Meet John Kiffmeyer
John Kiffmeyer's stay in Green Day may not have been for a long amount of time, but while he was there he jump-started their musical career. His reputation in the Punk community is what helped Green Day become what they are today. His mad drumming skills helped a little bit as well of course!
In the year of 1990, John left the band to pursue his journalism career by attending college full time, however he did make time to help produce the album Kerplunk.
John's last known musical activity was in the band the Ne’er Do Wells, which later changed their name to the Hi-fives. Although he was their drummer for quite some time, he is no longer an active member. So, where is John now? He currently resides in San Francisco with his wife Greta and son Lolo, and it appears he is no longer involved in music.
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The Life Story of Mr. White
Jason White may not be an official member of Green Day, but his contributions are huge. Ever since Warning he has been lending a helping hand to Green Day so that they can make the awesome music so dearly loved by fans.
Aside from bands with Billie, Jason was also a member of the band Chino Horde, which is a very significant band in the Emo music scene. He was in this band until 1993, but they broke up after that for personal reasons, which was a good thing for Jason because it allowed him to expand musically.
Jason’s next band was formed with another member of Pinhead Gunpowder, Bill Schneider. They also asked Bill’s brother Greg to join the band, along with Willie Samuels, and formed a band known as the Influents. Greg and Jason were the main vocals and song writing duo of this group. Their debut album, Check Please, was featured in the iconic rock magazine, Rolling Stone, on the top five Artist Picks list. After the release of this album, Bill left the band to go work and manage his drum shop, but there were no hard feelings, and he was replaced by Johnnie Wentz. Jason’s band then released their second and final album, Some of the Young.They then toured with the album, and finally broke up afterwards in 2003. Different ideas on the direction of the band and other personal reasons are the cited cause of the split.
Although Jason White is not an official member of Green Day, he can be found in three of their videos. He has his own platform in the Wake Me Up When September End's video and he is the guy who is making out with his girlfriend in the When I Come Around. Also, in Jesus Of Suburbia video, when footage of Milton Keynes Is flashing, Jason White can briefly be seen.
After the American Idiot Tour, Jason returned back to Little Rock, Arkansas and hopped aboard yet another project with his side band The Big Cats. Jason joined this band in 1997, after the death of a member. This band really isn't that serious and rarely plays, but is currently recording an album and plays a few shows throughout the recording process. The release date of this album is unknown, but is guessed to be somewhere in late 2006.
Jason White is also married to a woman named Janna, who is a wonderful girl who makes him very happy. Also, in The Network's DVD Disease is Punishment, there is a certain character known as Balducci. Balducci plays a shockingly similar role in The Network as Jason White does for Green Day. He offers second guitar and backing vocals in concerts. I’m not saying Jason White has any relation to the Network, nor am I implying that The Network has any relation to Green Day. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions on that subject.
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The 924 Gilman Street Project
The 924 Gilman Street Project, also known as the 'Alternative Music Foundation' is a famed Berkeley all-ages club. Since its establishment in 1986, the Gilman Street Project has been a haven for aspiring punk rockers, maligned youth and East Bay citizens. The venue is regarded as the west coast version of New York's CBGB's, and is famed for bringing a positive place for youth and music to Berkeley. One of the country's oldest DIY punk clubs, what sets it apart from most other Punk venues is its endeavour to provide a safe environment, free from drugs, alcohol and violence.
Since the beginning, racist, misogynist, or homophobic bands or performances have not been allowed. This comes because the punk/hardcore scene at the time was fairly violent. Not an easy task for a scene famed for its sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll outlook on life.
The Gilman is also not limited to music alone; they host art shows, movie nights, plays, anything which gives young people a time to shine. Another thing which makes the Gilman unique is that it is not purely a spectator club. Its members frequently get involved in the running of the club, to share ideas and make it better. At the Gilman you are asked to get involved and volunteer at the membership meetings, which are open to anyone with a membership card (Membership is $2 for a year). People are encouraged to come to membership meetings and help decide how the club should be run, and if any changes need to be made, they are discussed. During the weekdays no shows are played, which allows political groups and groups like narcotics anonymous to use the space.
History
The Gilman's first show was on December 31st of 1986. The idea to establish an all-ages club had been around for a while, and in April, a venue became available at 924 Gilman Street. The building was derelict and in bad condition: work was needed to make the building secure and stable, the plumbing had to be cleaned up and electricity to be installed. All of the work was done by a selection of keen volunteers who knew little about construction, bringing a whole new meaning to 'DIY Punk'. After eight months of hard graft, paying over $4000 in rent and making the venue accessible for all, they could finally hold shows there. As soon as they passed the last fire inspection, the first show was held. And they haven't looked back since.
Over the years, the Gilman has spawned a number of successful acts, such as Rancid, Operation Ivy, AFI, Neurosis and most notably, Green Day. Even though these bands are too famous to play at the Gilman nowadays (They have a strict policy that no band signed to a major label can play there), they are still very much a part of the Gilman's rich history.
======================================================================================== 1994: the Year of Green Day
Grammy's, Mudstock, number one song on the modern rock charts around the world, it's safe to say that Green Day owned 1994. Sacrificing personal safety zones and leaving behind old friends were just a few of the many things Green Day had to do to achieve the success they had with their monster hit album, Dookie.
Before Dookie Green Day had released an album called Kerplunk. For a little Berkeley Punk band it was very successful. It snagged the attention from several major record labels, which the people at Gilman did not like.
For those of you who have never been to Gilman (before Dookie, Green Day's home away from home), they frown upon success. Frowning upon success? Why? That's an oxymoron; well Green Day felt that way too. They put a lot on the line to be rock stars and they were going all the way, so they signed with the major record label Reprise.
Once you get big there is no turning back. Gilman declared Green Day as sellouts and exiled them from the Gilman punk scene. That didn't matter; signing with Reprise Records would be the smartest move of their career. They were ready to move on to bigger and better things. Let the massive amounts of awards show you just how much better.
Bammies, Grammys, and much much more; Green Day conquered the awards for Rock in '94 and '95. They were nominated for four Grammys and they won Best Alternative Group Performance. As if winning a Grammy isn't enough, they also got to take home some Bammies (now known as the Californian Music Awards) Those awards included Outstanding Album, Outstanding Group, Outstanding Bassist, and Outstanding Drummer. They won the MTV Music Video of the year award with Basket Case. That's just a small taste of the ridiculously large number of awards Green Day racked up with Dookie and they deserved every one of them.
Lets talk statistics, just how big was Dookie? It was pretty big. The album consists of 14 tracks, plus the hidden track All By Myself Being released on February 1st, 1994 Dookie has sold over 8 million copies. That's beyond platinum, that's diamond certification. Something most new bands can only dream of reaching. It is number 193 on the Rolling Stones greatest albums of all time. It shot up the billboard charts and landed at #2 for the year of 1994.
After all they had claimed the American Modern rock Charts. Longview was their first single, followed by Basket Case, which stayed at #1 for five weeks. Those singles were followed by Welcome To Paradise and, last but certainly not least, When I Come Around, which was number one for a whopping seven weeks. As you can see such an incredible album got them lots of recognition in very important magazines.
No matter what magazine you picked up, you saw Green Day. Time, Spin, Entertainment Weekly, etc, they were everywhere. It was almost like they were stalking you (you wish). Entertainment Weekly featured them on the cover and without hesitation said they were the hottest band of 1994. In Time magazine they won the award for best rock CD. One magazine in particular loved them, Rolling Stone. They won countless awards in Rolling Stone, it was unreal. All throughout 1994 there were multiple articles about them. They frequented the cover. Not to mention they were called the band of this generation and the next. As perfect as this all sounds, they had a few run-ins with trouble.
Woodstock 1994, the day that made Green Day a walking riot. It all started out as a concert to promote peace, but it didn't end that way. Billie Joe summed it up the best when he said, "This isn't peace, it's fucking anarchy!" After a rainy day the crowd had a lot of mud which they used well. Billie Joe and the crowd created the biggest, muddiest, most destructive concert in history. Things may not have gotten so out of hand if Billie Joe hadn't put mud in his mouth, but he did. Fans went nuts, Mike lost teeth, and they were flown to safety by a helicopter. Total and complete chaos.
Not even a month after the 'Mudstock' performance Green Day did a free show for WFNX, a Boston radio station, on September 9th. Well, whoever thought a small crowd would show up must have been under a rock for the previous 9 months; at least 100,000 people showed. Hello! It was Green Day, of course 100,000 people showed up! The crowd got a little rowdy and broke the crash barriers and knocked the lighting rig above the stage loose. Once the situation became unsafe, the show was cancelled. Green Day were safely kept in the basement while the angry crowd got in fights with security and was being tear-gassed. Over 60 arrests and quite a few minor injuries meant Green Day had left its mark on Boston.
Concerts promoting peace and free shows must have put Green Day in a charitable mood because Green Day did the Z-100 Christmas concert, and AIDS benefit. The show was getting kind of boring after 7 hours. At 2 a.m. Green Day were finished, or were they? Definitely not! They returned for an encore, well all of them returned except Billie Joe's clothes. Naked Billie Joe and the rest of the guys did a very nude performance of She.
Besides all the chaos of 1994, one member in particular had an exceptionally awesome year, Billie Joe. Long before Dookie mania swept the nation, Billie Joe met a very special girl named Adrienne. He met her on his very first tour in Minnesota. He couldn't stay there with her, but luckily they kept in touch over the phone and fell pretty hard for each other. Before the Dookie tour Billie Joe asked Adrienne to marry him. Then, two weeks later they were married, Adrienne was pregnant, and Billie Joe was away on tour.
No other band came close to the unbelievable greatness Dookie had in 1994. No other band had the attitude Green Day had that made them an instant icon. No other band ever was, or ever will be comparable to Green Day.
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