Green Day Singer Booted Off Flight For Fashion Faux Pas

Billie Joe Armstrong

"Just got kicked off a southwest flight because my pants sagged too low! What the f--k? No joke!" Billie Joe Armstrong (@BJAofficial) tweeted Thursday night. The Green Day front man's first tweet in 22 days confused many of his followers as they strived to find out more information.

ABC news producer, Cindy Qiu, was on the same flight and explained to the station how a Southwest flight attendant told Armstrong to pull up his pants. "Don't you have better things to do than worry about that?" Armstrong reportedly said. Qiu said the flight attendant then threatened Armstrong to pull up his pants or he's "coming off the plane."

Southwest reached out to Armstrong by tweeting, "@BJAofficial Very sorry for your experience tonight, someone from our Customer Relations Team will reach out to you to get more details."

Shortly after, the airline released in a statement that "the situation was resolved to Armstrong's satisfaction." 

Luckily for Southwest, Armstrong handled the situation a bit more maturely than Kevin Smith, who decided to ignore Southwest's attempts to reach out to him after the airline kicked the actor off a flight last year due to his weight.

We can only hope Billie Joe Armstrong writes a wonderful song about this experience.

September Featured Artist: Emily's Army

Emily's Army (L to R:  Max Becker, Joey Armstrong, Travis Neumann, Cole Becker)

Fortunately for Green Day fans and beyond, singer Billie Joe Armstrong reproduced and passed along his wonderful musical genes.

Drummer Joey Armstrong, 16, followed in the footsteps of his old man by starting teen pop-punk band Emily's Army with brothers Cole (vocals/guitar) and Max Becker (bass), and Travis Neumann (guitar). Their debut album, Don't Be A Dick, was produced by Billie Joe and recorded in only four days at Jingletown Recordings in Oakland, CA.

New York City got a small taste of Emily's Army last year at the Bowery Electric when they opened for Green Day's side project, The Foxboro Hot Tubs. Since then, they've mainly performed locally on the west coast, but recently returned back east on their very first tour

Photo credit: Jessica Le

On August 9th, Emily's Army played a show at The Stolen Sleeves Collective, which is actually a fan's basement located in Brooklyn. As happy as I was not getting mugged during my seven-block walk from the subway, I was even happier to check out a full Emily's Army set once and for all. Before the show, the band sat at their merch booth, more than willing to meet the fans that came out to see them. It turns out the Becker brothers are quite the flirts, as they immediately informed me that the purchase of their CD comes with a "free kiss" and later wrote "You're beautiful" on my CD. As adorable as they are, my adult self traded in the free kiss for a free hug instead.

During their half hour set, I was extremely impressed by how they already have grown as a band. Since Emily's Army is comprised of teenagers, they most definitely have the time to get progressively better. The band also writes their own music, an admirable trait at such a young age.

In the past year they were featured in huge music publications such as Rolling Stone, Spin, and on MTV.com. Many have wondered if this is only because of their relation to Green Day or they really can hold their own. Well, maybe it is a little of both...but does it really matter?

The lyrics from their first single "Broadcast This" clearly state:  "I don't wanna listen to what's on the radio. Boring music...Depressing talk shows. It would be nice to hear something that I musically enjoy..."

After listening to this album, it did bring me back to '94--The era of Green Day's Dookie. And that's always something I "musically enjoy."

Take a look at their video for "Broadcast This":

August Featured Artist: Jesse Malin & the St. Marks Social

I admit I was initially turned onto singer/songwriter Jesse Malin because of his connection to my favorite band Green Day. His third solo album was released on singer Billie Joe Armstrong and his wife Adrienne Armstrong's label, Adeline Records. Billie Joe and fellow Green Day members, Tre Cool and Mike Dirnt, have also collaborated with Jesse, forming a band called Depression Times. They only released one song called "Rodeo Queens," but I think many people are still hoping for other songs to surface.

D Generation, 1994

Jesse's music career started at the age of thirteen when he played in the hardcore band, Heart Attack. In the 90's, he performed in D Generation until deciding to reinvent himself. After several other projects, Jesse collaborated with friend Ryan Adams and completed his first solo album in just six days. In 2009, St. Mark's Social was formed and shortly after released Love It to Life on SideOneDummy Records.

Photo Credit: Jessica Levy

Tommy Stinson and Billie Joe Armstrong join Jesse Malin onstage at NYC's
City Winery on February 19, 2011.

I saw Jesse for the first time at the City Winery in NYC back in February. I wasn't too familiar with Jesse's music at the time, but yet he still managed to engage me into the show. His high energy and constant story-telling  proved him to be an entertaining front man, rising above many. After performing The Fine Art of Self Destruction in its entirety, Billie Joe Armstrong and opener Tommy Stinson joined Jesse and the band onstage to perform a very exciting four-song encore.

Photo Credit: Jessica Levy

Jesse Malin & The St. Marks Social at Bowery Electric
July 30, 2011

On Saturday, Jesse performed at his very own venue, Bowery Electric--an intimate, hip place in the East Village. After an introduction by WRXP deejay Rich Russo, Jesse started off the show with the ever-so-catchy "Burning the Bowery." The fan interaction was even more intense than at the City Winery show, as Jesse told more hilarious personal stories about his life and career. In the middle of the show he sat among the crowd, insisting everyone sits down with him while he continues story time. The set list also included fan favorites, "Prisoners of Paradise," "Disco Ghetto," "Hotel Columbia" and "Riding on the Subway."

It's quite difficult to make a name for yourself as a local artist, especially in New York City. This doesn't apply to Jesse Malin, who continues to sell out local venues and widen his fan base. He is truly an East Village musical hero.

Catch Jesse Malin & the St. Marks Social in concert with Juliana Hatfield at the City Winery in NYC on August 26, 2011. 

Jesse Malin - "Burning the Bowery"