Interview with Kamran Imran who played with Green Day in Seattle

Posted by Julian in Shows on 07 14th, 2009 | no responses

I had the pleasure to interview a legend in the making, Kamran Imran the 16 year-old Green Day fan, who got up on Stage on July 3rd at the Key Arena in Seattle and played Jesus of Suburbia. He actually left a comment on one of the videos I edited and uploaded to YouTube and I was able to contact him. Here is the full email interview plus pictures.

Julian @ GreenDayBreakdown: Hi Kamran, thanks for giving us an interview. So, lets start off with some basic Green Day questions; How long have you been a Green Day fan for?

kamranandmike Kamran: Well, the first song I ever heard by Green Day was Brain Stew sometime in the late 90’s and I just knew that this band was like none other out there and I was instantly hooked.

Julian: How long have you been playing guitar?

Well, I meassed around for about a year when I got my first guitar (a black and white Fender Starcaster) but I’ve been actually playing and taking lessons seriously for about three years now.

Julian: How’d you get picked to go up and stage and play?

Kamran: Well I think Billie kinda had his eye on me ever since my friend Zoe got pulled up to sing Longview because I was right behind her and he almost had me come up and sing but ended up choosing her which was awesome. Then after American Idiot he stopped and asked me where I was from. I told him I’m California and he didn’t believe me at first.

Then he said: “So you’re really from California?”

I said “yes!” and then decided to just go for it and yell as loud as I could “I PLAY GUITAR”.

He was about to turn away and then turned back and asked me what I said. Then I said it again and I asked him if I could play a song. He said “Are you good? How long have you been playing for? You sure you dont suck?” and I was ready to die right then and there when he asked me if I knew a little tune called Jesus of Suburbia.

greendayandkamran I said “yes” and he asked me “You’re not lying? You swear to God?”

Then I heard the magic words “Alright, get your ass up here. you’re gonna play guitar.”

Security dragged me out of the pit (I was right in the very front row on the right of the catwalk, closest to Billie Joe than anyone else). They threw me on stage and he handed me Floyd. After a brief exchange of him asking me my name, there was nothing else to do but jump into the song.

Julian: WOW. That’s an awesome recount. There are rumors that you weren’t actually playing, that your guitar wasn’t connected. Some say that your guitar didn’t have a cord (but obviously it was wireless). How would you dispel this allegations?

Kamran: As far as proof goes, right after I hit the first chord of Jesus of Suburbua, the pick flew out of my hand and the guitar was quieter because it was only Jason playing, but once I got another pick from Billie’s mic stand it was loud again. If people still want to go ahead and believe that I was Billie Joe’s cousin from Oakland planted in the crowd (as one such seemed to think), then that’s their problem. I’m sure there will always be skeptics but that’s their problem. As long as I have the memories and know I was playing then I dont really care if anyone believes me or not.

Julian: Well, it seemed to me that you were playing. You can really tell if someone’s just doing a bit or air guitar or actually playing and you were spot on! You mentioned that you got to go to the after party…how was it?

billienandkamran Kamran: It was really neat. Right as I was about to leave some guy walked up to me and said “the band wanted me to give you these” and handed me passes to the VIP party. It was awesome! I walked in and there was none other than Mike Dirnt in the flesh. He recognized me from hanging out with me back stage for a few minutes and then we talked for a few minutes. I met his daughter and sister and they told me how awesome I was on stage. Then we took a picture together and Jason Freese walked into the room and recognized me and went to the bar and got me a Sprite and approached me and we started talking.

He told me how everyone in the band was just blown away and that after the show while they were in the green room the only thing they were talking about was how I just blew them away. Then he pulled out his phone and showed me a picture of his new baby and I congratulated him and we talked a little more. Then I met Anne Armstrong, Billie’s sister, and she said how well I did and we talked for a minute.

Then I sat down and just kinda took it all in. I think at this point I was still kinda in shock from the whole thing but I was at least starting to realize it was actually happening. I still kinda don’t believe it but I know it happened, if that makes any sense. Then I met Jason White while he was with a few friends and we talked and again he told me how amazing I was and that he thinks I could go far and stuff and he told me to never stop playing because I’m great at it. That made me feel sooooo good. The ultimate praise! I’ve been told that I’m good before but hearing it come from White was the greatest feeling ever. Then I got a picture with him and said goodbye to everyone and went home.

Julian: How were the members of the band when you had a chance to interact with them at the after party?

jasonwhiteandkamran Kamran: They were all just absolutely awesome. They were so nice, and I expected them to be nice, but the thing that shocked me was how down to earth everyone was. I mean, Mike Dirnt is a punk rock legend, and he was just chilling there in a sweater. And when I was meeting with everyone the weird thing is that it was really like hanging out with totally normal people. I guess I forgot that even people so famous that they may be considered musical icons around the world really are just normal people.

Julian: This is probably a difficult one, but what is your favortie Green Day song?

Kamran: Oh man! I keep getting asked this question, and its really impossible to say. Also considering it changes all the time too. But I guess if i had to pick just one I would say When I Come Around, just because it pretty much sums up Green Day to me. It has all of the attitude and that great guitar sound and I could literally listen to that one song for hours and hours if I wanted to.

Julian: Which one is the hardest to play?

Kamran: Probably Dry Ice, just because of the solo, but its still doable.

Julian: Which is your favorite album?

mikeandkamran Kamran: I love all of them, but I gotta say Dookie. It’s a classic.

Julian: What did it feel line playing in front of thousands of people? Were you nervous?

Kamran: I actually didn’t really care about the crowd. Big audiences have never bothered me, I mean none of my audiences have ever compared. I was only nervous because I was like “Oh God! I don’t want to mess up in front of Green Day!”

Julian: Do you have a band? Planning on having one?

Kamran: This experience inspired me to get together a punk band with some buddies of mine, but we haven’t really done anything yet. We’re gonna do some recordings soon though. We’re The Underachievers. We have a Myspace page, but its still in the works. Just go to http://www.myspace.com/theunderachieversrock.

Julian: Thanks for your time Kamran, keep up the good work and good luck with your band!