Billie Joe Armstrong is not just your average rock star. He founded the rock band Green Day with longtime friend Mike Dirnt in the 1980s, where he serves as the frontman and the lead guitarist. The pair took their punk Bay Area roots to the mainstream, and the band has been constantly credited among the pioneers of punk rock mainstream popularization among Americans.
However, there are so many stories to tell about Billie Joe Armstrong outside his ventures with Green Day. He's also an entrepreneur at heart, a music manager, and an unsung hero of the LGBTQ community. To sum it up, here's a look inside Billie Joe Armstrong's life outside Green Day, and what the future holds in store for the powerhouse rock star.
6 Billie Joe Armstrong Founded A Record Label In 1997
As Green Day racked in popularity, Billie Joe founded a record label in 1997. Named Adeline Records, the frontman co-founded the imprint Pat Magnarella, Green Day's manager. Throughout its run over the decades, Adeline Records has housed many rock and punk acts, including Green Day themselves and their side projects, Jesse Malin, White Wives, and more. Unfortunately, after over 20 years, Pat Magnarella parted ways with Green Day, prompting them to shut down the label for good in 2017.
5 Billie Joe Armstrong And Pinhead Gunpowder
Besides Green Day and its side-piece projects, Billie Joe Armstrong has also served as a vocalist and guitarist for a punk rock band called Pinhead Gunpowder. Formed in East Bay in 1991, the band consists of Aaron Cometbus, Bill Schneider, and Jason White. Up to this writing, Pinhead Gunpowder has released one studio album called Goodbye Ellston Avenue in 1997 and eight extended plays. Unfortunately, their latest live performance was dated back in 2010, and the future of the band is currently in limbo.
4 Billie Joe Armstrong And Green Day Coffee
Billie Joe is more than just a singer. He's also an entrepreneur, and he put his skills to the test in 2015, when he co-founded Oakland Coffee Works with his Green Day compatriot Mike Dirnt. The pair also aimed to "save the planet" through their eco-friendly initiative with this company. They sell organic coffee beans and use mass-produced compostable bags and pods.
“We said, let’s do it, but let’s do it in a great way. Let’s get educated,” Dirnt explained. “There was a lot of humility in learning about things like packaging.”
3 Billie Joe Armstrong's Album Away From Green Day
Billie Joe Armstrong has also released tunes as a soloist. In 2013, he linked up with jazz/pop singer Norah Jones for a collection of traditional songs and a reinterpretation of The Everly Brothers' 1958 album, Foreverly. In an interview with Stereogum, the Green Day singer said that the collaboration began when he met Norah during an event with Stevie Wonder.
"So my wife said, 'Why don’t you get Norah Jones to do it?' and I was like, 'Well, I kinda know her.' Well, I mean, we had Stevie Wonder in common," he said, according to Digital Spy. "And so I called her and she said yes. So it was kinda like a … well, I keep saying it was kinda like a blind date."
2 Billie Joe Armstrong's Sexuality
Billie Joe has always been an avid spokesperson for LGBTQ rights. In 1995, the singer said during an interview with The Advocate, "I think I've always been bisexual. I mean, it's something that I've always been interested in. I think people are born bisexual, and it's just that our parents and society kind of veer us off into this feeling of, 'Oh, I can't.' They say it's taboo."
When he was 21, Billie Joe wrote a song titled "Coming Clean" from the band's 1994 album Dookie. Reflecting on his life as a bisexual man when he was a teenager throughout the song, the album was released just a few months before Billie Joe's marriage to his wife.
1 Billie Joe's Struggle With Anxiety & Substance Abuse
However, things haven't always been smooth for the singer. Billie Joe Armstrong struggled with anxiety for quite some time and turned to alcohol and other substances to cope with it. He once stormed off in an explosive manner at Las Vegas' iHeartRadio Music Festival in 2012, and soon sought treatment for unspecified substance abuse. The band later shelved all the remaining concert dates of the year and early 2013 as he dealt with the problem.
"I’ve been trying to get sober since 1997, right around Nimrod. But I didn’t want to be in any programs," he said in a 2013 interview with Rolling Stones. "Sometimes, being a drunk, you think you can take on the whole world by yourself. This was the last straw. I had no choices anymore ... I played onstage loaded a lot. I’d have anywhere from two to six beers and a couple of shots before I went onstage, then go and play the gig and drink for the rest of the evening on the bus."