Anyway, Billie grew up in Rodeo, California... and that's pronounced RO-DAY-OH, not RO-DEE-O, you Texan monkeys!  He's the youngest of six, so that means that he had a brother who was old enough to be his dad... now don't go back to that hick idea, stay with us here, pervert!  Billie was also the wildest of the Armstrong bunch.  His mom got less and less strict with each kid, so Billie pretty much got off easy growing up.  Speaking of Armstrong kids, none of Billie's brothers was named Tim.  Therefore, none of his brothers grew up to become Lint, the magical Rancid frontman dude.  That takes care of that!

Billie's family loved all kinds of music.  His dad, a truck driver by trade, was also a jazz drummer.  He used to hang out with all his jazz buddies, talk music, get drunk, and smoke pot.  The poor dude died when Billie was only 10, so to support the family, his mom got a job as a waitress at a roadside café called Rod's Hickory Pit, in the town of Vallejo.

So where we?  Oh yes, that's right... Billie Joe.  Anyway, Billie got into singing at a young age.  Believe it or not, he actually used to go to hospitals and sing for patients!  Hard to believe, isn't it?  He even recorded a song at the age of 5.  It was called "Look for Love," and it was released by some record company whose name escapes me at the moment.  If I remember, I'll designate a spot for it right here: [Insert Record Label Here].  The first record Billie ever bought was "The Sun Sessions," by the King himself, Elvis.  His mom was a big Elvis fan, and... wait a minute.  Why am I telling you this?!  Who gives a crap what the first record Billie Joe ever bought was?  Geez, me and my tangents!

Ok, back to BJ.  By the age of 10, he got into heavy metal.  A loyal fan of Metallica was he.  One sunny day, when the birds were chirping in the morning sun, Billie's mom gave him a beautiful, sonic blue electric guitar.  It was a custom-made Fernandez Strat.  Billie fell in love with it instantly, and affectionately called it "Blue."  He still uses the guitar today; it's his absolute favorite!  Blue is now covered with all kinds of stickers, and BJ even put his initials on there with tape!  This and his other guitars have literally become works of art!  Only recently has Billie started using other guitars frequently, to preserve Blue from too much wear & tear... Wait a minute.  Tear?!  How the hell do you tear a guitar?  Well, I am the dope who said that, aren't I?  Heh heh, sorry about that, folks! 

Anyway, Billie started getting into the punk rock scene when some of his friends introduced him to such bands as the Dead Kennedys & Bikini Kill.  Among these friends was his very best friend, Mike Dirnt.  That would be the bass player, you knuckleheads!  It was around this time that Billie started to write his own songs.  He took his first shot when he was 12.  The song, called  "Why Do You Want Him?," was later included on Green Day's first album.  Billie wrote a lot of love songs in the beginning... good ones, too!  Many Green Day fans still choose the older love ballads as their favorite songs!

During Billie's senior year in high school, the band formerly known as Sweet Children was getting pretty big.  School had become merely a distraction from BJ's music, and he figured, "Hey, you don't need a high school diploma to become a rock star, right?  Screw you guys, I'm going home!"  Ok, so he didn't say it quite like that... that's just me and my stupid Cartman impression again!  Meanwhile, back in reality, Billie Joe called it quits on the day before his 18th birthday.  He waited for Mike to graduate, and they headed for the highway!

Though he didn't do much about high school, Billie found himself reading those books he was supposed to and never did later on.  His favorite was "Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger.  It's a really good book... Mike did the same thing Billie did... didn't read it in high school (but got an A on the test anyway!), picked it up later on, and really digged it!  Basically, the book is about this guy named Holden Caulfield, who can't seem to fit in with the rest of the world.  Well, in the end he just learns to like being unique & rebels against society, getting kicked out of high school in the process.  It's a story that Billie says he can really relate to.  If you've read the book, then the song "Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?" makes a lot more sense to you than to the rest of the world!

In 1990, while Green Day was on tour, Billie met Adrienne Nesser.  He fell in love instantly, and later asked her to move out to Cali with him and marry him.  After some thought, Adie decided to go for it.  They were hitched in the summer of 1994.  They now have two little boys.  Joseph Marciano turned 4 years old in March, and Jacob Danger will have his first birthday in September.  They're all one big, happy family living somewhere in Berkeley.  Where that is, we cannot tell you, because then we'd have to kill you... Ok, actually we don't know either, but we find much enjoyment in threatening you with your lives.  Yes, they live there, without meat.  That's right, Billie's a vegetarian.  I'm guessing Adrienne is, too, but don't call me on that one.

No one has seen the natural reddish-brown color of Billie's hair for a long time; he dyes it all kinds of colors.  His hair is currently blonde, but in the past, it's been black, blue, green, red & even pink!

Billie also sings & plays backup guitar for a band called Pinhead Gunpowder.  Their newest album, "Shoot the Moon," was put out by Billie's very own record label, Adeline Records.  Among some of the other bands Billie has played for are Blatz and Corrupted Morals.  He even helped write the song, "Radio" by Rancid.  He may not be related to Tim, but they are good friends!

There's a song written about Billie called "I Wanna be Billie Joe!"  It's by a British band called Wat Tyler, who kind of remind me of punk rock's answer to Weird Al Yankovic!  The inlay of the single features BJ wearing nothing but boxers and a smile... well, and a tie too.  And he's striking a killer surfer pose!  The song can be found on Wat Tyler's album "Tummy," which was released by Lookout Records, the same label that gave Green Day their first big break.

One of Billie's favorite movies is "The Bad News Bears," & he says that there is a great punk rock message in it.  For those of you who haven't seen it, and are therefore deprived, it's a little league baseball team that sucks in the beginning & then finally learns teamwork & goes all the way.  Quoth Billie, "Basically it's about taking what you've got and learning how to deal with it- and then growing from that" (Guitar World, May 1999).  Omigod, I did not just do that!  I just cited a quote APA style!  Arrrghh!

Well, that's the whole story about our beloved monarch, Billie Joe.  We'll throw in some more stuff time & time again, so keep checking back to us here at Green Day Supastar!