Wikipedia

The Network

For other uses, see Network (disambiguation).

The Network is an American six-piece new wave band.[2][3] A secret side project of rock band Green Day,[4][5][6][7] they released their debut album Money Money 2020 on Adeline Records on September 30, 2003. After a 15-year hiatus, the band became active again in 2020, releasing a follow-up album titled Money Money 2020 Part II: We Told Ya So! in December 2020.[8]

The Network
The Network performing in 2004
The Network performing in 2004
Background information
OriginOakland, California, U.S.
Genres
Years active
  • 2003–2005
  • 2020–2021
Labels
Spinoff of
MembersFink
Van Gough
The Snoo
Z
Captain Underpants
Balducci

History

Formed in the Summer of 2003, the band consisted of lead vocalist Fink, bassist Van Gough, and drummer Snoo, as well as additional members Captain Underpants and Z on keyboards and rhythm guitarist Balducci.[9] They claimed they were "brought together by an ancient prophecy".[10][11]

The band's debut album Money Money 2020 was released in September 2003 on Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong's record label Adeline Records. The Network concealed their identities by using accents and wearing masks.[12] They frequently released press statements denouncing Green Day.[9]

There is also an unsubstantiated rumor that members of the band Devo were involved, but their alleged participation has not been acknowledged by anyone in either band.

Shortly before the release of the debut album, Green Day's then in the works album Cigarettes and Valentines was reportedly stolen. Due to the timeframe of the theft and the release of this album, many people speculated that they were related, however, Billie Joe Armstrong has denied connections between the two projects in various interviews,[13] and in fact, that album was recovered and Armstrong and Mike Dirnt stated they had plans for it.[14]

Money Money 2020 was remastered and rereleased 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.

In October 2005, the group opened for Green Day for several shows.[15] After this, they became inactive.[12]

In October 2020, after 15 years of inactivity, the band released a teaser trailer entitled "The Prophecy". In the video's description, the band announced the release of their forthcoming album Money Money 2020 Part II: We Told Ya So!.[16] On November 2, 2020, the band released a song entitled "Ivankkka Is a Nazi" to their YouTube page with an accompanying music video.[17] On November 20, 2020, the band released an EP entitled Trans Am to promote their upcoming album, which is when they revealed the full title of their new album.[18] Following music videos for the songs "Flat Earth" and "Fentanyl," the band released one-minute teaser videos for each group of songs (based upon the vinyl tracklisting) every day of the week of the album's release.[19][20][21][22] On December 4, 2020, Money Money 2020 Part II: We Told Ya So! was released on streaming worldwide. On February 26, 2021, the band performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Identities

At the time, Armstrong denied the involvement of any Green Day members in The Network, saying "All I gotta say is fuck The Network. These guys are totally spreading rumors."[23]

However, the three members of Green Day are cited as songwriters for Money Money 2020 by the group's publisher.[24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] Additionally, several journalists noted the band's vocals were unmistakably that of Armstrong,[37][38][39][40] and the fact Armstrong have The Network sticker on his guitar amplifier, in 2023, Armstrong confirmed, he is behind The Network after he posted a Instagram stories about The Network video "Pizzagate" was taken down by YouTube.

In a 2013 interview, bassist Mike Dirnt finally revealed that the group was in fact Green Day, mentioning that Money Money 2020 was worked upon alongside other Green Day projects in the mid-'00s.[5]

Members

  • Fink (Billie Joe Armstrong) – vocals, lead guitar (2003–2005, 2020–2022)
  • Van Gough (Mike Dirnt) – vocals, bass guitar (2003–2005, 2020–2022)
  • The Snoo (Tré Cool) – vocals, drums (2003–2005, 2020–2022)
  • Z (Chris Dugan) – keyboards, backing vocals (2003–2005, 2020–2022)
  • Captain Underpants (Reto Peter) – keytar, backing vocals (2003–2005, 2020–2022)
  • Balducci (Jason White) – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2003–2005, 2020–2022)

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details
Money Money 2020
  • Released: September 30, 2003
  • Label: Adeline, Reprise
  • Format: CD, vinyl
Money Money 2020 Part II: We Told Ya So!
  • Released: December 4, 2020
  • Label: Warner, Joe Robot
  • Format: Streaming, CD, vinyl

Extended plays

Title Details
Trans Am
  • Released: November 19, 2020
  • Label: Joe Robot
  • Format: Streaming

DVDs

Title Details
Disease Is Punishment[41]
  • Released: 2004
  • Label: Warner, Adeline
  • Format: DVD

Singles

Music videos

Title Album Link
Supermodel Robots Money Money 2020 here
Hungary Hungary Models Money Money 2020 here
Joe Robot Money Money 2020 here
Teenagers From Mars Money Money 2020 here
The Prophecy Money Money 2020 Part II- We Told Ya So! here
Degenerate Money Money 2020 Part II- We Told Ya So! here
Fentanyl Money Money 2020 Part II- We Told Ya So! here
Threat Level Midnight Money Money 2020 Part II- We Told Ya So! here
Trans Am Money Money 2020 Part II- We Told Ya So! here
Asphyxia Money Money 2020 Part II- We Told Ya So! here

References

  1. ^ Warner Records [@warnerrecords] (November 1, 2020). "We are excited to welcome @wearethenetwork to our esteemed roster. It's not everyday you have the honor of signing @greenday's biggest nemesis" (Tweet). Retrieved December 24, 2020 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ "Green Day employs grungy, garage rock sound on ¡Dos! – Daily Trojan". November 14, 2012.
  3. ^ Serpick, Evan (May 1, 2008). "Green Day Cut Secret New Album". Rolling Stone.
  4. ^ "Check out Green Day's new side project, the Longshot – Riot Fest". April 12, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Fricke, David (March 1, 2013). "Q&A: Green Day's Mike Dirnt on Billie Joe Armstrong's Recovery". Rolling Stone.
  6. ^ "Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong shares entire debut LP from new side band – 105.7 The Point". April 23, 2018. Archived from the original on November 9, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  7. ^ "Green Day Members Perform Secret San Francisco Show as The Coverups". Billboard. March 9, 2018.
  8. ^ "Non-Green Day Band the Network Share New Video for 'Fentanyl'". November 27, 2020.
  9. ^ a b "The Network – Biography & History – AllMusic". AllMusic.
  10. ^ "Green Day Unmasked?". October 16, 2003.
  11. ^ Tribune, Chicago. "Has Green Day gone incognito?". Chicago Tribune.
  12. ^ a b "11 of Green Day's most unforgettable moments – Alternative Press". Alternative Press. September 26, 2016.
  13. ^ Spitz, Marc (2006). Nobody Likes You: Inside the Turbulent Life, Times, and Music of Green Day. New York: Hyperion. pp. 152–156. ISBN 1-4013-0274-2.
  14. ^ "Green Day reveal the fate of 'lost' pre-'American Idiot' album 'Cigarettes and Valentines'". NME. November 18, 2016.
  15. ^ Montgomery, James. "Are Green Day Their Own Worst Enemy? Only Time — Or Concerts — Will Tell". MTV News.
  16. ^ "The Network – The Prophecy". YouTube.
  17. ^ Hollingsworth, Ashley Perez (November 2, 2020). "(Non)Green Day Side Project, The Network, Returns With New Song".
  18. ^ The Network [@wearethenetwork] (November 20, 2020). "For now, hop in and set your transistors to the Trans Am EP, out everywhere now. https://t.co/noieXM0xH5 https://t.co/qvzPdZf0R3" (Tweet). Retrieved December 24, 2020 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ The Network [@wearethenetwork] (December 1, 2020). "$$2020 Pt II: Side A 🤖 https://t.co/E24aRdR1Hl" (Tweet). Retrieved December 24, 2020 – via Twitter.
  20. ^ The Network [@wearethenetwork] (December 1, 2020). "$$2020 Pt II: Side B 🤖 https://t.co/6s6yVwuoCU" (Tweet). Retrieved December 24, 2020 – via Twitter.
  21. ^ The Network [@wearethenetwork] (December 2, 2020). "$$2020 Pt II: Side C 🤖 https://t.co/PJ4vEXWs4N" (Tweet). Retrieved December 24, 2020 – via Twitter.
  22. ^ The Network [@wearethenetwork] (December 3, 2020). "$$2020 Pt II: Side D 🤖 https://t.co/Nk5oNxjzGP" (Tweet). Retrieved December 24, 2020 – via Twitter.
  23. ^ 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 October 19, 2017.
  24. ^ "Roshambo". June 4, 2008. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  25. ^ "Joe Robot". June 4, 2008. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  26. ^ "Transistors Gone Wild". June 4, 2008. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  27. ^ "Reto". June 4, 2008. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  28. ^ "Supermodel Robots". June 4, 2008. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  29. ^ "Money Money 2020". June 4, 2008. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  30. ^ "Spike". June 4, 2008. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  31. ^ "Love and Money". June 4, 2008. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  32. ^ "Right Hand-A-Rama". June 4, 2008. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  33. ^ "Hungry Hungry". June 4, 2008. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  34. ^ "Spastic Society". June 4, 2008. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  35. ^ "X-Ray Hamburger". June 4, 2008. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  36. ^ "Hammer of the Gods". June 4, 2008. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  37. ^ "Where does a successful Green Day go from here?". May 4, 2011.
  38. ^ "Did Green Day Secretly Release A New Album Tuesday? Only The Snoo Knows". MTV News.
  39. ^ "The Many Sides Of Billie Joe Armstrong — Kerrang!". Kerrang!.
  40. ^ Lord, Jesse (December 23, 2003). "Money Money 2020".
  41. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "The Network – Disease is Punishment (HD)". Retrieved December 19, 2020 – via YouTube.
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