). Green Day confirmed the rumours by posting a 45-second video clip on the internet filmed by Vig who, after filming Billie Joe playing guitar, gave the viewers ‘the finger’.

Personalities | Introducing Green Day
Personalities | Green Day | Broadening Horizons (2009) | Key Events