Green Day, hear us!

Things we will do to get Green Day to come to Mankato ...

1. Hourlong back scratches and/or massages for all band members and crew.
2. A night at Mettler's, with the tab totally on us. (They don't sell Cristal there, do they?)
3. They can host an hour of radio at KMSU and play whatever they want (I'm sure Gully will be up for this).
4. We will rename something in the town "Green Day." Maybe not a road, but how about a bench or a corner or something? How about the corner by my house, Spring and N. Broad. It's a bus stop, too, so lots of people will be able to stand and enjoy "Green Day Corner."
5. They can each take turns petting my dog, who is the best dog in the world.

Well, Dann Saxton of our charity, UnityShows, made the pitch to the booking agent online and an automated response system declined both times. However, Eric Jones at the Alltel said the official talent agency for Green Day is CAA, so we were probably going through the wrong channel.

Also, Eric doesn't think we'll get anywhere with CAA. The band is on tour, and CAA serves as a huge force field in front of them so they don't have to deal with all of us trying to convince them to play in our towns. CAA won't care about our little campaign here.

So, we're back to our original thought: Adrienne is our only hope. We must find her. We must tell her we (the royal "we," as I never knew her when she lived here) love her and that she is a local legend, and we must convince her to get Green Day to perform at the Alltel Center for a reduced charity fee, with a portion of the proceeds going to UnityShows. ... Does this all sound totally impossible and completely out of our realm of ability? ... I know. But it's fun to try. We will perservere!

I got a lead, too. A girl who Adrienne used to live with still stays in contact with her. So I'm going to call her up today. I believe it's Gretchen Kortas, so we'll see if she's listed.

Wish me luck!

Help me get Green Day

As I'm sure many of you have heard in the past (and probably know better than I do), a little known band by the name of Green Day used to perform right here in Mankato.

Why? Well, Billie Joe Armstrong, the frontman, is married to Adrienne Armstrong, who lived in Mankato while attending Minnesota State University.

In fact, I have a pal who also is in a band, who tells a funny story. He was playing guitar in his apartment (or a friend's apartment or something) when there was a knock on the door. It was a nice young kid who asked to borrow a guitar for a while. My friend says something to the effect of: "Oh yeah, sure. So, you're in a little band, huh? Oh, that's great," and handed him a guitar. A while later my pal was flipping through the channels. And that nice young kid -- you guessed it, Billie Joe -- was right there on TV. MTV, that is. It was Green Day's "Longview" video off its multi-platinum album "Dookie."

I was reminded of this when Green Day came out with yet another album, "21st Century Breakdown," that critics and fans are loving. I thought, "Wouldn't it be awesome if we could leverage the past to get Green Day in Mankato?"

Seriously, why not? Eric Jones, the marketing manager at the Alltel Center, could put in a call to Green Day's promoter. He could say, "Hey, you know what would be an awesome show and surely sell out our civic center here in Mankato? A Green Day nostalgia show, a throwback to his time here in Mankato when the band was just getting started." Or, maybe somebody here in Mankato who still keeps in contact with Adrienne could ask her to convince her husband to come back.

I think we can do this. If we generate enough Web juice, this just might work. Let's all Twitter and Facebook and blog this idea! Let's get this campaign going!
Aaaaaand ... break!