Interview with Dawn71, Green Day Fan and Afghanistan War Veteran

By Green Day Mind

Kitty with a Gun - Dawn71

Senseless War by Dawn71
Here fighting in this foreign land,
A ruck on my back and a M-16 in my hand.
Death and destruction at every turn,
People lay dying and buildings burn.
Life here has no meaning or worth,
This sandbox is hell on Earth.
Kill or be killed just to survive,
I shoot just to stay alive.
Things I’ve done haunt my dreams at night.
It all just doesn’t seem right.
Senseless killing whats it all for?
Stuck here fighting someone else’s war.

Dawn71 is a Green Day Community member who gave away a bunch of tickets and hand-made Green Day t-shirts to fans who weren’t otherwise able to attend Green Day’s show last week in Dallas, TX. GDCers from Texas met up prior to the gig had a get-to-know-each-other and Dawn ended up giving away 11 tickets: 2 pit tickets, 3 tickets in the 200 section, and 6 lawn tickets, plus 25 hand-made t-shirts. One of the girls who got a t-shirt from Dawn’s sang “We Are the Waiting” that night, too!
I was intrigued by Dawn’s story, and asked her if I could interview her not only as a hardcore Green Day fan who first saw the band in 1991 in Florida, but also as an Iraqi Afghanistan War Veteran, who got to bootcamp literally two weeks before 9/11 and was seriously injured during the war. Her generosity is amazing. Dawn is looking to go to Homecoming at Shoreline, but can’t drive and would like to find someone in the area who would be willing to drive her there. If you know of anyone in the Dallas area, or would like to just buy her a plane ticket or something, please let me know and I will put her in touch with you asap. She spent most of her savings on helping others get to the show in Dallas.
No psychopaths, please.

Green Day Are We the Waiting and St. Jimmy Live in Dallas

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“We Are the Waiting” – Green Day, Dallas, August 2010 – thirstyschiavo

Dawn71 Interview

GREENDAYMIND: I read your story on the Green Day Community and I was intrigued. I’ve seen your avatar (a kitten with a gun, pointing out of a window, as a sniper would, but there’s a pretty star pillow in it, too), and I’ve always found the kitten with a gun meme touching and horrific at the same time.
You recently gave away a few pit and lawn tickets to the Dallas Green Day show for the use of folks who couldn’t otherwise go and it was at this time that I (and maybe others) found out that you were a long-term Green Day fan, as well as a seriously wounded Iraqi War veteran. I read your story, and literally started crying, it was so wonderful that you offered to help people go to this show. Thanks for saying yes to a short interview
I understand that you first saw Green Day in Florida, in 1991, before they were on anyone’s radar. Can you tell us how you heard about them and about that show?
DAWN71: I felt at home for the 1st time. I don’t know if you can understand what I mean by that but for the 1st time in my life I felt free to be me. I was jumping around and loving it. Later that night I got kicked in the mouth by a crowd surfer and I had just got my braces put on my teeth and my mouth bled pretty bad, but I didn’t care, I was having too much fun. My boyfriend on the other hand, didn’t take is so well and he wanted to kick the guy’s ass that kicked me in the mouth. I was trying to break it up before the fight got bad and just then I heard Billie Joe over the microphone asking if everything was alright (or something to that effect) and they stopped fighting. Then Tre walked up and kissed Billie and my boyfriend flipped. He said “Come on, let’s get out of here, I don’t want to hear a bunch of faggots play.” I told him he was a narrow-minded jerk and if he didn’t like it he could leave by himself because I was staying. But of course he stayed but he wasn’t happy about it and later that night I broke up with him anyway.  Lol! I know this may be more than you were asking but I figured you might want to hear the whole story.
About 2 months before that show I heard Green Day for the 1st time. One of my friends played me one of their records (his dad lives in Oakland and he spent his summers there) and I was instantly so drawn to their sound and lyrics I could relate to. It was kind of one those “ah ha” moments in life that are so rare. I was mesmerized by Green Days’ music. I had him make me some cassettes and I about wore them out. Then a few months later I was on vacation with my family & boyfriend in Tampa and I just so happen to come across a flyer saying “Green Day Playing.” To me it was like fate. My boyfriend & I went to the concert. It was a hole-in-the-wall club, but I looked around and thought to myself, “I don’t need to fit into some clique at school because I had found my nitch right here with all the people in that club.” Green Day was playing we all had a blast.
GREEENDAYMIND: Was Al Sobrante on the drums at the time? (Original Sweet Children/Green Day drummer, John Kiffmeyer, aka Al Sobrante, left the band in 1990 to attend college.)

DAWN71: Tre’ Cool was the drummer the 1st time I saw Green Day live in Tampa, FL in Aug.1991, at The Starr Club. The 2nd time was in Elmhurst, IL in May 1992 at McGreggors (I think that was the name of the place). The 3rd time was in Dallas, Dec. 1993 (but I can’t remember the name of the club). I saw them several times in 1993 in Florida, Virginia, and twice in Texas (Austin & Dallas)
GREENDAYMIND: What was your first major Green Day show and how many shows have you been to? Which has been your favorite?
DAWN71: The 1st major Green Day concert I went to was probably the one 1993 in Dallas. It was by no means anywhere as big as Green Day’s concerts are now but it seemed more organized (well, as organized as 21-yr old punks can be). I have been to around 20 Green Day concerts (honestly I lost count). My favorite, I will have to say, was the 1st time I saw them live in Tampa, FL.
GREENDAYMIND: What is it about Green Day that you love? Why have you followed them for so long?
DAWN71: When I was in High School I had friends from every clique but there were none that I actually really fit into. So I felt like a misfit. When I found Green Day’s music it was like I had found home, somewhere I fit in. I have been through so much in my life and Green Day’s music helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel and pulled me through. I have been through so many things: I grew up in an abusive environment, my 2nd child, my baby boy, was murdered by his father when he was only 3½ months old; my ex-husband stole my daughter and I had no idea where she was for 6 yrs., then when my husband found out I’d be in a wheelchair he took off and left me for another Soldier’s wife, and I lost my ability to walk. Those are just a few things I have been through and I had nowhere to turn but to music. Green Day’s music has touched my life in so many ways. It gave me strength and courage when I needed it; it also let me vent my frustrations when I was so angry that I couldn’t take it no more. It let me know that it’s OK to cry and let it all out when the weight of the world was on my shoulders, and it gave me inner peace and a place of refuge when my life was in turmoil. The only constant in my life in the past 19 years was Green Day’s music. It has been my rock. The lyrics of their songs are so profound to me, it’s like trying to describe the indescribable. I know many people may find what I said silly, I have been teased about it before more than once. I feel sorry for the ones that find what I have said to be absurd, because they must have never experienced a deep connection to music like I have. I love all of Green Day’s older albums. I was there almost from their beginning, but the last two albums (American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown) couldn’t have had better timing. They came out right when I needed to hear them. The lyrics in those albums were exactly what I needed to hear and exactly how I felt. They saw me through some of the darkest times in my life, with the war, with my injuries both medically and mentally. Things I still struggle through to this day. Their music started speaking to me when I was only 19-yrs. old and here I am now 38-yrs. old and their music still speaks to me.
GREENDAYMIND; What’s your favorite Green Day recording and why? (Could be album, bootleg, live video, etc.)
DAWN71: My favorite Album is Insomniac. My favorite song is a toss-up between 5 songs: “Going to Pasalacqua,” “Brain Stew,” “She,” “Jesus of Suburbia,” and “Welcome to Paradise.” It’s too hard to pick just one, but if I absolutely had to it would be “She.”
GREENDAYMIND: When did you join the military?
DAWN71: I started my basic training in the Army on Aug. 26, 2001.
GREENDAYMIND: I don’t want to make this political, but I wonder if your views of the military and/or the war changed from before your deployment after you left the military?
DAWN71: In a way they did. I don’t think anyone can witness that much death and destruction and not be affected by it. Before my 1st deployment, there were several male Soldiers that were friends of mine [who were] acting all tough and gung-ho about it, but those same guys were in tears by the time we came back home.
GREENDAYMIND: How were you injured? What is the extent of your injuries and how is your recovery going?
DAWN71: I got injured while out on routine patrol and our Humvee hit an IED. I was the only Soldier in the vehicle that survived. I’ll never forget my battle buddy, my good friend. We went to basic training together. I’ll never forget when she died in my arms as I tried with all I had to save her. I was a combat medic and it was my job: Fight when needed and to help Soldiers when injured and try and save their lives to get them stable till medivac arrived. I had several pieces of shrapnel in my body. I had a big gash where my forehead and scalp meet, a piece in my leg and arm but my worst injury was my back, my L3-4, L4-5 and S1 were herniated and pinched several nerves in my back. It wasn’t until after my surgery that I was unable to walk or use my right leg. Some nerves that was pinched between the discs were severed when they were trying to fix it. My recovery is going pretty slow. Unfortunately, nerves do not regenerate. But I haven’t given up hope. I refuse to except this as my fate. It is kind of weird that I’m still at war but instead of with another Country, I’m at war with my body. It’s a war I will win or die trying. I’ll never give up.
GREENDAYMIND: This was your first Green Day show in a wheelchair. I understand that you had to fight tooth and nail in order to get into the pit at Dallas because of it. How did you win this battle?
DAWN71: Yes, this was my 1st Green Day concert from a wheelchair. To me it was bad enough being in this chair and it changing most every aspect of my life. I did it by calling everyone I could and not taking no for an answer. Finally I got in touch with the Superpages.com box office manager. He was telling me no, also. He said that pit tickets were sold out anyway. I told him that they weren’t when I was trying to buy them. I tried during presale and on the day they went on sale the minute the box office opened but they refused to sale me a ticket. They tried to blame it on security so I called security and found that not to be true so I called the box office manager back and by then I had had it! So I told him that I would get some other disabled Veterans in wheelchairs and we would picket the venue (not the concert I’d never do that to GD; besides it wasn’t GD’s fault it was the venue’s), then I hung up the phone and a few minutes later the box office manager called back and said there would be 2 pit bracelets waiting at Will Call for me.
GREENDAYMIND: How was the awesome show!?! Do you have a personal highlight from the show?
DAWN71: First, I had an awesome time at the meet up at the Hard Rock Café in Dallas the night before the concert. It was so great meeting everyone and I had fun doing the drawing and giving away all the Green Day items I brought for a drawing. I wanted to do something special for the meet up and everyone seemed to enjoy the drawing. I got in line at 6AM on Thursday the 26th, so I could get up front so I could see because if I didn’t get the front I wouldn’t be able to see over everyone standing up. Green Day is always great, well beyond great. I did get up front in the pit. It took a lot of begging. I should have been up there 1st anyway as I was 1st in line but people almost ran me over getting past me to get to the pit. I did get up there though, finally. Right before the concert started, one of the security guards came up to shake my hand and told me he was deployed also and got injured in the war, too. He was very nice. I don’t know who told him about me, maybe the box office manager that I fought for 2 months with to be able to get in the pit for the concert.
Green Day was awesome on stage.  I couldn’t have asked for more in a set list. It was awesome. There was a really funny part. Right as the song Jaded ended Billie Joe pulled his pants down right in front of me, then there was a blast from the stage effects and it startled me and I fucking ducked because it happened right as Billie Joe pulled his pants down. For a split second I thought the sound came from Billie Joe’s ass and something was about to shoot out of his ass. It was the timing of the whole thing that startled me, I guess. Thank God nothing actually shot out his ass….lol.
There were some bad parts, too, which had nothing to do with Green Day’s performance. Some stupid bitch used my wheelchair to climb over the barricade. I reached up and grabbed her fat ass and threw her over the fucking barricade as hard as I could and then 2 more girls and a guy did it too so I chucked all of their asses over the fucking barricade. Then I turned around and said does anyone else want to get their fucking asses thrown over? After that, no one else stepped on me. I did missed a lot of the concert due to people shoving and pushing. I didn’t realize just how much of the visual part of the concert I had actually missed until a few days after the concert when I saw some of the videos from Youtube and I had to double check to make sure they were from the GD concert I was at, because it seemed so different on Youtube. There was so much on the Youtube videos I never saw. I wanted to see Green Day from the pit because I just wanted to feel like a normal person. Which is something that was taken from me on Feb. 15, 2006 in the IED explosion which took my ability to walk away. Watching those Youtube videos broke my heart and I kind of realized nothing was ever going to be normal for me again. Don’t get me wrong I loved the concert and enjoyed myself. Shit, I’d go to a Green Day concert blind if I had to.
I love Green Day’s music so much and it has always meant more to me than I could possibly say. It’s just that when I saw those Youtube videos, it showed me that about 90% of the visual parts of the concert I totally missed because I was sitting in this damned wheelchair. I have never been one to have a pity party for myself at all. But seeing those Youtube videos just tore me up inside. I feel like I’m stuck here with the question of “what now?” I can’t even get the full experience from one of the things I love the most in this world. I have lost a lot since I was injured and Green Day’s music/lyrics helped me a lot. Losing the ability to get the full experience like a normal person would at a Green Day concert was a hard pill to swallow. I felt kind of like the day when the doctor said I wouldn’t be able to walk again and life would be challenging and different for me from here on out. That’s the closest emotion I could compare it to what I’m feeling now. It feels like I have lost something so major in my life. I should have never watched those Youtube videos and I wouldn’t have known the difference. Now I feel like a huge part of me is missing. I have always been a take-on-the-world, help everyone I can, and never give up type of person, but right now I just feel like someone has sucked all of the oxygen out of the room and it’s hard to breathe and I feel crushed.
GREENDAYMIND: Lastly, what was your rationale for giving away tickets to the Dallas show and how did it all work out?
DAWN71: I missed their last 2 tours Green Day made in my area. The 1st time I missed it because I was deployed, and the last tour because I was healing from back surgery that was due to the IED explosion I was in during my 2nd deployment. It really sucked to miss their concerts due to things out of my control. After all of that and seeing people on the GDC forum not being able to go to Green Day’s concert because of money, I wanted to do something to help. Because I know what it is like to be a huge Green Day fan and have to miss their concert for reasons out of your control. With the economy as bad as it is I know there are some Green Day fans that can’t afford to go due to financial reasons that are out of their control. So, I decided I am going to do as much as I could to help. I took my savings and tried to help as many people as I could. I am not rich by any stretch of the imagination but you don’t have to be to make a difference no matter how small. It’s a good thing. And seeing Green Day live is a great thing!!!!!!!!!!!! I was so happy to be able to help out so many people to get to see Green Day. In all I gave away 11 tickets: 2 pit tickets, 3 tickets in the 200 section, and 6 lawn tickets. I wish I could have had enough money to give even more tickets away.
I was so happy everyone loved the custom Green Day shirts I made. In all I gave away 25 of them. I worked my butt of for 2 months trying to get as many as I could made before the Dallas concert. I was trying for 30 but only got 25 done. I took old Green Day t-shirts and recycled them and added more material and took away some material in some cases. I added a few ribbons and other things and came out with some very cool kick ass tops. It was awesome to see Corrie on stage wearing one of the shirts I made. I didn’t charge anyone for them; I gave them a way. I didn’t want to sell them and take from Green Day because I know they are selling t-shirts and other stuff. I also hope Green Day noticed people wearing the custom made tops I made and liked them. When I was making them I felt like I was doing good for the environment by recycling and at the same time showing respect for the greatest band on Earth, Green Day!!!

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