Green Day is an American rock band formed in 1986 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist Mike Dirnt. For much of the band's career, they have been a trio with drummer Tré Cool, who replaced John Kiffmeyer in 1990 prior to the recording of the band's second studio album, Kerplunk (1991).
Lookout Records was an independent record label, initially based in Laytonville, California and later in Berkeley, focusing on punk rock. Established in 1987, the label is best known for having released Operation Ivy’s only album, and the first two albums by Green Day.
Pansy Division is an American punk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1991 by singer-songwriter Jon Ginoli and bassist Chris Freeman.
1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours is a collection of early recordings by American punk rock band Green Day, released on October 1, 1991 by Lookout Records. Often referred to as the band's debut album, the compilation combines the band's actual debut 39/Smooth and its first two extended plays Slappy and 1,000 Hours, which are all currently out of print. The album included one cover, "Knowledge", which was originally by influential California punk band Operation Ivy, whose singer, Jesse Michaels, contributed the artwork for the album. The cover art features the same image from 39/Smooth.
39/Smooth is the debut studio album by American rock band Green Day, released on April 13, 1990 by Lookout Records. It was the band's only album to feature original drummer John Kiffmeyer. Jesse Michaels of Operation Ivy contributed the artwork on the album. The inner sleeve shows handwritten lyrics by Billie Joe Armstrong and letters by drummer John Kiffmeyer and Lookout owner Larry Livermore to I.R.S. Records, rejecting a fake offer to sign to the label and declaring its loyalty to Lookout.
Operation Ivy was an American punk rock band from Berkeley, California formed in May 1987. The band was stylistically important as one of the first bands to mix the elements of hardcore punk and ska into a new amalgam called ska punk and was critical to the emergence of Lookout Records and the so-called "East Bay Sound."
Energy is the only studio album by the American ska punk band Operation Ivy. It was originally released on vinyl and cassette in May 1989 through Lookout! Records with the catalog number LK 010. Although the album itself has never been released on CD, all of the tracks were featured on the career-spanning compilation Operation Ivy issued by Lookout in 1991. Despite achieving no mainstream success, Energy is considered one of the most important albums of ska punk and is frequently cited as an influence by many later bands of the genre.
Kerplunk is the second studio album by American punk rock band Green Day, released on December 17, 1991 by Lookout! Records. Kerplunk was Green Day's last independent release on the Lookout Records label, and was also the first album to feature Tré Cool on drums. The album sold 10,000 copies its first day and became Lookout!'s biggest selling release. After debuting it to their fans in the Berkeley, California area and receiving much approval from the critical 924 Gilman Street crowd, the band packed up in a cramped, converted Book Mobile and headed east. Green Day developed a fan base on the east coast, behind the determined grass root efforts of lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong. The opportunity paid off as album sales reached over 50,000 copies. Along with the successful live shows, major labels took notice of Kerplunk's phenomenal popularity. As a result, many labels approached the band. Green Day realized that they had outgrown their record distribution capacity with Lookout! and eventually signed with Reprise Records. With Reprise, Green Day recorded and released their next album Dookie (1994). Kerplunk officially includes only 12 tracks, but the versions released on CD and cassette also include the 4 tracks from the Sweet Children EP. One of those tracks is a cover of The Who's "My Generation".
The Lookouts were an American punk rock band that existed from 1985 to 1990 on Iron Peak, a remote rural mountain community outside Laytonville, California, United States. The members were Larry Livermore on guitar and vocals, Kain Kong on bass and vocals, and Tré Cool on drums and vocals. All three contributed on songwriting.
Justin Pearson is a vocalist and bassist known for his prolific music career, playing in a number of San Diego-based noise rock, punk and grindcore bands, as well as his record label Three One G Records. Starting off in the punk outfit Struggle in 1994, ensuing projects such as Swing Kids, The Locust, Dead Cross and Retox. He has collaborated with Kool Keith, Gabe Serbian, Karen O, Nick Zinner, Adam Gnade, Invisibl Skratch Piklz, Asia Argento, The Bloody Beetroots, among many others.
How to Make Enemies and Irritate People is the seventh studio album by the Chicago-based punk rock band Screeching Weasel. Planned as the group's final album, it was released in August 1994 on CD, vinyl and cassette through Lookout Records. Shortly before recording the album, bassist/backing vocalist Dan Vapid left the band and, as a result, Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt was recruited to play on the album.
Love Songs for the Retarded is the second studio album by the American punk rock band the Queers, released in 1993 by Lookout! Records. It was the first of five studio albums the band would record for Lookout!, and their first by the lineup of singer and guitarist "Joe Queer" King, bassist Chris "B-Face" Barnard, and drummer Hugh O'Neill. It was also their first collaboration with Screeching Weasel frontman Ben Weasel, who produced the album and co-wrote two of its songs, and the first of three Queers albums recorded at Sonic Iguana Studio in Lafayette, Indiana with audio engineer Mass Giorgini, who would continue to work with the band on and off for the next 14 years as a producer and engineer. Love Songs for the Retarded became the Queers' highest-selling album, with sales surpassing 100,000 copies.
Since the late 1970s, California has had a thriving regional punk rock movement. It primarily consists of bands from the Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura County, San Diego, San Fernando Valley, San Francisco, Fresno, Bakersfield, Alameda County, Sacramento, Lake Tahoe, Oakland and Berkeley areas.
Beat Off is the fourth studio album by the American punk rock band the Queers, released in 1994 by Lookout! Records. Recorded during a time when the Queers' usual drummer, Hugh O'Neill, was on a forced leave of absence from the band to deal with heroin addiction, it featured Screeching Weasel drummer Dan Panic and guitarist Dan Vapid added to the lineup. It was the third and final Queers album produced by Screeching Weasel singer Ben Weasel, who insisted on a no-frills punk sound for the album and removed Vapid's tracks from the final mix without his knowledge.
Move Back Home is the fifth studio album by the American punk rock band the Queers, released in May 1995 by Lookout! Records. The recording sessions were marred by the band members' drug problems, and many of the songs were written in the studio. Producer and Lookout! president Larry Livermore was so displeased with the result that he took his name off of the album, and several involved parties, including singer and guitarist Joe Queer, later regarded it as sub-par. After the Queers rescinded their master recordings from Lookout! in 2006, Move Back Home was reissued by Asian Man Records the following year, having been remixed and remastered by Queer and recording engineer Mass Giorgini and with the tracks from the Surf Goddess EP added.
Surf Goddess is an EP by the American punk rock band the Queers, released in February 1995 by Lookout! Records. It marked the return of longtime drummer Hugh O'Neill to the band, after a forced leave of absence to deal with heroin addiction. Former Screeching Weasel member Dan Vapid, who had been a member of the Queers in 1994, played on the EP as a guest guitarist. Surf Goddess was the result of band leader Joe King and Lookout! head Larry Livermore being dissatisfied with the production techniques on the band's prior album, 1994's Beat Off, which producer Ben Weasel had insisted on keeping basic. King and Livermore wanted to incorporate overdubbing and other effects which Livermore felt were essential to the Queers' sound. In addition to the title track, which was co-written by Weasel, and the Queers original "Quit Talkin'", the EP includes cover versions of Tommy James and the Shondells's "Mirage" and the Undertones' "Get Over You".
Carlos Cañedo is a Mexican-American (chicano) rock musician, professional Argentine Tango dancer/choreographer, and documentary producer. As a musician, Cañedo performed in American punk rock and hardcore bands The PeeChees, Rice, and Beehive and the Barracudas, releasing albums on seminal indie labels Kill Rock Stars, Lookout! Records, and Subpop. He is currently performing in Carlos Cañedo Is Filling Gaps with Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys. As a dancer, Cañedo has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Argentina, and Europe and his choreographies have been performed on Broadway and Europe. Carlos was also an associate producer of No No: A Dockumentary, a film about Dock Ellis, the late African-American baseball player turned drug abuse counselor who infamously claims to have pitched a no-hitter on LSD. The Documentary premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
Can of Pork is a compilation album of various punk rock artists. It was released on two 12-inch vinyls and one CD in April 1992 through Lookout Records. The vinyl version came with a booklet of lyrics and photography and the CD version features information on contacting the bands and a detailed description of the compilation's production. Since its release, Can of Pork has been cited by Lookout Records itself and fans as an important album and has been regarded as a highly influential punk rock compilation.
