Mike Dirnt

Michael Ryan Pritchard (born May 4, 1972) is the bassist for the punk band Green Day. He got the stage name Mike Dirnt from his school days, when he would pretend to play the bass in school, making a noise of someone playing single notes on a bass, which sounded like "Dirnt, dirnt, dirnt."

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Pritchard met Billie Joe Armstrong in 1982, a few months before Armstrong's father died. He first founded Sweet Children with Armstrong, and then Green Day in 1988. Some years before, Mike moved in with Billie-Joe because his adopted mother and sister moved away from Rodeo. Mike didn't want to move away from his new found best friend and love for music.

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Pritchard went to Salesian High School as a freshman but graduated from Pinole Valley High in 1990.

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He used to play an old Gibson G-3 bass, but during Nimrod, Billie got Mike his first Fender Precision Bass. He later asked Fender if they could make him a custom P-Bass, and the result is a bass modeled after the 55' P-Bass with a split-coil pickup in the middle. It was released in early 2004.

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Pritchard is also bassist in another band called The Frustrators. He was the bassist for Chicago punk band (and Lookout Records labelmates) Screeching Weasel on the album How to Make Enemies and Irritate People, and also appeared as a guest vocalist on the debut album by Squirtgun (yet another Lookout Records recording artist).

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May 4: May 4 is the 124th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (125th in leap years). There are 241 days remaining....

1972: 1972 was a leap year that started on a Saturday....

Bassist: A bassist is a musician who plays a double bass or electric bass (also referred to as bass guitar). This page lists famous bassists in four categories, depending on whether they are primarily known for playing electric bass, double bass, both, or their main instrument is unknown. Certain musical gen...

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