Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong Discusses Decision to Release Album Trilogy

Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong Discusses Decision to Release Album Trilogy

2012-07-19

Story by charles Ken

Green Day frontman refuses to confirm to consumer need when it comes to music

Most rock bands release one album at a time. Green Day isn’t your typical rock band, so it’s should come as little surprise that the guys are prepping not one, not two, but three new projects — named “¡Uno!,” “¡Dos!” and “¡Tré!” — to release over the following six months.

So, why did the pop-punk trio come to the decision to put out three albums instead of the traditional one? Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong explained that he wanted to release a trilogy of releases because all the tracks make up one story.

“I’m not going to conform to some consumer need,” Armstrong told Billboard. “I believe people want to hear this kind of music, that people want to hear records that have a story. I want to write killer songs, but I want them threaded together and to speak to each other within an album, which in this case is basically inside three albums.”

He added that even if releasing three albums doesn’t seem to make sense at this time in the music industry, it was a creative necessity. “Putting out even a double-record, let alone a triple-record, it didn’t seem like it would work for us in this day and age,” Armstrong said. “We wanted all of it to come out because we were proud of it, and then I was thinking in terms of volumes – one, two and three…I told my wife about it and she said, ‘Actually that’s kind of a brilliant idea.’ Then I brought it to the guys and asked them what they thought. They let it sink in and said yeah. Put my photo on the first one, Mike on the second one and Tré on the third.”

“¡Uno!” is scheduled to hit retail stores and online outlets on Sept. 25. Meanwhile, “¡Dos!” and “¡Tré!” are set to reach fans’ ears on Nov. 13, 2012 and Jan. 15, 2013, respectively. (Photo credit: Anne Erickson)

Author
Recent Posts

Charles Ken

Meet the expert - Charles Ken is a graduate of Michigan State University where he studied writing and history. He's a longtime music buff and covers classic rock for Audio Ink Radio. Contact him at ken@audioinkradio.com.