Adrienne Armstrong Q&A Preview

Just to tide you over until Thursday, here is the introduction to the Adrienne Armstrong Q&A, and also a couple of questions and answers.
I hope you'll read the whole thing Thursday. She was very open and gave great answers. Also, be sure and read the accompanying story that runs Thursday for an announcement on Campaign Green Day.

The first lady
Adrienne Armstrong, wife of Green Day frontman, talks about her life in Mankato and what came next

By Amanda Dyslin
adyslin@mankatofreepress.com
Adrienne Nesser, living in Mankato in her early 20s, had a long-distance friendship and flirtation with a guy so interested in her, he and his band planned two tours around Minnesota just so he could see her.
Green Day wasn't famous at the time. In Adrienne's own words, they were just another band she had seen a couple of times in the Cities.
They were both also seeing other people. But there was something pretty powerful that must have connected them over a distance of thousands of miles. There had to be. Otherwise, she never would have agreed, on a whim, to leave her home state of Minnesota to move to California to be with him.
Just weeks later, they were married July 2, 1994, Adrienne was pregnant with the couple's first of two sons, and Green Day's album "Dookie" became a household name. All of this seemed to happen over night.
Finding Adrienne and talking to her about all of this was a big part of our Campaign Green Day mission. Today, we accomplish that goal as Adrienne talks to us about life in Mankato,
including her favorite Pagliai's pizza toppings, how quickly her life changed when she headed West, and also the big question we've been pursuing for weeks: Would Green Day ever come back to Mankato to play a show?


FP: I couldn't get anyone to clear this up for me: Was it because of you that Green Day started coming to Mankato and playing shows? Or was Mankato a part of their early touring locations?
AA: Umm ... probably. : )
He booked a mini tour that started in Sioux Falls, S.D., and then came through Mankato, Minneapolis, to Beloit, Wis. So yes, to see me. Very Romantic ... .

FP: A few people who knew you said your decision to move out West to marry Billie Joe happened quickly. It was like one minute you were here and then you were gone. Was that how you remember it, too? Were you scared?
AA: Billie Joe had asked me to move out to California and give us a try. I was Totally scared. But super excited. It was a new adventure, and I was ready. I had a big garage sale -- sold as much as I could, including my favorite blue creepers, packed a mini U-Haul and drove out with my 15-year-old brother and my friend, Holly, who was already making the trip. I figured I'd give it the summer and see what happened.

More on Thursday!