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Green Day

Green Day hopes to have a golden day at the Feb. 13 Grammys, where the punk rockers are up for six awards (including Album of the Year) for their latest, American Idiot.

ON THEIR GRAMMY NOMINATIONS "The day we heard about the nominations we were playing the Hard Rock in Las Vegas," says frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, 32, "and I put this pair of green-and-purple star-covered underwear over my pants. When I walked in everyone was like, 'Why are you wearing that?' I was like, 'I got [six] Grammy nominations. I can wear whatever the hell I want.' "

ON THE MAKING A POLITICALLY CHARGED ALBUM "I wrote the song 'American Idiot' just as the war in Iraq was starting," says Armstrong. "I remember watching these embedded journalists in the tanks on the road to Iraq. Then spliced in with that were these commercials for Viagra and Cialis. I started to feel really lost and scared about the whole thing, and that sort of set the agenda for the record."

ON GOING UP AGAINST THE ESTABLISNMENT "We didn't want to raise people's eyebrows; we wanted them to raise their fists in the air, either for us or against us," says drummer Tre Cool, 32. Adds bassist Mike Dirnt, 32: "I don't [hear] anybody else on the radio really calling out what is happening right now as hard as we are."

ON THEIR UPCOMING GRAMMY PERFORMANCE Says Armstrong: "We are planning something to remember. The idea is to get everybody's jewelry in the front row to start rattling."

ON WHO'S THE BIGGEST IDIOT IN THE BAND "Tre," says Armstrong. "Well, it sort of depends on the day," counters Dirnt. But, Tre concedes, "in terms of consistency, I have to say it's me. I have had two divorces, so I think that speaks volumes."