John Kiffmeyer (born July 11, 1969), known professionally as Al Sobrante, is an American

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

and retired musician and songwriter. He is best known as the first drummer for the punk rock band

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a ...

. His stage name is a reference to his hometown, El Sobrante.

Biography

John Kiffmeyer was born in El Sobrante, California on July 11, 1969. His first exposure in the punk scene was as the drummer of the band

Isocracy An isocracy is a form of government where all citizens have equal political power. The term derives from Greek ἴσος meaning "equal" and κρατεῖν meaning "to have power", or "to rule". An Isocracy is based on a legal right of isonom ...

. The group was popular in the

East Bay The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties ...

, and mainstays at the famed club,

924 Gilman Street The Alternative Music Foundation located at 924 Gilman Street, often referred to by its fans simply as "Gilman", is a non-profit, all-ages, collectively organized music club. It is located in the West Berkeley area of Berkeley, California, about ...

. He chose his stage name Al Sobrante for an evident pun on his birthplace. Kiffmeyer is most well known for his time in

; after Isocracy broke up, he joined Mike Dirnt and

Billie Joe Armstrong Billie Joe Armstrong (born February 17, 1972) is an American musician who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Green Day, which he co-founded with Mike Dirnt in 1987. He is also a guitarist and vocalist for ...

in 1987 to replace original drummer Raj Punjabi and join Sweet Children, which was later renamed Green Day. Because of his experience and knowledge of the underground community, Kiffmeyer was able to get the young band on its feet by placing calls to friends, among them prominent figure of the East Bay

Larry Livermore Lawrence Hayes (born October 28, 1947), better known by his stage name Larry Livermore, is an American singer, musician, record producer, and author, best known as the co-founder of Lookout Records. Biography In 1977, Hayes began to attend pun ...

. The first few performances took place at Contra Costa College, where Kiffmeyer was a journalism student. On the strength of an early performance, Livermore vowed to release a Green Day record on his

Lookout! Records Lookout Records (stylized as Lookout! Records) was an independent record label, initially based in Laytonville, California and later in Berkeley, California, Berkeley, focusing on punk rock. Established in 1987, the label is best known for having ...

. The group's first full-length effort, 1990 album ''

39/Smooth ''39/Smooth'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Green Day, released on April 13, 1990, by Lookout Records. It was the band's only album to feature second drummer John Kiffmeyer. Jesse Michaels of Operation Ivy contributed the a ...

'', would feature a Kiffmeyer original, "I Was There", which documented the band at that place in time. Being a fan of

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

, he inspired the mini-covers of some famous songs, such as " I Don't Know" by Osbourne and " Sweet Home Alabama" by

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...

during the bridge of "Disappearing Boy", a practice that is still carried out today. In 1990, he attended college at

Humboldt State University California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt also known as Cal Poly Humboldt, Humboldt or Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California or California State Polytechnic Universit ...

Arcata, California Arcata (; Wiyot: ''Goudi’ni''; Yurok: ''Oket'oh'') is a city adjacent to the Arcata Bay (northern) portion of Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, Arcata's population was 18,857. Arcata was first ...

. While Kiffmeyer was attending college, Green Day members Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt accepted drummer

Tré Cool Frank Edwin Wright III (born December 9, 1972), better known by his stage name Tré Cool, is a German-born American musician, singer, and songwriter best known as the drummer for the punk rock band Green Day. He replaced the band's former drumme ...

into the band, which Kiffmeyer "graciously accepted". In 1991, he worked as

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...

for the Green Day album '' Kerplunk'', released that year. Kiffmeyer later joined the band The Ne'er Do Wells, leaving abruptly in 1994. Following a stint with punk band The Ritalins, he became manager of The Shruggs until their split. In 1998 he was the executive producer of ''The Great Lost Trouble Makers Album'' by The Troublemakers, a

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

band from

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

. He now lives in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

and is married to experimental filmmaker and

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different ...

professor Greta Snider. He works as a

Director of Photography The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

, specializing in

green screen Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a visual-effects and post-production technique for compositing (layering) two images or video streams together based on colour hues ( chroma range). The technique has been used in many fields to ...

and producing mainly commercial work. On April 16, 2015, Kiffmeyer joined Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt on stage during a Green Day concert at The House of Blues in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...

, where the trio performed as ''Sweet Children'' and played songs that they had not performed since the 1990s, including "Sweet Children", "Green Day", "I Was There", "Don't Leave Me" and "Dry Ice".

Discography

With Isocracy

* ''El Sob Demo'' (1987) * ''Bedtime For Isocracy'' (1988)

With Green Day

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1990)

Other releases

* ''

1,000 Hours ''1,000 Hours'' is the debut EP by American rock band Green Day. It was released on May 26, 1989, through Lookout Records with the catalog number LK 17. Album information “1,000 Hours” was written by Billie Joe about his best friend's sister ...

'' (EP, 1989) * ''

Slappy ''Slappy'' is the second EP by American rock band Green Day. It was released in 1990 through Lookout! Records. Upon its release, several different colors of vinyl were available in limited quantities. Billie Joe Armstrong cited the extended play ...

'' (EP, 1990) * '' Sweet Children'' (EP, 1990) * ''

1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours ''1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours'' is a compilation album comprising early recordings by American rock band Green Day, released October 1, 1991, on Lookout Records. Often erroneously referred to as the band's debut album, the compilation combines ...

'' (1991)

With The Ne'er Do Wells

* ''Hello, It Is I, Thee Intolerable Bastard, Child Genius'' (1993)

Other appearances

* ''

Turn It Around! ''Turn It Around!'' is a punk rock compilation album by ''Maximumrocknroll''. Originally released as two 7-inch records in October 1987, it served as a benefit to raise money for the Berkeley, California DIY punk scene (known as the Gilman Stree ...

'' (1987 compilation album) ("Confederate Flags") * ''The Big One'' (1991 compilation album) ("I Want To Be Alone")

Production discography

* Green Day - '' Kerplunk'' (1991) as Executive Producer *

Screeching Weasel Screeching Weasel is an American punk rock band consisting of Ben Weasel (vocals), Mike Kennerty (guitar), Mike Hunchback (guitar), Zach "Poutine" Brandner (bass) and Pierre Marche (drums). Screeching Weasel is originally from the Chicago subur ...

- ''

My Brain Hurts ''My Brain Hurts'' is the third studio album by the Chicago-based punk rock band Screeching Weasel. The album was originally released on CD, vinyl and cassette in September 1991 through Lookout Records. It was the group's first album on Lookout as ...

'' (1991) * The Trouble Makers - ''The Great Lost Trouble Makers Album'' (1998)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiffmeyer, John 1969 births American punk rock drummers American male drummers Record producers from California Green Day members Living people American people of German descent Musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area Contra Costa College alumni California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt alumni 20th-century American drummers People from El Sobrante, Contra Costa County, California American cinematographers hu:Al Sobrante