Recently speaking to Rock Sound backstage at When We Were Young Festival 2023, Pierce the Veil’s frontman Vic Fuentes shared his top pick for the best Green Day album.
The singer revealed his favorite record from the band, saying:
“Green Day… I don’t know; my wife loves the ‘Warning’ record, and she got me so into that record because I love, like… what is it? I forget the names of the songs, but I just like the melancholy vibe of that record.”
Then, Fuentes asked his bandmates about the Green Day songs they loved the most. The band’s guitarist, Tony Perry, explained:
“The one we covered is actually one of my favorites.”
The vocalist recalled that song and added:
“Oh, ‘Coming Clean.’ Nice, yeah, we actually did a cover of that. That was really fun.”
Later, the other band member, Jaime Preciado, also shared a favorite track from Green Day and noted:
“I’m a ‘Nice Guys Finish Last’ guy. That song is f*cking… I don’t know something about it as soon as it hits.”
Vic lastly said:
“I was thinking about. Is it like ‘Macy’s Day Parade,’ or is that on that record? And like ‘Redundant.’ I love those songs.”
When Spotify approached Pierce the Veil in 2017 and allowed them to pick a song from Green Day’s first three albums, they chose ‘Coming Clean.’ They recorded the cover at the Village Studios in Los Angeles after their Rest In Space Tour, where their label had a permanent setup with a producer. Fuentes talked about their experience of delivering a rendition of a Green Day song in a chat with Alternative Press, saying:
“I wanted to do it acoustic because the songs are already so rock and punk rock. I don’t really know what we could add to it. That song has a really nice bounce to it and a nice rhythm, and I love the lyrics. It sounds like a confused young kid. As I was playing it acoustic, the guys were like, ‘It sounds cool because it almost sounds sad and melancholy.’ It really brings out the lyrics of what he’s saying.”
In 2017, Spotify introduced a series called ‘Green Day: The Early Years.’ It included a documentary about Green Day’s rise from Gilman Street to their big break with ‘Dookie.’ To highlight the band’s impact on today’s alternative music, bands like All Time Low, Neck Deep, Taking Back Sunday, Bayside, and Pierce the Veil all covered Green Day songs for the series.
You can watch the rest of the band’s conversation below.
