Mike Dirnt: Five Things We Learned from His New Ernie Ball 'String Theory' Episode

Today, GuitarWorld.com is happy to premiere the latest episode of String Theory, starring Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt.

A web series created by Ernie Ball, String Theory explores the sonic origins of influential and innovative musicians.

Here are five surprising facts revealed by Dirnt in the episode, which you can watch below.

1. Guitar was his first instrument, then he moved on to bass (1:00): “My introduction to playing music was probably when I realized that most of the bands I liked played guitar. So I actually started off playing guitar. Then my mom had an old pawn shop bass, and I jumped on that. It had two strings—an E and an A.”

2. Early in their career, Green Day would play literally anywhere (1:55): “You know, when we were kids, we would try to play anywhere we could. The school dance, to the little keg party, to somebody’s backyard. That same ‘play anywhere and everywhere’ carried over into touring. We’d play vet’s halls, to living rooms, to really anywhere we could.”

3. Ernie Ball strings hold up to Green Day’s relentless touring and Dirnt’s hard-driving playing (2:30): “Last few years, I’ve been playing Ernie Ball strings on my basses. They have a great, even sound across them, and you don’t get a dead string, ever. And, you know, I’m not breaking them, which is good, because I put them to the test.”

4. It was early on that Dirnt realized he was actually playing in one of his favorite bands (3:20): “It wasn’t until we wrote and recorded our second record, Kerplunk, with Trey—and the way we were playing and gelling—that I realized, ‘Wow, I’m in one of my favorite bands.’”

5. What he likes most about being a musician is putting out material that will last (4:10): “I think my favorite part of being a musician is the satisfaction that we get when we’ve written a song or an album that you know is going to stand the test of time.”

Of course, these are just five facts pulled from the clip. Be sure to watch the entire episode below.

For more information, visit ernieball.com.