The Network

The Network
The Network performing in 2004
Background information
Origin United States
Genres New wave, punk rock
Years active 2003–2005
Labels Adeline, Reprise
Associated acts Green Day, Foxboro Hot Tubs, Pinhead Gunpowder
Past members Fink
Van Gough
The Snoo
Z
Captain Underpants
Balducci

The Network is a six-piece new wave band. It released its debut album Money Money 2020 on Adeline Records on September 30, 2003. A re-release of the album with two bonus tracks followed in 2004. The members use stage names and masks to keep their identities a secret, although the band is speculated to be a side project of the punk rock band Green Day. It has remained inactive since a live performance on October 13, 2005 opening for Green Day at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco, California.

History

The band formed in 2003, and the band started working on material on mid-2003. After rumors started surfacing that Green Day was starting a new project, the band members came up with nicknames to hide their identities . The group recorded and released Money Money 2020 in 2003. Since Armstrong's voice is clearly heard in several songs of the album , fans of Green Day started to think that Money Money 2020 was Green Day's stolen album Cigarettes and Valentines. After 2 years of that speculation, Armstrong stated that he was not in the project, nor any members of Green Day, and has said many times "Fuck The Network". That being said, fans did not believe Armstrong, and The Network then ceased touring together and recording together. Since about 2008, a new album has been rumoured, which is Omega 3000, but nothing from The Network has been heard. Green Day has performed covers from the Network as the Foxboro Hot Tubs, a name that the band uses to book secret shows.

Album re-release

Money Money 2020 was re-mastered and re-released by Reprise Records on November 9, 2004, with two additional tracks, "Hammer of the Gods" and a cover of The Misfits "Teenagers from Mars" which can also be heard on Tony Hawk's American Wasteland while "Roshambo" is on the NHL 2005 soundtrack. The original Money Money 2020 release came with a companion DVD with music videos directed and produced by Roy Miles of AntiDivision. A segment of the song "Joe Robot" can also be heard on several VH1 specials like All Access, MTV2's High School Stories, and at least once on the MTV show Pimp My Ride.

Members

Line-Up
  • Fink - lead vocals, lead guitar (2003–2005)
  • Van Gough - lead vocals, bass guitar (2003–2005)
  • The Snoo - drums (2003–2005)
  • Z - keyboards, backing vocals (2003–2005)
  • Captain Underpants - keytar, backing vocals (2003–2005)
  • Balducci - rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2003–2005)

Identities

Still unknown about The Network is which stage name goes with which musician. The following information may or may not link the members of Green Day to certain stage names in the band . Members of The Network include Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, Tré Cool and Jason White, all of whom are most famous for their work as the band Green Day.[1][2][3] The stage names of The Network are Fink, The Snoo, Van Gough, Captain Underpants, Z, and Balducci.

Armstrong denies the involvement of any Green Day members in The Network. Although the style of music is different (new wave as opposed to Green Day's pop-punk style), Warner/Chappell Music cites the three Green Day members as having writing credits for The Network's album Money Money 2020.[1][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Billie Joe Armstrong responded by saying: "All I gotta say is fuck The Network. These guys are totally spreading rumors."[16]

The band's website (The Network) was registered by Green Day, Inc., on May 16, 2003. WHOIS details for the domain can be seen at Network Solutions. Green Day also utilized the domain in July 2007 to host the band's rendition of The Simpsons theme song for The Simpsons Movie.

  • Fink: Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong has written songs for Pinhead Gunpowder under the alias "Wilhelm Fink."[3] Fink of The Network and Armstrong are also both born under the same astrological sign: Aquarius.[17] The Network is also signed under Billie Joe's record company, Adeline Records. The official Network web site also claims that Fink financed the band, when in actuality this was done by Armstrong. Another coincidence is that in the song "Spike" the character Branden moved into a warehouse in Oakland. It is well known that Billie Joe used to live in a warehouse in Oakland with several other punk rock band members. And in another song, he mentions "The Ave.", which is a nickname for Telegraph Ave. in Berkeley, on which the title of the song "Stuart and the Ave." on the Insomniac album is based. Another clue to Fink being Armstrong is that on the CD Short Music For Short People, Green Day plays a song called "The Ballad of Wilhelm Fink."
  • Van Gough: Mike Dirnt is identified by most fans as Van Gough . Van Gough claims to be a vegan on the band's official biography on the website, even though Mike Dirnt is not vegan. (Cf. Vincent van Gogh.)
  • The Snoo: Tré Cool can be identified in several pictures (note the size and shape of the nose) .[18] The Snoo claims to be a former Mexican wrestler in his bio on the Network's official website. Green Day has, in the past, had a run-in with former ECW wrestlers Tazz and Tommy Dreamer. The Network was a faction representing TNN, now Spike, censors when ECW had a wrestling program on the channel. Spike is also the name of a song by The Network, telling the story of how a punk rocker becomes homeless when his girlfriend leaves him. On the GDA website Billie Joe Armstrong claims that his favorite joke from all of those he made up is ‘What do you call a drummer without a girlfriend? Homeless!’ Cool was seen wearing a similar mask while pranking supporting band The Bravery during a concert at Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y. and while pranking opener Best Coast at Green Day's March 31, 2013 concert at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh (while wearing a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey).[19]
  • Captain Underpants: He is believed to be Reto Peter, a Swiss producer. This is supported by an obviously faked press conference[20] seen at the end of the DVD Disease is Punishment where questions by the press are answered in Swiss German by one of the band members. (Cf. Captain Underpants.)
  • Z: He is believed to be Chris Dugan, a sound engineer and the band's keyboardist.
  • Balducci: is most likely Jason White, Green Day's back-up guitarist. Balducci even fills that duty in the Network, and is seen on stage in a similar stance to White's when he plays guitar .
  • Reto Peter: Is also the co-producer of Money Money 2020 and one of its songs is called "Reto".
  • Dr. Svengali: The Network's manager, is the director of Disease is Punishment, John Roecker. Dr. Svengali and the band claim that they are all members of the Church of Lushotology, which believes in "total intoxication." The church may be a parody of The Church of the SubGenius, and the name is a parody of the controversial Church of Scientology). (Cf. Svengali.)

References

  1. 1 2 "Roshambo". 2008-06-04. Archived from the original on 2008-06-04. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
  2. ↑ pinhead gunpowder Archived February 28, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. 1 2 "Am I Right - Music Performer Pseudonyms - W". Amiright.com. 1955-10-05. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
  4. ↑ "Joe Robot". Web.archive.org. 2008-06-04. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
  5. ↑ "Transistors Gone Wild". Web.archive.org. 2008-06-04. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
  6. ↑ "Reto". Web.archive.org. 2008-06-04. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
  7. ↑ "Supermodel Robots". Web.archive.org. 2008-06-04. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
  8. ↑ "Money Money 2020". Web.archive.org. 2008-06-04. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
  9. ↑ "Spike". Web.archive.org. 2008-06-04. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
  10. ↑ "Love and Money". Web.archive.org. 2008-06-04. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
  11. ↑ "Right Hand-A-Rama". Web.archive.org. 2008-06-04. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
  12. ↑ "Hungry Hungry". Web.archive.org. 2008-06-04. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
  13. ↑ "Spastic Society". Web.archive.org. 2008-06-04. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
  14. ↑ "X-Ray Hamburger". Web.archive.org. 2008-06-04. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
  15. ↑ "Hammer of the Gods". Web.archive.org. 2008-06-04. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
  16. ↑ Boone, Brian (2011). I love rock 'n' roll (except when I hate it) : extremely important stuff about the songs and bands you love, hate, love to hate, and hate to love. New York: Perigee. ISBN 9781101507919. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  17. ↑ "Undercover - Your Daily Music Fix". undercover.com.au. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
  18. ↑ GDA Archived June 23, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  19. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BXyHxqLhS2x/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. ↑ "The Network interview". YouTube. 2008-01-03. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
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