Billie Joe Armstrong, the pop punk legend and longtime Green Day frontman, has a 16-year-old son named Jakob who is now a musician in his own right. His debut EP, which will be released under the name Jakob Danger, will come out on Burger Records soon. Jakob discussed his primary influences as a musician with NME, and Green Day is not among the names mentioned.
“My two favorite bands are The Strokes and Beach Fossils – those are my two biggest influences. When it comes to the music and the guitar parts and bass, I like that style of music.” Of course, when your father’s band is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and you don’t claim them as an influence, you can expect to be asked about that fact. On this matter, Jakob said, “My music is not at all related to my father. It’s my own personal thing. I don’t really worry too much about that. I just think: this is my music, it’s different from my father’s, and if people want to listen to it, they can.”
To be fair, if Jakob Danger wasn’t Billie Joe Armstrong’s son, people wouldn’t expect him to be influenced by Green Day. Most 16-year-olds are more likely to gravitate towards a band like The Strokes, given that Green Day’s biggest successes came before Jakob was even born. Also, he’s a teenager. You think he’s going to do what his dad did? He’s not the first rock star’s kid not to like their parent’s music, either. Regardless, it’s going to probably be a while before people think of Jakob Danger as anything more than “Billie Joe’s kid.”
Oh, also, he goes by Jakob Danger because Danger is, literally, his middle name. He just can’t escape the clear influence of his dad.
(Via NME)
