Emily’s Army
  • Emily’s Army

It seemed odd when the publicist for Red Hot Chili Peppers and Metallica emailed me last night to let me know that a teenage punk band I have never heard of (Emily’s Army) was playing a show at Alberta Street Pub and a North Portland house. Hmmm, suspicious.

To the Google!
Oh yeah, that’s why.

Turns out that the drummer for Emily’s Army, Joey Armstrong, is the son of Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong. Not coincidentally, the elder Armstrong produced Emily’s Army’s debut, Don’t Be A Dick, and will be releasing the album on his Adeline Records imprint. But before you cry punk rock nepotism, Emily’s Army sound pretty good. Well, at they sound like Gilman Street 1994—which, ironically, might be exact time and location of where they were conceived.

LISTEN:
Broadcast This by Adeline Records

Must be an awkward dinner with rockstar dad after he finds out your band sings the line “I don’t want to listen to the radio, boring music,” then again, Broadway pays the bills at the Armstrong house these days.

Emily’s Army will be at the Alberta Street Pub on June 20. The house show is the following night. We won’t publish the address, but I’m sure you can find it.

End Hits: We prefer Oliver’s Army.

Ezra Ace Caraeff is the former Music Editor for the Mercury, and spent nearly a third of his life working at the paper. More importantly, he is the owner of Olive, the Mercury’s unofficial office dog....

3 replies on “Billie Joe Armstrong’s Kid is Coming to Portland”

  3. When you see a lot of ‘rock, punk, pop-punk, metal (insert every other genre on the face of the earth)’ young bands trying to make it, they’re influences are modern and they sound all the same. When I heard ‘F-word’ in 2010 I liked it. It was different and catchy. When I saw that those guys were 14-16 years old (The lead singer looked like he had yet to hit pubity) it blew my mind that guys that young had talent like they do. It accured to me that if they’re this good now, think of what they’ll be in a year, three years etc. They have something, and if they go for it I really think they could be a really great band.
    I will admit I felt like a loser when it took me five months to realise the DNA of the drummer. Armstrong is a common last name; and I can say it never accured to me to put two and two together. I mean, he could of been related to Neil Armstrong or whoever haha. Ah well, at the end of the day whether Emily’s Army make it to arenas or stick to club gigs the people who like the band for their music and not a last name will stick around.

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