[pic=Mike talks to Zane Lowe on Radio 1]100812_mike.jpg[/pic]We've written up parts of the interview with Mike Dirnt on BBC Radio 1 earlier today for those who couldn't listen. This is the first interview with any members of the band after they took a break as Billie sought treatment for substance abuse. Here's a few important pieces:
Zane Lowe asks about Billie Joe:
[quote]There were signs of things hitting the fan. We hadn't slept in forever and ever, and Billie definitely had the worst of it, and he had been going through his own struggles. We were there with him, but you can only handle things on your own.
[...]
When we got off the road, the most important thing was my friends life. I think that's where we are right now. I think we're headed in a good direction.[/quote]
Zane asks about the band and family coming together to address the issues after iHeartRadio:
[quoteFull]We had to put the life of our friend in front of everything and just hit the brakes and cancel everything we had going. There's a lot of stuff that got cancelled and a lot of soul searching when we got home, we didn't know what to do with ourselves. I'm sure Billie had it very rough, we've had very little contact between any of us. ... It's a pretty heavy duty process.[/quoteFull]
The stress of all the highs and lows the band has gone through throughout their career.
[quoteFull]I was talking to my shrink and he goes ,"You haven't taken a break since American Idiot." And I was like "oh wow, I think you're right." And it's odd because this is probably the longest time we haven't seen each other, because you know, I haven't seen Billie in weeks, in I don't know... 20 years. So it's an awkward position to be in. But you know, we're going to hammer this out, we're going to get through it. Pushups, prayers and vitamins, as we always say, and we'll get there.
[...]
We're still getting ready for the next phase. Me and Tre are staying healthy and getting ready. I'm excited.[/quoteFull]
You can listen to the interview below:
Zane Lowe asks about Billie Joe:
[quote]There were signs of things hitting the fan. We hadn't slept in forever and ever, and Billie definitely had the worst of it, and he had been going through his own struggles. We were there with him, but you can only handle things on your own.
[...]
When we got off the road, the most important thing was my friends life. I think that's where we are right now. I think we're headed in a good direction.[/quote]
Zane asks about the band and family coming together to address the issues after iHeartRadio:
[quoteFull]We had to put the life of our friend in front of everything and just hit the brakes and cancel everything we had going. There's a lot of stuff that got cancelled and a lot of soul searching when we got home, we didn't know what to do with ourselves. I'm sure Billie had it very rough, we've had very little contact between any of us. ... It's a pretty heavy duty process.[/quoteFull]
The stress of all the highs and lows the band has gone through throughout their career.
[quoteFull]I was talking to my shrink and he goes ,"You haven't taken a break since American Idiot." And I was like "oh wow, I think you're right." And it's odd because this is probably the longest time we haven't seen each other, because you know, I haven't seen Billie in weeks, in I don't know... 20 years. So it's an awkward position to be in. But you know, we're going to hammer this out, we're going to get through it. Pushups, prayers and vitamins, as we always say, and we'll get there.
[...]
We're still getting ready for the next phase. Me and Tre are staying healthy and getting ready. I'm excited.[/quoteFull]
You can listen to the interview below:
