Editing 39/Smooth (section)

==Background and recording==
{{further information|1,000 Hours#Background|1,000 Hours#Release and reception{{!}}Release and reception}}
Following a shared interest in music, and the creation of original material, guitarists [[Billie Joe Armstrong]] and [[Mike Dirnt]] formed a band.<ref>Myers 2006, pp. 24–25, 27</ref> After going through another name, they stuck with [[Green Day|Sweet Children]];<ref>Spitz 2010, p. 16</ref> Armstrong and Dirnt worked security at [[Punk rock|punk]] club [[924 Gilman Street]] in [[Berkeley, California]].<ref>Spitz 2010, p. 35</ref> [[John Kiffmeyer]], also known as "Al Sobrante", drummer of Gilman performers [[Isocracy (band)|Isocracy]], was invited to play with them.<ref>Spitz 2010, p. 43</ref> He helped refine Sweet Children's sound, and taught them a work ethic of recording music as cheaply and quickly as possible.<ref name=Myers43>Myers 2006, p. 43</ref> Sweet Children played their first Gilman show in November 1988,<ref>Gaar 2006, p. 30</ref> where they accumulated a fan base; after the departure of bassist Sean Hughes, Dirnt moved to bass.<ref>Spitz 2010, p. 49</ref> During a house party, Sweet Children were brought to the attention of [[Larry Livermore]], who operated [[Lookout Records]], which was originally planned to only release material from Livermore's band [[the Lookouts]].<ref>Spitz 2010, pp. 51, 52</ref>

Livermore subsequently signed Sweet Children following a show with the Lookouts.<ref name=Spitz63>Spitz 2010, p. 63</ref> The record deal made the members of Sweet Children realize that they needed a new name, ultimately choosing Green Day.<ref name=Spitz64>Spitz 2010, p. 64</ref>{{#tag:ref|[[Marc Spitz]], author of ''Nobody Likes You – Inside the Turbulent Life, Times and Music of Green Day'' (2006), wrote that the Green Day name was taken from an Armstrong-written track of the same name.<ref name=Spitz64/> Myers, who also mentioned the track, said the name originated from a comment spoken by ''[[Sesame Street]]'' character [[Ernie (Sesame Street)|Ernie]]. It subsequently became an inside joke between the members, who used it to refer to their joint smoking sessions, with Kiffmeyer even having the words displayed on the back of his jacket.<ref name=Myers53>Myers 2006, p. 53</ref> In ''Green Day – Rebels with a Cause'' (2006), author Gillian G. Gaar said it was "variously attributed" to both Ernie and as a slang term for smoking pot.<ref name=Gaar32>Gaar 2006, p. 32</ref> According to Livermore, this was done to avoid confusion with another local band, [[Sweet Baby (band)|Sweet Baby]].<ref name=Myers53>Myers 2006, p. 53</ref>|group="nb"}} They played their last show under the old moniker on April 1, 1989, at Gilman for a benefit show.<ref name=Myers52>Myers 2006, p. 52</ref> That same month, the ''[[1,000 Hours]]'' EP was released through on [[Phonograph record|seven-inch vinyl]].<ref name=Myers51>Myers 2006, p. 51</ref> Livermore commented that due to the poppy nature of the release that it would be difficult to sell to record buyers, taking around six months for the EP to start attracting attention from the public.<ref name=Gaar31>Gaar 2006, p. 31</ref> Author [[Ben Myers]] wrote in ''Green Day: American Idiots & The New Punk Explosion'' (2006) that while it did not have a unique musical direction amongst the band's peers,<ref name=Myers51/> the EP helped to place Green Day as well as Berkeley "on the map."<ref name=Myers52/> They performed for the first time since the name change supporting [[Operation Ivy (band)|Operation Ivy]] on May 28, 1989, at Gilman.<ref>Spitz 2010, p. 62</ref> During this time, Armstrong and Dirnt played in other bands, such as Blatz, Corrupted Morals and Crummy Musicians.<ref name=Gaar35>Gaar 2006, p. 35</ref>

<!-- Recording; bundle with background as there is only enough info for a single paragraph -->
Green Day recorded their debut album at Art of Ears Studio in [[San Francisco]], California,<ref name=Myers58/> around Christmas 1989 when recording time was inexpensive.<ref name=Spitz65>Spitz 2010, p. 65</ref> [[Andy Ernst]], who previously worked on the ''1,000 Hours'' EP, co-produced the sessions with members of the band.<ref>Gaar 2006, pp. 31, 35</ref> Sessions started on December 29, 1989; Armstrong and Dirnt tracked their vocals at the same time in order to save on both money and time. Myers noted that the members' influences, such as the [[Buzzcocks]], [[the Clash]] and the [[Ramones]], "all of whom recorded quickly, and it clearly showed as they applied the same sense of pared-down economy to their own blistering debut."<ref name=Myers58>Myers 2006, p. 58</ref> The majority of the album was finished the following day, preceded by guitar parts and vocal harmonies. The album was mixed and completed by January 2, 1990. The sessions cost $675 ({{Inflation|US|675|1989|fmt=eq|r=-2}}), charged to Livermore. John Golden [[Audio mastering|mastered]] the recordings at K Disc Mastering in Hollywood, California<ref name=39Ssleeve/> Prior to the album coming out, Livermore wanted to issue another single to build hype. Subsequently, the band went back to Art of Ears and recorded four songs in a few hours, which became the ''[[Slappy]]'' (1990) EP.<ref name=Myers58/>