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American rockers Green Day will hold their first concert in Seoul, Monday evening at the Olympic Gym #1, Olympic Park.
/ Courtesy of Warner Music Korea |
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
Grammy award-winning rock trio Green Day promises to put on a spectacle for Seoul, when they hit the stage here for the first time Monday evening.
Green Day, composed of vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool, wants fans to enjoy themselves at their first concert here at the Olympic Gym #1, Olympic Park, southern Seoul.
``We want everybody to have a good time at the concert. We don't want anybody getting hurt. That's punk, playing a show, having a party, having a good time. Come and expect to have a great time and see a great rock show! Because it will be one,'' Green Day said, in an e-mail interview with The Korea Times.
Green Day has come a long way from starting out in Berkeley, Calif. in the early '90s to recently being voted Best Artist of the Decade by readers of U.S. magazine Rolling Stone. ``Boulevard of Broken Dreams'' was also voted Best Song of the Decade, while ``American Idiot'' was named Best Album of the Decade.
``We think we truly believe this is like our era. It's a defining moment for us. It's a monumental moment for us, this record and the last record. We're just glad people are excited about the new album. We worked our asses off on this record. And so, we think people are going to be really excited, even more excited, when they actually hear it,'' the band said.
Green Day's politically charged rock opera, ``American Idiot,'' released in 2004, reaped critical and commercial success. It topped the charts around the world receiving Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album and Record of the Year. Their follow-up album, ``21st Century Breakdown,'' released in May 2009, was also a big hit.
Last year, ``American Idiot'' was turned into a stage musical at the Berkeley Repertory Theater, using songs from the last two albums. Now, the musical, directed by Michael Mayer, will be making its Broadway debut in April.
``Mayer, who directed the musical `Spring Awakening,' created this story and it's like 'Jesus of Suburbia' kind of trapped inside his own head. When we saw the workshop, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. … It's amazing and a dream come true,'' Green Day said.
Armstrong was very much involved in the musical adaptation, closely working with Mayer. ``Mayer kept e-mailing me different versions of his scenario and I was totally into the experiments I wanted to do. The next thing I want to do is write something completely new for Mayer to direct," Armstrong said.
Despite their success, Green Day wants to keep pushing their music to new levels.
``It's important to us that we're still looked at as a punk band. It was our religion and our higher education. We'd like to just keep developing and evolving musically as a band,'' Green Day said.
As for their plans this year, the band is excited to go on tour again.
``We think the support that we got with our last record, from the tour and just everything, gave us the opportunity to push ourselves further. It's given us the confidence to trust ourselves and the process enough to want to dig deeper. And here we are. And now we can't wait to take this thing on the road and play some shows. We really look forward to rock the world in 2010,'' they said.
The Hyundai Card Super Concert VII: Green Day concert starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are nearly sold-out, but prices are 88,000 and 99,000 won. Visit ticket.interpark.com.
cathy@koreatimes.co.kr
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