Billie Joe Armstrong
Billie Joe Armstrong
Billie Joe Armstrong is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor who is best known as the lead vocalist, primary songwriter, and guitarist of the punk rock band Green Day, which he co-founded with Mike Dirnt. He is also a guitarist and vocalist for the punk rock band Pinhead Gunpowder and provides lead vocals for Green Day's side projects Foxboro Hot Tubs and The Network...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionGuitarist
Date of Birth17 February 1972
CityOakland, CA
CountryUnited States of America
The main thing about the character [in the Ordinary World] is that he loves music, and he shares it with his daughter. He's having a mid-life moment, and it's a small moment, really. I think that the character actually really loves where he's at, in his life. He's just trying to have it make a little bit more sense while he figures out what he actually wants to do with it.
The record [American Idiot ] felt special to us, when we recorded it, with all of the artwork and the concept behind it and it being a rock opera, but we didn't really know where it was going to go. It's like I always say, you just follow the music. Not only was American Idiot a special moment for us, but it also led to Ordinary World, too.
With age, it really becomes thinking about how time has passed - that's sort of the root of age.
I know I'm always going to be a musician, for the rest of my life. That's for sure. It's about how you balance between being a musician and being a parent, and making it intertwined.
I have no idea where my career is going. I just make the best music that I possibly can.
There were a couple of times, leading up to shooting [Ordinary World], where I was like, "Oh, my god, what did I get myself into? Hopefully, I don't ruin this guy's precious script." And then, after a couple of days of shooting, I started getting in the groove of it and it was really fun. I love being a rookie at stuff. It makes it feel vital. I love doing things I've never done before, and I love making stuff.
We had a lot of fun together. We really were in sync with each other, a lot.Madisyn Shipman is a great kid.
What I see in a lot of music movies, or rock 'n' roll movies, that feature a band is that they're lip-synching.
I definitely related a lot to Perry [from That's Ordinary World movie]. I liked how he put family first. I identified with the exhaustion and klutziness that comes with being a parent, and how he's just a rock-and-roller at heart. For me, it was fun to kind of imagine whether or not this could've been the path I went on, or not.
Madisyn [Shipman] was great. She's a really talented kid. We got along great. It was fun, in between scenes, I'd pull out my iPod and show her different old rock 'n' roll and punk stuff, and she was really into it.
When we were making the record, I just decided, at the last second. I thought, "This song ["Ordinary World"] makes a lot of sense, being on the album [Revolution Radio]."
That's the gamble that you make when you decide to become a rock musician. It's totally unpredictable.
My wife is the CEO of the family. I'm the fun guy, just trying to make it up as I go along.
This never gets old, and when it does, I'll go do a movie. I like the fact that I can get into other projects because everything feels fresh when I come back to music.