All I Have to Give Is Words and Two Tickets to American Idiot – Donations Requested

I Hate the Frustrators - OK, totally not really, but the image is hilarious, though the website DOESN'T WORK...right now. But check back soonish, a Griller G'rilla mentioned that the "great nameless masses should remain on the edges of their wet seats in anticipation of a new site coming soon-ish!" -- Illustration by Jason Chandler

The image at right is of course tongue-in-cheek. I don’t hate the Frustrators (Mike Dirnt, Jason Chandler, Terry Linehan and Art Tedeschi) at all but I do hate the fact that there is a chance that I might miss them in their first East Bay/San Francisco tour in eight years coming up this February 18th-24th.

Why might I miss the Frustrators? Well, it’s due to funds. The past two years or so have been the best of times, the worst of times, and frankly, I’m a little broke! Yes, yes, break out the teeny tiny violins, I know. I’ve had an awesome time since June of 2009 bringing you, dear reader, wonderful (I hope) stories of Green Day shows and events that you may not have been able to get to… and great memories have accumulated for me over that time. I’ve had a blast and I am awed and honored that you have come to read the words I have to give to you.

Now, I’m in a bit of a bind as I try to get to San Francisco this month to see the Frustrators. I love the Frustrators. Their crazy lyrics and thumping rhythm plus their oh-so-funny Facebook page have given me hours of enjoyment and entertainment… even when they weren’t about to drop an album.

Check out this interview with Terry Linehan of the Frustrators on the Punk Rock Show.

I have never asked for donations for this blog, and truthfully, I feel incredibly weirded out by asking. Afterall, this is a project that I took on myself, not knowing where it would lead… and I don’t have anything to give you except the words that I write describing concerts or events I’ve attended. I promise you, though, if you donate any amount, I will write about the awesome music and crazy times expected this month in the East Bay.

In fact, before today, I didn’t have anything to give except words until an amazing offer came my way by pure chance thanks to Christian Grande, of the website, Green Day Collector. Christian lives in Norway. He bought two tickets to see Billie Joe Armstrong perform at his final performance as St. Jimmy inAmerican Idiot at 7:30 PM on February 27th and now due to finances, he and his wife won’t be able to make it to New York. He’s kindly given me his tickets to sell… in order to help me get to San Francisco and write about the Frustrator shows for him and you.

The seats at the St. James Theater are great… two Row C, Mezzanine Center, 102 and 103, seats. (Seating chart here.) The seats give a full and unobstructed view of the stage. Face value of each ticket is $122.00, for a total of $244.00. This price is without the service charges from Telecharge. You can purchase them separately also. If you’d like to purchase the tickets, please email me (yes, Christian, I just made this email today, lol) at GreenDayMind@gmail.com and we’ll make arrangements for transferring the e-tickets to you. I leave for California on February 18th, and would like to sell the tickets prior to leaving.

For those of you who aren’t able to purchase the tickets, but can still help me get to San Francisco, please feel free to click the little yellow button below and donate anything you can.

Make a Donation and Help Green Day Mind Get to San Francisco! Thank you!

If you donate, I will send you a Frustrators pin or if they have them, sticker! Your choice!

Thanks for your consideration and as always, thanks for stopping by!

PS… thanks also to everyone over the last few years who have given me floor space, rides, drinks, laughs and best of all, great times. I could not have written this blog without you.

“But I’m alive, I’m alive, I’m alive like suicide…” Original Goodnight New York Lyrics

BJA "Goodnight New York" Lyrics Owned by Mary Rosenblatt

Back in late September-October 2010 when Billie Joe Armstrong first performed in American Idiotfor a week on Broadway, he ended his run on October 3. That night he penned a little song and sang it to New York City before the Good Riddance encore. No one knew then, not even him, that he was going to come back for two months in 2011 to star in the show as St. Jimmy. I went to a lot of the shows that week for fear of never seeing him perform again in the show. Hearing him sing this little song live was one of those bittersweet moments that you only get once or so in a lifetime. Sweet because it was a love song to my city of New York and the amazing experience of the theater, and bitter because all fleeting moments of pure happiness are like that in the end.
The song was called, Goodnight New York.

“I left my blood like bullets over broadway… the fire of the footlights at the St. James… with broken in legs and roses over New York… these goodnight songs of long lost love and war… But I’m alive, I’m alive, I’m alive like suicide… So goodnight, goodnight, New York.”

The tune possessed a strain of both joy and melancholy that cut right through my heart. Sometimes when I’m really down in New York (as has been the case a lot this winter, particularly since the holiday season started), I repeat in my mind the lyrical refrain, “But I’m alive… I’m alive… I’m alive like suicide… .” I grab onto it like a lifeline so that I hold on and hold out for yet another winter of being alive. Winter is my least favorite season and I get all kinds of down throughout it. The lyric has helped me to fiercely remember the actual joy of life and encourages me to grab onto every bit of it through the tough times, as well as the good ones, that I can.
The lyric itself is a bit of a puzzle and has an odd dichotomy. How can anyone be alive or find life through suicide? What is the nature of that state of being? Is it a metaphorical case of leaving one facet of your life behind and steadfastly screaming out in amazement at the very fact of being alive, or finding life through ending it? No, certainly not the latter example. He sang, “I’m alive, I’m alive, I’m alive” so emphatically that it cancels out all thoughts of a real suicide. “Alive” sounds like one of those screams of urgency to “rally out the demons of your soul,” not to give up, certainly. It’s a problematic lyric, much like a Japanese koan puzzle or a quote by the Iranian/Persian poet and mystic, Rumi. We all know how much Billie Joe hearts Rumi.
Back to that night in October: Mary Rosenblatt was sitting at the very front of the St. James in Row AA. Mary brought with her a single red rose to give to Billie Joe. After the encore, she gave him the single rose and he ended up giving her the lyrics.
I know Mary from here and there. I saw her and asked if I could take photos of the lyrics, one of which I put up on Plixi that night. Mary was so happy and shocked, and a little dazed at the same time! What a wealth of emotions and memories that one little sheet of torn-off legal paper can give to one person, let alone to people all over the world.

BJA Lyrics with American Idiot Pic - Photo by Mary Rosenblatt - Click to view

I’m an archivist, someone who takes care of the correspondence, photos, audio and video of people and institutions. I’ve held numerous kinds of documents in my hands, from the American Revolution and the Civil War, from famous activists, presidents, and performers. When I briefly held Billie Joe’s lyrics in my hands, the only thing I thought was how, in an instant, one piece of slightly torn paper with scribbles on it can go from the mundane to something that is worth framing and keeping safe for Mary’s lifetime and beyond. This one piece of paper, with scratched out words and chords, is one of those pieces of paper.
After the show, I sent Mary some special archival polyester sheets and an acid-free folder to keep the lyrics safe and free from damage until she could get the sheet properly framed, which she recently did. The framed lyric sheet is now somewhere on her wall, a wonderful piece of instant history. I can see it one day being exhibited in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Goodnight, New York Snapshot of Mary's Lyrics Taken by GDM After the Show

Goodnight, New York Snapshot of Mary's Lyrics Taken by GDM After the Show

Full video of “Good Night, New York,” sung by Billie Joe Armstrong on October 3, 2010, shown giving Mary the lyrics. Watch for the funny moment with him giving the guitar away, too. It had a transponder in it, and there was a slight hullabaloo when the person who got it wanted to keep the guitar, but the stage hands had to take the transponder out first. She did get the guitar (or one similar to it) at the end of the night.