After the postpunk era and the influence of the Ramones began to dwindle, something was bound to explode into relevance and start a new revolution. In the late 1980's, that revolution became reality when a wave of bands such as Green Day, Rancid, and the Offspring began a melodic punk rock assault on their localities. This began the first wave of American pop punk music, and set the stage for a phenomenon that still thrives today.
In 1987, guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist Mike Pritchard (AKA Mike Dirnt) formed a band called "Sweet Children" in a small town near Berkeley, California. After acquiring drummer John Kiffmeyer, the band began a conquest to play at a local club that was inspirational to them: 924 Gilman Street. The hardcore punk audience found the band's melodic, lighter songs as odd, but eventually grew on to the music and led the band to start touring around the country. The band then changed their name to "Green Day" and drummer Frank Edwin Wright III (better known as Tre Cool) replaced Kiffmeyer as he went on with his education. After the release of their debut album, "39/Smooth", and the follow-up "Kerplunk" on independent label Lookout! Records, the band garnered attention from major labels and eventually signed with Reprise Records. Though many fans saw this as selling out, the band's third album "Dookie" became a 10X platinum hit and catapulted Green Day and the genre into mainstream stardom in 1994. Fed up with old fan anger, their fourth album "Insomniac" was a much darker album that went on to go double platinum and feature the hit "Brain Stew". The release of "Nimrod" in 1997 saw a variation of styles ranging from pop punk to metal to an acoustic ballad in "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" but kept their success going as it too went double platinum.
In 1991 in the same area as Green Day, the band Rancid was formed with members of influential 1980's ska band "Operation Ivy". The band, formed by Tim Armstrong on guitar, Matt Freeman on bass, and Brett Reed on drums, took the reigns as a dominant local pop punk band after Kerplunk had taken Green Day to a national scale. They were signed to indie label Epitaph Records, and eventually released their debut self-titled album in 1993. The 1994 follow-up "Let's Go" triggered some mainstream success for the band, peaking at number 97 on the Billboard 200 charts. The album eventually went gold, and the band received pressures to sign with major labels like Green Day had just done. They, however, never signed, and released their breakthrough "...And Out Come The Wolves" in 1995 to a 45th chart position and rave reviews from rock critics. While the other bands decided to take their talents to a global scale, Rancid remained stuck to its roots and maintains a strong fanbase wherever they may go as a result, most notably opening for blink-182 on 2011's Honda Civic Tour, which has featured bands such as My Chemical Romance, New Found Glory, and Paramore to name a few.
1984 saw the formation of the final important first wave band, the Offspring. Known as Manic Subsidal for their first three years, the band became an indie label phenomenon. After recording multiple demos, they were signed to Nemesis Records and released their self-titled debut album in 1989. After signing with Epitaph Records, the band's third album "Smash" in 1994 catapulted the Offspring into mainstream success, selling over twelve million copies worldwide (an all time record for independent label albums). As the band began touring nationally and then globally, major label attention was gained, and the band eventually left Epitaph to join major label Columbia Records. In 1996, the band saw a slight stylistic change, but still sold over four million units with their fourth album "Ixnay on the Hombre". Since then, the Offspring have remained an influential pop punk band and still have mainstream success, earning them a spot among the greatest pop punk bands to ever exist.
REFLECTION:
1. Which of the featured bands never signed to a major label?
2. Taking into account the evolution of each band, how do you think the second wave of pop punk will be different and similar to the first?
3. If you had the choice to sign with a major label or stay with your current devoted fanbase at an indie label, which would you choose? Why?
CITATIONS:
"Green Day." U*X*L Biographies. Detroit: U*X*L, 2011. Student Resources in Context. Web. 2 Mar. 2012.
The Offspring Biography - ARTISTdirect Music. (n.d.). Free Music Download, New Bands, Music Videos & Pictures, International Online Music & CD's: ARTISTdirect Network. Retrieved March 2, 2012, from http://www.artistdirect.com/artist/bio/the-offspring/474954
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