Michael Ryan Pritchard, better known by his stage name Mike Dirnt, is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder, bassist, backing and occasional lead vocalist and former guitarist of Green Day. He has also played in several other bands, including the Frustrators. His stage name was originally a nickname that his friends from grade school gave him, as he constantly played "air bass/guitar" and made a "dirnt, dirnt, dirnt" noise while pretending to pluck the strings.
Screeching Weasel is an American punk rock band consisting of Ben Weasel (vocals), Trevor Jackson (guitar), Mike Hunchback (guitar), Zach "Poutine" Brandner (bass) and Pierre Marche (drums). Screeching Weasel is originally from the Chicago suburb of Prospect Heights, Illinois. The band was formed in 1986 by Ben Weasel and John Jughead. Since their formation, Screeching Weasel have reformed several times with line-up changes. Ben Weasel has been the only constant member, though Jughead was present in every incarnation of the band until 2009. Other prominent members include guitarist/bassist Dan Vapid and drummer Dan Panic, who have each appeared on six of the band's studio albums, and Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt who was briefly a member of the band.
Squirtgun is an American punk rock band from Lafayette, Indiana formed by record producer Mass Giorgini in 1993.
My Brain Hurts is the third studio album by the Chicago-based punk rock band Screeching Weasel. The album was originally released on CD, vinyl and cassette in September 1991 through Lookout Records. It was the group's first album on Lookout as well as the only release with bassist Dave Naked and the first with drummer Dan Panic, the latter of which would go on to appear on several of the band's albums. The album marked a very distinct stylistic shift for the group, fully moving toward a Ramones-inspired sound and completely abandoning their previous hardcore punk influences as a condition made by vocalist Ben Weasel when reforming the band after a brief break-up.
Wiggle is the fifth studio album by the Chicago-based punk rock band Screeching Weasel. Initially planned for release in November 1992, the album was finally released on CD, vinyl and cassette on January 15, 1993 through Lookout Records. Due to a "cymbal hissing" in the original vinyl version, the album was remixed and re-released soon afterwards.
Anthem for a New Tomorrow is the sixth studio album by the American punk rock band Screeching Weasel. It was released in 1993 through Lookout! Records. It is often considered one of the band's best albums.
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.
Thank You Very Little is a compilation by Screeching Weasel. It contains b-sides, rarities, and a live show. The title was taken from a line in the movie Caddyshack. Most of the second disc is taken from a show in Philadelphia from the band's 1993 tour.
Screeching Weasel is the self-titled debut studio album by the Chicago-based punk rock band Screeching Weasel. It was originally released on vinyl with a limited pressing of 1,000 copies in September 1987 through local independent label Underdog Records and was the band's only album with bassist Vinnie Bovine, who was fired the next year. Screeching Weasel documents the group's early years as a hardcore punk band, with the music being heavily influenced by bands such as Adrenalin O.D., Angry Samoans, Circle Jerks and Black Flag.
Television City Dream is the ninth studio album by the American punk rock band Screeching Weasel. It was released in 1998 through Fat Wreck Chords. It was the band's last album released through Fat Wreck Chords until First World Manifesto in 2011. The album is the first to feature new members Mass Giorgini, Zac Damon, and Dan Lumley. The cover art was done by Giorgini's father, noted artist Aldo Giorgini. The songs on the album are notably faster than previous Screeching Weasel albums. The album was re-released on November 9, 2010, featuring five bonus tracks from the original recording sessions.
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.
Grow Up is the debut album by the American punk rock band the Queers. Recorded in multiple sessions between 1986 and 1988, with various band members and session musicians backing singer and guitarist Joe King, it was originally released as an LP record in 1990 by British label Shakin' Street Records. However, the label went out of business after only 1,000 copies were pressed. The Queers had more copies pressed themselves, continuing to list Shakin' Street as the record label, but when they failed to pay their bill the pressing plant destroyed all but approximately 160 copies, which the band released with a photocopied album cover.
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.
A Day Late And A Dollar Short is a compilation album by the American punk rock band the Queers, released in January 1996 by Lookout! Records. It collects material recorded between 1982 and 1994, most of it with original member Wimpy Rutherford. It includes the band's first two EPs, 1982's Love Me and 1984's Kicked Out of the Webelos, several demo tracks recorded in 1991, 16 tracks recorded during a January 1993 reunion with Rutherford, and a complete set of early songs recorded live on radio station WFMU in 1994 with Rutherford on lead vocals.
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".
Don't Back Down is the sixth studio album by the American punk rock band the Queers, released in August 1996 by Lookout! Records. The band and Lookout! president Larry Livermore, who served as executive producer, sought to balance the sounds of the Ramones and the Beach Boys, and enlisted the help of former Queers guitarist JJ Rassler and Cub singer Lisa Marr. The album's title track is a cover version of the Beach Boys song of the same name; it also features covers of the Hondells' "Little Sidewalk Surfer Girl" and Hawaiian punk band the Catalogs' "Another Girl". The album produced the band's first music videos, for "Punk Rock Girls" and "Don't Back Down".
Weasel Mania is a compilation album by the Chicago punk rock band Screeching Weasel. It was released on Fat Wreck Chords in 2005. The album title is an homage to the Ramones album Ramones Mania.
Riverdales is the eponymously-titled debut studio album by the Chicago-based punk rock band the Riverdales. Formed after the break-up of Screeching Weasel, the band sought to write more Ramones-inspired music and the album was released on June 7, 1995 through Lookout Records with the catalog number LK 120. The group supported the album by opening for Green Day on the initial US leg of the tour for their album Insomniac. Riverdales experienced substantial success on the tour, and the album became the group's best-selling release to date.
Squirtgun is the eponymously titled debut studio album by the American punk rock band Squirtgun. It was released on October 9, 1995, through Lookout! Records. The song "Social" was used during the opening credits of the Kevin Smith film Mallrats (1995). "Make It Up" features a guest appearance by Mike Dirnt of Green Day on bass and backing vocals.
