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Meet one of Green Day's biggest fans

posted by Chad Jones on Fri, Sep 25, 2009
in Backstage buzz

The whole American Idiot experience has taken us on a wild ride. One of the best parts, aside from the show itself, has been the opportunity to meet an incredible range of Green Day fans. Last month we held a ticket contest, and one of the entries caught our eye because — here's logic for you — it included eye-catching photos.

Lizzy in Fairfield is not your average Green Day fan. She’s an art school student in San Francisco, and she has translated her love for the album American Idiot into her own personal masterpiece.

This is Lizzy’s American Idiot bedroom (photos courtesy of Lizzy).

We asked Lizzy how the room came to be. Here’s what she said: “My room is my inspirational space. Because of Green Day and the American idiot album, I realized what I wanted to do with my life. I go to art school for directing film and television. The band’s amazing music videos have a special place in my heart, and being surrounded by wall-to-wall décor that reminds me why I go to school is a great motivator for me and my artistic style. I just wish I had more walls to continue painting more artwork from their album.”

Lizzy admits her parents were skeptical when they heard what their daughter wanted to do to her room, but after spending the entire two weeks of a high school vacation to complete the paint job, they were won over — as are most people who visit the “installation.”

Everything in the room, has special meaning to Lizzy. For example, the image of St. Jimmy walking under the street sign for the Boulevard of Broken Dreams “reminds me that things aren’t always going to be great and happy in my life, but I gotta keep walking in that bad part of town in order to get out of it.”

The black-and-white cityscape reminds Lizzy of her studies in the city as well as her dream of moving to Los Angeles. The various symbols were taken from a Green Day concert she attended, and the images of the band members themselves were taken from an American Idiot calendar. “I though it would be cool and a challenge to make them silhouettes and have their clothing stand out,” Lizzy explains.

Of all the images, one – the giant Green Day bomb – has the most meaning for Lizzy. “That’s taken from the Holiday video, which is my favorite song and video of all time.”

Reflecting on her creation, Lizzy says, “My room is like a big tattoo for me.”

Lizzy actually got to meet her idols, briefly, when covering an awards show red carpet in San Francisco for her high school.

“That was a turning point in my life,” Lizzy recalls. “They made me realize I was capable of achieving whatever I wanted but that I would have to fight for it, too. That short moment that the guys themselves probably won’t remember meant the entire world to me. It’s really amazing how much of an impact certain people can have on others.”