Ultra Q, Courtesy: Andrew Diaz. Some bands can get by on streaming royalties for a while in the event of a catastrophic pandemic, but Oakland’s Ultra Q is not a “streaming band,” frontman and bandleader Jakob Armstrong said. Brothers Enzo and Chris Malaspina, Kevin Judd and Armstrong, the youngest son…

Halfway through Bay Area pop-punk heroes Green Day’s 13th album, Father Of All Motherfuckers, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong declares “I was a teenage teenager/ Full of piss and vinegar.” It’s a sentiment that aptly describes the band’s latest release, a no-nonsense amps-to-11 showcase of raw, old-school rock. Looking for a reenergized…

Green Day performs at the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland on Aug. 5, 2017. Photo: Alessio Neri/Staff. Green Day today announced a stadium tour—THE HELLA MEGA TOUR—with Fall Out Boy and Weezer. The tour will stop at Oracle Park in San Francisco on July 21, 2010 and tickets…

Don Henley, deciding that autumn is not that great, either. Courtesy. You may be expecting a Labor Day column full of songs about the working man, but some idiot decided to use that theme on May Day. But in the United States this weekend is the unofficial end of…

R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe realizing he never wrote a song specifically about rolled ankles. But Julien Baker did! Ow. I am, to say the least, breakable. Occasionally my joints just kinda decide not to be joints anymore. For example last weekend while foolishly attempting some light yard work I rolled…

VMA winner for best suited dancing in a music video, probably. Ah, 2000. The first year of the 21st century or, if you’re a friendless pedant, the last year of the 20th. That storied year where we all asked who let the dogs out, then why we were still…

You know how the music you liked as a teenager sticks with you, and you remain a fan for life? Those songs take you back to a simpler time when you were discovering your tastes and personality, separate from your parents,’ for the first time. What I’m saying is…

Photos: Alessio Neri OAKLAND — Compared to its neighbor across the Bay, Oakland still gets a bad rep and not too many breaks. San Francisco is getting its basketball team, Las Vegas its football team, and many of its accomplishments are buried under the problems. Still, Oakland, and the…

Excited for Green Day’s show at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on Saturday? The band put together an Oakland exclusive event on their Revolution Radio Tour to celebrate the homecoming: a 2-day pop-up shop. The pre-show event will be hosted by 1-2-3-4 Go! Records in Oakland on Wednesday from 12:30 to 7:30 p.m. and Thursday…

Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong and several family members and friends today released “If There Was Ever a Time,” a single that will benefit East Bay punk co-op 924 Gilman. The group, under the moniker “Armstrongs,” includes Tim Armstrong (Operation Ivy, Rancid), Joey Armstrong (SWMRS) and Rey Armstrong. The track was…