See Green Day return to Northern California town where band went to school, music was made

Green Day band members returned to the Bay Area town of Pinole on Sunday, where in the 1980s they often gathered at the 7-11 on their way to and from Pinole Valley High School.

While lead vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong is originally from nearby Rodeo, California, Pinole is where much of Green Day’s music was shaped. Bassist Mike Dirnt, who was also grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and drummer Tre Cool joined Armstrong at the gathering.

“We’ve come full circle, and we’re back here in Pinole and my family still lives around here in West Contra Costa County,” Billie Joe Armstrong said in a KTVU-Fox article.

Fans from all over the world waited for hours to get their memorabilia autographed, the news station reported.

Green Day is widely recognized as one of the most influential and successful punk rock bands ever.