‹ Prequel: Changes
Making the Album
Finality.
"And the award for best Rock Album goes to...."
There was a short pause while the announcer struggled with the envelope. Billie's hand was shaking slightly. Tony smiled, and slipped her fingers into his.
"I love you," she whispered into his ear. Billie smiled, and squeezed her hand.
Mike looked like a statue, back straight, face serious. Jay rolled his eyes, and put his hand on his boyfriend's knee, whispering something into Mike's ear. Billie didn't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the nature of that whisper, because Mike blushed a little and giggled nervously.
Tre, happily oblivious to the importance of the moment, was having a thumb war with Chrissy, and the two of them were locked in a fit of silent giggles.
Billie sighed with a smile at his bandmates, and turned his attention back to the obviously incompetant announcer.
***
The man finally ripped the envelope open with a flourish.
"And the winner is..."
Time seemed to stop.
"Green Day!" the female annoucer shrieked, a huge smile on her face.
The breath Billie hadn't realized that he was holding came rushing out in a roar of happiness. He grabbed Tony and kissed her hard.
Tre and Chrissy were jumping up and down in the aisle, soon joined by a jubilant Jim Carrey. Mike planted a huge kiss on Jay then joined the pair of them joined Tre in the aisle, hopping up and down and screaming madly.
"Congratulations, Dad," Anika told him proudly, kissing him on the cheek. Then she and Ryan were out in the aisle, adding themselves to the screaming mosh pit.
Robert was there, clapping Billie hard on the shoulder and yelling, "Sorry I'm late! I had to make a pit stop!", and covertly showing Billie the bag of weed hidden in his coat pocket.
It was most definately going to be an interesting afterparty.
Blondie, Tom, Keri, Lisa and Ali were laughing as Rabbit hearded them into the aisle, screaming, "It'll be fun! I promise it'll be fun! No, they own't tear your dresses!"
Tommy Lee came charging out from backstage to join the fun. Several young movie starlets were there suddenly, laughing and dancing. The boys of Avenged Sevenfold emptied out of their row and into the fray. Zacky Vengance grabbed Anika, spinning her in a graceful circle then pulling her tight against his lean body. Anika looked charmed, smiling at him. The members of Anti-Flag appeared from literally nowhere, spinning various starlets out of time with the rest of the crowd, risking black eyes and bruises.
And then Billie, Mike and Tre broke away from the swirling crowd and onto the stage.
The moshing youths grew instantly still, waiting. Billie didn't think he'd ever grow used to the feeling of thousands of eyes watching him expectantly, but he cleared his throat and began.
"Me and Mike started this band in 1989. And it's still here. It's still fucking here. It's outlasted everything. Rap, pop, fucking Brittney Spears. We're still here. And we're still making good music."
Billie fiddled with the trophy for a moment. Then he looked back at his audience.
"And then only people I can thank for this is my fans, and my family. I wanna thank my beautiful wife, Tony, and my two gorgeous children, one of who is nominated tonight. I want to thank my bandmates, Tre and Mike, and Tony's bandmates, all of whom had their own unique input on this album."
Billie neglected to mention that the 'unique' input was interrupting the practices for long breaks that invovled drinking and strip clubs.
"And now here's Mike and Tre!"
Mike stepped up to the podium and regarded his audience seriously.
"Of course, Billie went first, and said all the good stuff. So I'm basically screwed out of my acceptance speech. Thanks, Bill."
Mike winked at the singer, then laughed.
"Well, I wanna thank our fans, of course. Without them, we wouldn't be here. And I want to thank Jay. I love him more than words can express, and he's been with me through the hard times. He's everything to me, and I can't say it enough."
Mike paused, then looked out at the audience with a concentrated expression on his face.
"I can't think if there's more I need to say or not....so....here's Tre!" Mike said brightly, and shoved the drummer towards the microphone.
"Ahh...I'm last, so everything I say is going to be rubbish." Tre sighed. "Well, I wanna thank my gorgeous wife, my beautiful daughter, the label and the management, everyone who helped on this album....especially Blondie, and Tom."
Then Tre's expression grew serious.
"There's also someone else I'd like to thank, and he's not here today, and he really should be."
Billie suddenly stiffened.
They hadn't planned on saying this. It wasn't in the plan. But they were on live television, and dragging Tre away from the microphone and strangling him would probably not go over well with the public.
So he stood there, feeling extremely uncomfortable while Tre went on.
"Barry was a good friend of ours, and he died protecting us. We all miss him, and he deserves to be thanked, because he inspired at least three of our songs on this album. So, thanks Barry, we miss you."
Tre flashed the peace sign at the camera, then plunged off stage and back into the mosh pit.
Mike looked at Billie, shrugged and rejoined the dancing crowd.
"Ahh, what the fuck." Billie handed the statuette to the startled announcers and leapt out into the crowd.
***
When the ushers had restored some semblance of order, the announcers took the stage once again.
"And now we've got a great performance for you. Here's Barry Armstrong and Meria Cool, performing a legendary song their fathers recorded back in the ninties."
The ragged pair trooped onto the stage, smiling wide at the crowd. Barry was carrying two stools, and Meria was holding an acoustic guitar.
Billie felt a swell of pride as his son adjusted the microphone and grinned out at the crowd.
"Hey. How's it going?" he asked, as Meria strummed a few chords.
"Yeah, my dad's Billie Joe Armstrong. He's a fucking amazing singer, and I love his stuff. I was raised on it, along with Operation Ivy, Nirvana and the Beatles. I guess everyone here knows that I took my first baby steps to a certain Green Day song, so Meria and I are gonna play that for you guys tonight."
And then Meria started strumming that famed intro, those first five notes that silenced everyone.
Then Barry began to sing.
Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist directs you where to go
So make the best of this test and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time
It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life
He sounded almost like Billie, but not exactly. But nevertheless, just taking a look at him, and it was obvious whose son he was.
So take the photographs and still frames in your mind,
Hang it on a shelf of good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it's worth, it was worth all the while
And then Barry's voice grew unbearably sweet, dropping to a low whisper.
It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life
Meria played the outro, fingers flowing smoothly over the strings. Tre was smiling proudly in the audience, sitting still for once in his life. Then Barry leaned close to the microphone, face serious, and delivered the final chorus.
It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life
And the little group just couldn't be prouder.
***
The hotel room was dark, a sharp contrast to the adjacent room, where the after party raged.
Billie lay with Tony, feeling her breath against his cheek.
"I love you."
"I love you too." Tony replied, kissing his neck.
"Tony, tonight...it was perfect."
"I know."
He heard a bite of impatience in her voice, and he smiled, skimming a hand down her body and then up under her dress. She gasped, arching her back in pleasure.
"i just feel complete..." He said quietly.
Tony sighed and sat up.
"Billie, can you just relax? Why are you so nervous?"
"I am not! I'm extremely relaxed."
Tony rolled her eyes.
"Billie, we are alone in a hotel room. We have the naughty channel. We have wine. Goddamn it, we've got bloody handcuffs in my purse! So tell me what's wrong so we can start having some fun."
Billie sighed.
"I just....I don't understand why Tre had to bring up Barry, that's all."
"Because he was thanking the people that were important to use. I mean, Billie, we named our firstborn after him. I was surprised that you didn't mention him."
"It's been ages...I was starting to...I don't know..."
"You were starting to stop feeling so guilty," Tony said shrewdly.
"Well, yeah..."
"Billie. He made his choice. He told you that it was what he wanted. He died happy."
And her words made Billie sigh, lay back and stretch.
"Now, Billie Joe Armstrong, kiss me like you used to when we were on that tour bus back when I was a nineteen year old."
And he was only too happy to oblige.
There was a short pause while the announcer struggled with the envelope. Billie's hand was shaking slightly. Tony smiled, and slipped her fingers into his.
"I love you," she whispered into his ear. Billie smiled, and squeezed her hand.
Mike looked like a statue, back straight, face serious. Jay rolled his eyes, and put his hand on his boyfriend's knee, whispering something into Mike's ear. Billie didn't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the nature of that whisper, because Mike blushed a little and giggled nervously.
Tre, happily oblivious to the importance of the moment, was having a thumb war with Chrissy, and the two of them were locked in a fit of silent giggles.
Billie sighed with a smile at his bandmates, and turned his attention back to the obviously incompetant announcer.
***
The man finally ripped the envelope open with a flourish.
"And the winner is..."
Time seemed to stop.
"Green Day!" the female annoucer shrieked, a huge smile on her face.
The breath Billie hadn't realized that he was holding came rushing out in a roar of happiness. He grabbed Tony and kissed her hard.
Tre and Chrissy were jumping up and down in the aisle, soon joined by a jubilant Jim Carrey. Mike planted a huge kiss on Jay then joined the pair of them joined Tre in the aisle, hopping up and down and screaming madly.
"Congratulations, Dad," Anika told him proudly, kissing him on the cheek. Then she and Ryan were out in the aisle, adding themselves to the screaming mosh pit.
Robert was there, clapping Billie hard on the shoulder and yelling, "Sorry I'm late! I had to make a pit stop!", and covertly showing Billie the bag of weed hidden in his coat pocket.
It was most definately going to be an interesting afterparty.
Blondie, Tom, Keri, Lisa and Ali were laughing as Rabbit hearded them into the aisle, screaming, "It'll be fun! I promise it'll be fun! No, they own't tear your dresses!"
Tommy Lee came charging out from backstage to join the fun. Several young movie starlets were there suddenly, laughing and dancing. The boys of Avenged Sevenfold emptied out of their row and into the fray. Zacky Vengance grabbed Anika, spinning her in a graceful circle then pulling her tight against his lean body. Anika looked charmed, smiling at him. The members of Anti-Flag appeared from literally nowhere, spinning various starlets out of time with the rest of the crowd, risking black eyes and bruises.
And then Billie, Mike and Tre broke away from the swirling crowd and onto the stage.
The moshing youths grew instantly still, waiting. Billie didn't think he'd ever grow used to the feeling of thousands of eyes watching him expectantly, but he cleared his throat and began.
"Me and Mike started this band in 1989. And it's still here. It's still fucking here. It's outlasted everything. Rap, pop, fucking Brittney Spears. We're still here. And we're still making good music."
Billie fiddled with the trophy for a moment. Then he looked back at his audience.
"And then only people I can thank for this is my fans, and my family. I wanna thank my beautiful wife, Tony, and my two gorgeous children, one of who is nominated tonight. I want to thank my bandmates, Tre and Mike, and Tony's bandmates, all of whom had their own unique input on this album."
Billie neglected to mention that the 'unique' input was interrupting the practices for long breaks that invovled drinking and strip clubs.
"And now here's Mike and Tre!"
Mike stepped up to the podium and regarded his audience seriously.
"Of course, Billie went first, and said all the good stuff. So I'm basically screwed out of my acceptance speech. Thanks, Bill."
Mike winked at the singer, then laughed.
"Well, I wanna thank our fans, of course. Without them, we wouldn't be here. And I want to thank Jay. I love him more than words can express, and he's been with me through the hard times. He's everything to me, and I can't say it enough."
Mike paused, then looked out at the audience with a concentrated expression on his face.
"I can't think if there's more I need to say or not....so....here's Tre!" Mike said brightly, and shoved the drummer towards the microphone.
"Ahh...I'm last, so everything I say is going to be rubbish." Tre sighed. "Well, I wanna thank my gorgeous wife, my beautiful daughter, the label and the management, everyone who helped on this album....especially Blondie, and Tom."
Then Tre's expression grew serious.
"There's also someone else I'd like to thank, and he's not here today, and he really should be."
Billie suddenly stiffened.
They hadn't planned on saying this. It wasn't in the plan. But they were on live television, and dragging Tre away from the microphone and strangling him would probably not go over well with the public.
So he stood there, feeling extremely uncomfortable while Tre went on.
"Barry was a good friend of ours, and he died protecting us. We all miss him, and he deserves to be thanked, because he inspired at least three of our songs on this album. So, thanks Barry, we miss you."
Tre flashed the peace sign at the camera, then plunged off stage and back into the mosh pit.
Mike looked at Billie, shrugged and rejoined the dancing crowd.
"Ahh, what the fuck." Billie handed the statuette to the startled announcers and leapt out into the crowd.
***
When the ushers had restored some semblance of order, the announcers took the stage once again.
"And now we've got a great performance for you. Here's Barry Armstrong and Meria Cool, performing a legendary song their fathers recorded back in the ninties."
The ragged pair trooped onto the stage, smiling wide at the crowd. Barry was carrying two stools, and Meria was holding an acoustic guitar.
Billie felt a swell of pride as his son adjusted the microphone and grinned out at the crowd.
"Hey. How's it going?" he asked, as Meria strummed a few chords.
"Yeah, my dad's Billie Joe Armstrong. He's a fucking amazing singer, and I love his stuff. I was raised on it, along with Operation Ivy, Nirvana and the Beatles. I guess everyone here knows that I took my first baby steps to a certain Green Day song, so Meria and I are gonna play that for you guys tonight."
And then Meria started strumming that famed intro, those first five notes that silenced everyone.
Then Barry began to sing.
Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist directs you where to go
So make the best of this test and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time
It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life
He sounded almost like Billie, but not exactly. But nevertheless, just taking a look at him, and it was obvious whose son he was.
So take the photographs and still frames in your mind,
Hang it on a shelf of good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it's worth, it was worth all the while
And then Barry's voice grew unbearably sweet, dropping to a low whisper.
It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life
Meria played the outro, fingers flowing smoothly over the strings. Tre was smiling proudly in the audience, sitting still for once in his life. Then Barry leaned close to the microphone, face serious, and delivered the final chorus.
It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life
And the little group just couldn't be prouder.
***
The hotel room was dark, a sharp contrast to the adjacent room, where the after party raged.
Billie lay with Tony, feeling her breath against his cheek.
"I love you."
"I love you too." Tony replied, kissing his neck.
"Tony, tonight...it was perfect."
"I know."
He heard a bite of impatience in her voice, and he smiled, skimming a hand down her body and then up under her dress. She gasped, arching her back in pleasure.
"i just feel complete..." He said quietly.
Tony sighed and sat up.
"Billie, can you just relax? Why are you so nervous?"
"I am not! I'm extremely relaxed."
Tony rolled her eyes.
"Billie, we are alone in a hotel room. We have the naughty channel. We have wine. Goddamn it, we've got bloody handcuffs in my purse! So tell me what's wrong so we can start having some fun."
Billie sighed.
"I just....I don't understand why Tre had to bring up Barry, that's all."
"Because he was thanking the people that were important to use. I mean, Billie, we named our firstborn after him. I was surprised that you didn't mention him."
"It's been ages...I was starting to...I don't know..."
"You were starting to stop feeling so guilty," Tony said shrewdly.
"Well, yeah..."
"Billie. He made his choice. He told you that it was what he wanted. He died happy."
And her words made Billie sigh, lay back and stretch.
"Now, Billie Joe Armstrong, kiss me like you used to when we were on that tour bus back when I was a nineteen year old."
And he was only too happy to oblige.