Happy Birthday Mike Dirnt

(*Illustration By Paul King Art) Michael Ryan Pritchard was born somewhere in California on May 4. His parents divorced and he became sullen and withdrawn. In the cafeteria in Carquinez Middle School, ten-year-old Dirnt met Billie Joe Armstrong and his life was changed forever. 

The two boys bonded over Rock music, WWE Wrestling and GI-Joe with the Kung Fu Grip. They were inseparable all through High School and formed ‘Green Day’ in 1987. 

Recorded in three weeks, and released in February 1994, the album “Dookie” became a huge commercial success, helped by extensive MTV airplay for the videos of the songs “Longview”, “Basket Case”, and “When I Come Around”, all of which reached the number one position on the Modern Rock charts. The album went on to sell over 10 million copies in the US.

Green Day were now household names. Millions of albums later, millions of songs later, Green Day is still out there doing it. “Insomniac”, “Nimrod”, “Warning”, “American Idiot” created a lasting legacy and a great catalog of music.  One of the most popular bands of the 1990’s and beyond, Green Day were inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame as soon as they were eligible.