Watch Green Day (with original drummer John Kiffmeyer) perform Paper Lanterns in 1990 at a “backyard in Oakland”.
Green Day have celebrated the 33rd anniversary of their debut album 39/Smooth with some awesome throwback pics and a never-before-seen video.
The trio – then Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and original drummer John Kiffmeyer – dropped the record on April 13, 1990, and marked the occasion yesterday by unveiling a must-watch video of a performance of Paper Lanterns in a backyard in their home city of Oakland, California, a couple of weeks before release.
Say the band: “39/Smooth. Released on this day April 13th, 1990. Green Day’s 10 song debut studio album on Lookout! Records. It was later reissued in 1991 under the title 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, which included their earlier EPs 1,000 Hours and Slappy. Features original drummer John Kiffmeyer a.k.a (Al Sobrante) on the drums. Inside handwritten by Billie Joe and artwork designs by Jesse Michaels and released on Lookout! by Larry Livermore who also did their first 7” records and was in the band The Lookouts with Tré Cool. Cover photo by Susie Grant. Band photos by Murray Bowles. Songs written by Billie Joe Armstrong and produced by Andy Ernst and the band themselves. Recorded in a few days over New Years and released April 13th 1990. This never before seen video is in a backyard in Oakland, CA is a few weeks before that 3/25/90.”
In the comments, fellow Oakland native Robb Flynn of Machine Head enthused that, “This video rules!” while Bowling For Soup’s Jaret Reddick called the music “Life changing releases”. And tennis legend/Green Day superfan Serena Williams impressively shared that, “And I know every single song.” Hear, hear!
Take a look at it all in the Instagram post below:
