GREEN Day are the Californian based global superstar pop punksters who can seemingly do no wrong and The Wharf will be playing host to a tribute band that are currently tearing apart venues around the UK with their highly charged shows.

The band arrives at the Tavistock venue next Saturday (September 30).

Ahead of the show, Ellie Hudson caught up with ‘Kibb’ who takes on the persona of Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong.

Tell us about Green Haze.?Where are you all from, who is in the band and what roles do they play?

‘Kibb (Billie Joe) and Jordan (Jason White) are from South Wales and Rich (Tre Cool) and Matt (Mike Dirnt) are both from Devon and are looking forward to another homecoming gig in the county — this is our first time at the Wharf in Tavistock too!’

What are the backgrounds of each member of the band?

‘Rich and Matt probably have the most musical history before Green Haze. They have played in a few notable bands in the Devon area such as the awesomely fun Barracoodas and an AC/DC tribute.

‘I used to be in a band called Incision years ago at university but prior to Green Haze was involved with local theatre and acting.

‘Jordan used to be in another Green Day tribute in South Wales that became defunct, so we kidnapped him for ourselves. His family haven’t paid the ransom yet, so until then we’re keeping him.’

Green Day are renowned for being a furiously high energy band who ooze a glorious sense of fun on stage. How well do you think you achieve this?

‘We absolutely pride ourselves on being the No.1 Green Day tribute in terms of not just playing the songs, but accurately recreating the “full” Green Day show live on stage.

‘I think I have the twitchy, high energy of Billie Joe nailed down and Matt is even more like Mike Dirnt than Mike Dirnt himself (you need to see it to believe it, trust me!)

‘We tend to blend the eras of Green Day to make the “best” version of the bandyou could ever hope to see live — which for most seems to be the high energy antics of their early days coupled with the polished epic show of modern Green Day.

We’ve become the most booked and in demand Green Day tribute on the circuit so guess it must be working!’

Do you have the legendary rabbit to accompany the band?

‘Why yes we do! As a matter of fact we have two!

‘We have the adult drunk bunny who makes the occasional appearances at shows and we also have our own highly unique “shrunk” bunny who is about 4ft tall and often turns up at festivals and dances on stage — even has a growing fan base too!’

Presumably you’re all big Green Day fans — when and how you got into the band?

‘Absolutely! Matt, Jordan and I are lifelong Green Day fans.

‘We’re all different ages so got into Green Day at different times and can each recall “the album” that we heard that just blew us away and got us hooked for evermore.’

‘It’s not just the music — which is awesome, Billie Joe is such a talented songwriter — but the lyrics speak out to you.

‘We’ve grown up with Green Day and lots of fans speak about how Green Day have “been there” for them during both hard times and happy times.

‘It really is like part of your life and not just a band that you happen to like listening to.’

You spend most weekends gigging at some far flung places — is life on the road for a tribute band all rock n’ roll or more slog and grind?

’Hah, that’s a good question! It’s actually quite hard work being in a band as big and tour-heavy as Green Haze. There is a lot of planning, driving to and from shows as well as giving it everything we have in our live shows! That said, what makes Green Haze so special in our eyes is that we are like a family on the road.

‘We seriously all get on so well with a similar sense of humour and ambitions for the band so we all gel very well indeed.

‘So when the show is over and we’ve packed up — we do tend to let our wild sides go a bit — which is actually just us being us!

‘We’re not trying to be rock’n’roll like Green Day, it’s just naturally the way we are.’

What makes it all worthwhile?

‘Groupies and pizza — at the same time! Seriously though, for us it’s about getting to play the music we love to people who love hearing it from us.

‘It’s like this perfect little moment we all share in the venue or festival and we always receive such awesome feedback from our shows and now fans are following us all around the country!

‘We’re just glad we can make ourselves happy and other people by doing what we do. For instance, we’ve had a 14-year-old come up to us recently at the end of a show — it was their first ever live gig!

‘They were nearly in tears and shaking with emotion after what they had experienced. If that’s not a testament to what we do then I don’t know what is. All our fans become part of the ‘Haze family’ and our UK Idiots – we love meeting them all on the road. We’re very friendly and approachable. We give free hugs too!

This will be your first gig at The Wharf. What can punters expect from you?

‘You lovely folks of Devonshire can expect a truly epic night (and we don’t throw that word around lightly!) Expect a proper Green Day—esque 2.5+ hour show that will encompass Green Day’s entire back catalogue with all the energy and stage antics that goes along with it. Top that off with a big finale finish and the inevitable encores – and you’ve got yourself a night that you won’t forget in a hurry.

‘To be honest — any Green Day fan that has seen a live Green Day show will know how energetic and fun those shows are.

‘This is what we recreate. Even right down to the little details such as our now legendary toilet paper blower, appearances from our drunk bunny and participation from the crowd. It is the full Green Day experience for sure!’