Green Day, once credited with changing the face of alternative radio, is back—and in a big way. Having not toured significantly since the release of its last CD, Warning, in 2000, the rockers return with a major thematic social commentary, the critically praised American Idiot, that promises to be career defining. It debuted at No. 1 in the nation. They are under way with an extensive tour with New Found Glory and Sugarcult. After 15 years, the group remains Mike Dirnt - bass/vocals, Billie Joe Armstrong - vocals/guitar and Tre Cool - drums. Their 1994 album, Dookie, sold 14 million copies, helping Green Day broaden the definition of punk, pop and rock. The Bay Area band continue to challenge listeners with American Idiot, whose centerpiece, "Jesus of Suburbia," is a mini-rock opera featuring such songs as "I Don’t Care," "City of the Damned," "Dearly Beloved" and "Tales of Another Broken Home." Mike Dirnt sits for this Green Day career update.

InsideCx: For someone coming new to the party, what would you tell them Green Day is all about?
MD: It’s just about three people that see eye to eye musically and it’s almost a life of its own. It’s a weird thing. It’s music that changed our lives, and if people want to listen, too, I just hope it has meaning in theirs.

InsideCx: How has the band changed, evolved through the years, or haven’t you changed?
MD: I think we have changed. People would say, "You are more mature," or whatever. I think we are just more experienced at everything. We’ve learned to approach songwriting from a multitude of directions now, not just from just one source. There are no rules to this band. I feel the longer this band goes, the more we explore new avenues. We love challenging ourselves. If we are afraid of something, if it scares us, we probably are on to something good.

InsideCx: Billie Joe Armstrong once told me, "Our passion is our strength." Does that remain valid today?
MD: I would say so. Musically speaking, this band doesn’t come across as any sort of tough band. We never really have. There are a lot of different sides to real toughness, whether you are able to dive in and show your vulnerability, or being completely honest with yourself, whatever it is. We’re very competitive on an individual level, but not against other bands. Just in life. We won’t let rock and roll knock us down. We want to own it.

InsideCx: A lot of people think you took a long break, or didn’t it seem that long to you?
MD: We took a break from the public eye, but we worked our asses off. Once again, we enjoy what we do. It’s really fun. We set ourselves up in a studio environment. It really was a 100 percent creative environment. The only rule was, "If you’ve got nothing, record something." Everything we did inspired the next move for this album.

InsideCx: Anyone in any line of work for a long time can be challenged on how to keep what they do fresh for themselves. Was taking on a project like the new CD part of the process of how you have kept it fresh?
MD: It’s more a matter of making sure you don’t get bored and always keep creative. Whether it is Trey going in the studio and doing a polka song, or me going in and doing an acoustic thing, or Billie doing something else, it’s being creative and not pigeonholing yourself. We kind of feel the art of the album can get lost in the routine for a lot of musicians: you make a record, put out a single, make a video, go on tour—this kind of mundane routine. We just like to keep things interesting for ourselves, and dangerous. Rock and roll should be dangerous.

InsideCx: Early on, Green Day was hailed for celebrating the underdog spirit in us all. Does that still apply?
MD: I think so. We are from Oakland, what do you expect? [laughs] We are kind of the Brooklyn of the Bay Area, kind of the underdogs to San Francisco. And the Raiders are always underdog to whomever they are playing, but they do it to themselves. The Oakland A’s are the training camp for the New York Yankees [laughs]. We come from that area and I think it filters through us, something that seems to have been that way since we were little kids.

InsideCx: How long was the "American Idiot" CD in the planning stages?
MD: From when we stumbled across the idea to the finish of recording, a year and a half, and another half year before that of preparations.

InsideCx: Did you view it as a risk? Or perhaps even a risk that had to be taken?
MD: Yes, it was scary. For lack of a better analogy, I’ve been saying it’s like we got this mountain we already climbed, only this time we took a different route. And on the way there we saw one higher. Which one do you want to climb? The view at top of the other mountain doesn’t suck, but you always want to challenge yourself. And if we are doing that and stirring up controversy, it always seems like we get into good things that way.

InsideCx: Why do you think it seems that so few bands attempt—to use that word—a "concept" CD these days, an album that is unified in theme?
MD: I don’t know if it is because it is the CD era. Our first record was a seven-inch or a 45. There are things like that out there. We drew a lot of inspiration from a band like Outkast or Eminem and those guys who are so ambitious with rap. They don’t let their ambitions stop them in the studio. Granted, they don’t pull the stuff off live [laughs].
      To try to pull it off live is a little bit scary. I do feel there are a lot of younger bands today whose Beatles and Stones collections are getting further and further back in their collection and they need to pull them to the front again.

InsideCx: What were the artistic goals for the "American Idiot" CD?
MD: Whenever we started heading in this direction, we wanted to step outside of what it is that Green Day is known for. When we think of our heroes, all are known for certain records, like, for me it is the Stones’ Beggar’s Banquet. I want to see my band synonymous with good music, not with just one song. We wanted to explore maximum song structure and Green Day.

InsideCx: What subject matter and themes were you most interested in exploring?
MD: There is an obvious political overtone, which sets the political climate for the main character. We really made it a point in the writing of this renymous with good music, not with just one song. We wanted to explore maximum song structure and Green Day.

InsideCx: What subject matter and themes were you most interested in exploring?
MD: There is an obvious political overtone, which sets the political climate for the main character. We really made it a point in the writing of this record to maintain the relationships between characters and leave it open-ended enough for people to jump in anywhere and not feel lost in some story, and be able to claim it as their own.

InsideCx: Could "American Idiot" be an evergreen, a touchstone CD for future generations?
MD: I like to think of it that way. Really good careers have peaks and valleys. We are on a peak right now. For us, this record stands alone. It is not a progression like our other records. You can see the progression in those other records. That alone makes this record somewhat monumental to this point.

InsideCx: "American Idiot" suggests these are not the best of times for creative people to say what is really on their minds. How have things gotten so out of whack that artists seem afraid?
MD: The average person finds themselves afraid. We are living in an information age right now, but all this information is like a tornado of bulls--t. There’s falsified news, reality TV, and throw in this war in Iraq on top that nobody knows why we are in it, with product placement in between. It’s time to say "Enough!"
      Everything turns into debate immediately. With a song like "American Idiot," or this CD’s political overtones, there’s no agenda so much as, "I feel disenfranchised and misrepresented, and I’m tired of it." Maybe it will open a discussion again and get back to what politics starts as, and that is open discussion.

InsideCx: Was the creative process different this time for Green Day?
MD: I think so. We started off having band practice and said, "This sucks. Why are we doing this?" Then it became, "I don’t care what you want to record. If you want to do a rap song, do it; or creative Christmas carols, do that; or a polka, do that. Just be creative and record. There are no boundaries." A lot of things got wrapped into it. Some of it turned out absolute crap; some of it turned out brilliant. It was almost like we set up our own workshop at college.

InsideCx: What haven’t you done but still want to accomplish? Are there more "American Idiots" out there?
MD: We are always looking around the corner. We definitely have a couple ideas right now. This record wasn’t so pretentious as to be a concept before we started writing it. It was almost serendipitous the way we fell into it. If you want to know about our lives, listen to our records. It’s all right there. That’s our education, everything we are and probably ever will be.