Kerplunk (album)

Background

Green Day released their debut album 39/Smooth in April 1990. After a US tour, drummer John Kiffmeyer decided to enroll in college and did not explicitly tell the band he was leaving. Vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong considered ending the band until he learned Tré Cool was available. Cool had played with the Lookouts since age 12 and had worked with Armstrong in July 1990. The new lineup played a show in November 1990; while Kiffmeyer drummed for two more shows, the band felt Cool was a better musician. The band bonded over smoking pot, something Kiffmeyer did not do. Armstrong found it difficult to lead the band with the older, more experienced Kiffmeyer. Shows at 924 Gilman Street brought a new audience of teenage girls from suburban towns.

The band recorded at Art of Ears Studios in San Francisco, California, in May 1991 with a budget of $2,000. Andy Ernst co-produced the sessions with the band. After recording six tracks, they stopped to tour, then returned in September 1991 to complete the album. Four days were spent recording total; Ernst mixed the album. Lookout founder Larry Livermore was unaware of the finished album until the band gave him a tape in late 1991, telling him it would be titled Kerplunk. John Golden mastered the album at K-Disc in Hollywood. Livermore listened to the tape on his flight home and thought life would never be the same for Lookout Records or Green Day.

Did You Know?

• The album's artwork was created by Chris Appelgren and Pat Hynes, based on a story by Lookout founder Larry Livermore about a girl obsessed with Green Day who murders her parents.
• The song '2000 Light Years Away' is credited to Green Day along with Jesse Michaels, Pete Rypins, and Dave E.C.
• Kerplunk sold 10,000 copies on its first day of release in the United Kingdom due to pre-orders by record stores.
• The album's title may refer to the skill game of the same name or to the sound of defecating from an elevated position.