Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong significantly impacted the survival of pop-punk. And he had plenty of stories to tell. While Armstrong has come a long way since his rebellious days, he was not always proud of his actions.
After the Warning release, Green Day sought to break away from its signature sound and create Cigarettes and Valentines. It’s a departure that would see them explore previously uncharted territory. However, some of their tapes went missing. The stars appeared to align, and they began from scratch, eventually releasing the widely celebrated American Idiot.
During this time, Armstrong was already enjoying the vibrant New York scene, engaging in various acts that he would later regret. He often went for long walks and hung out in jam sessions in Manhattan. The musician found himself falling down a rabbit hole of alcoholism. And once getting into trouble for driving under the influence in 2003.
In an interview with Details, he discussed the difficult situations he found himself in at the time. He and his thoughts on making bad decisions while under the influence. He said, “In the past, I tended to get caught up in excessive partying or making poor decisions. During the Insomniac tour, I stole a limo from David Letterman and got into some trouble.
Armstrong’s 2012 iHeartRadio Music Festival experience with substance abuse gained media attention, just days before the band released ¡Uno! Armstrong later revealed that he was seeking help and support. But his downward spiral appears to have begun much earlier than the incident at the festival.
Despite telling Rolling Stone that he had “been trying to get sober since 1997,” there was one instance where he “threw back four or five beers before we went on and probably had four or five when we played.”
He continued, “Then I drank my body weight in alcohol after that. I ended up hungover on the West Side Highway, lying in a small park.”
Armstrong has admitted that he has stopped drinking completely. He has not needed to seek help from a substance abuse treatment program since enrolling in rehab in 2012. “I ended up being around a bunch of really good friends that don’t drink,” he said to People. “There are a lot more sober people — I’ve noticed that. And perhaps because I had been the only one hammered before, I now notice that people are more sober. I just didn’t know about it because I was intoxicated or something.”
Many musicians struggle with addiction. Armstrong has since stated that there is no shame in it. He instead chose to proudly express his journey and position through songs on the album Saviors. Now that he is sober, he feels much more present and can enjoy his successes in ways he couldn’t before.
This also highlights shifting audience attitudes: Armstrong was instrumental in the sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll revival of the early 2000s. Today’s climate reflects a more candid and accepting embrace of sobriety. It allows us to admire celebrities without romanticizing their erratic behavior.
