Working title: Sometimes, a band needs an alter-ego, a guise under which they can indulge their obscure musical interests. Rather than change the music, they simply record under a different moniker, thus saving their fans the trauma of having to adjust to a new prog-polka direction. When XTC wanted to pay homage to 1960s psychedelia, they adopted the guise of The Dukes Of Stratosphear. Now, another well-known band has created a secret identity, just so they can give vent to their abiding love for the bleepy electro New Wave sounds of Devo, Throbbing Gristle and Nash The Slash. They call themselves The Network, and their debut album, Money Money 2020, features such synth-crunching punk tunes as Supermodel Robots, Spastic Society, X-Ray Hamburger, Transistors Gone Wild and a cover of The Misfits' Teenagers From Mars. Are they not Devo? No, they are Green Day.
Masterplan: The Network is led by mad scientist Fink, whose top secret nuclear invention has bankrolled the band. His multinational technical crew of techno technicians includes Belgian vegan Van Gough, an Argentinian wrestler known as The Snoo, Swedish Olympic medallist Captain Underpants, and an Icelandic sculptor whose name is impossible to pronounce, so he is simply known as Z. We know that they are really Billy Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool in elaborate disguises, but we can't confirm if the other two are ex-members of Devo, as is rumoured. The Network's mission is to rid the planet of "mindless shit that has been dominating the radio and TV for the last 20 years". So that's Green Day records and videos out the window, then.
Talking to God: The members of The Network and their fans are disciples of the controversial Church of Lushotology, founded by romance writer R Hol Nardubb. Adherents to the Church aspire to reaching the highest level of intoxication through the ingestion of a substance known as "drink". They believe that, if they consume enough "drink", they will reach an exalted state known as "drunkenness", which, according to many who have reached this level, is next to godliness.
Stage fright: The Network performed an eagerly-attended gig at LA's Key Club, resplendent in wrestling masks and head bandages, and wielding their flying-Vs and freshly-resurrected "keytars" (guitar-shaped synths popular with cheesy 1980s New Wave bands). The band's debut DVD, Disease Is Punishment, features this now-legendary show, plus five videos from the album. Meanwhile, Billy Joe Armstrong, who co-owns The Network's label, Adeline Records, and looks and sounds uncannily like Fink, has denied any connection with The Network, although he admits that Green Day are also fully paid-up members of the Church of Lushotology. Kevin Courtney
