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Green Day talk about performing in Trump era

Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong has definitely not shied away from telling people his feelings on our new President, Donald Trump, but the frontman recently revealed to Rolling Stone that he doesn't want to create a negative experience at live shows.

Check out what else the band had to say below.

Read more: Green Day talk early days: “Trying to get a gig was the hardest thing in the world”

Green Day announced their 2017 Revolution Radio North American Tour back in October, in support of their latest album Revolution Radio with Against Me! providing support for all of the dates.

“For us, we want to try and keep the energy in the room positive and create a form of unity. First and foremost, I want people to have a really great experience away from the negative press and negative stuff that you see on the news and Facebook. I don't even like seeing people's cell phones. Let's have a human experience and rub up against each other, you know,” said Armstrong.

Rolling Stone reported that Armstrong called out a fan that was filming him in the front row.

“If you're looking at me through a screen, you aren't looking at me,” he says. “You stare at that cell phone for 24 hours a day. Not tonight!”

However, despite Armstrong calling out Trump before, he talked about how he truly doesn't mention him much when he performs live.

“Outside of “fuck you,” not a real lot, honestly. People know how I feel. I feel like going negative is just throwing fuel on the fire. I feel like the government is trying to create a culture war between us in a lot of ways. They're trying to get between your average citizens based on red and blue. I think we're in a crisis mode right now. For me, it's important to get back to fundamentally what it feels like to be an American. We all come from different backgrounds, but we come together and create this world. It's like a microcosm for the rest of the world. I want people to feel unity when they come to a show. At the same time, I'm not going to puss out on saying what I feel about him and his administration.”

Bassist Mike Dirnt also talked about President Trump and how they don't want to be defined by hating the President.

“I mean, American Idiot wasn't fuck George Bush. That was a personal question that Billie was writing. “I don't want to be an American Idiot.” We're watching the fucking war take place on television for the first time in our lives and we were like, “This is bullshit.” But it was not a Bush record. And I certainly won't give Trump the credit of saying this is a Trump record. He gets enough press as it is. But the way, he loved the [American Idiot] play.”

Despite being on tour to support their new album, Revolution Radio, Green Day is also playing a lot of classic tracks from American Idiot.

“Yeah. If you look at our career, there's almost like before American Idiot and after American Idiot. Yeah, we play new stuff. We play stuff off American Idiot. It's hard to explain from my perspective because sometimes I'll just start saying to myself, “Look how unique this is. You're able to play in front of 14,000 people and everyone is singing along. Everyone's hands are in the air.” We play a song like “Holiday” and its like a flock of birds or something.”

After this tour, Green Day will be taking a slight break before hitting the road again with Catfish And The Bottlemen. Check out their remaining tour dates below for this current tour along with seeing their new tour dates.

Remaining tour dates:

3/27       Detroit, MI – Joe Louis Arena*
3/28       Champaign, IL – State Farm Center*
3/30       Green Bay, WI – Resch Center*
4/1         Saint Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center*
4/3         Des Moines, IA – Wells Fargo Arena*
4/5         Broomfield, CO – 1stBank Center*
4/7         Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Garden Arena*
4/8         San Diego, CA – Valley View Casino Center*

* With Against Me

Upcoming tour dates (with Catfish And The Bottlemen):

8/1    Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre^
8/2    Portland, OR – Moda Center^
8/5     Oakland, CA – Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum^
8/7    Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre^
8/9    Englewood, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre^
8/11    Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center^
8/12    Omaha, NE – CenturyLink Center^
8/14    Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre^
8/16    Noblesville, IN – Klipsch Music Center^
8/18     Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage^
8/20     Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center^
8/21    Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center^
8/26    Darien Center, NY – Darien Lake Performing Arts Center^
8/28    Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center^
8/29    Hartford, CT – The XFINITY Theatre^
8/31    Camden, NJ – BB&T Pavilion^
9/1    Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek^
9/3    West Palm Beach, FL – Perfect Vodka Amphitheatre^
9/5    Tampa, FL – MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre^
9/6    Orange Beach, AL – The Wharf Amphitheater^
9/8    San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center^
9/9    Austin, TX – Austin360 Amphitheater^
9/11    Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater^
9/13    Chula Vista, CA – Sleep Train Amphitheatre^
 
^ With Catfish and the Bottlemen

Watch more: Stickup Kid's impossible journey to open for Green Day

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