Joey Armstrong is an American musician and drummer best known for his work with the punk-rock band SWMRS and for being the eldest son of Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong. Growing up in a family deeply connected to punk rock gave Joey an unusual entry point into the music industry. Still, he eventually developed a musical career of his own behind the drum kit.
Joey began playing music at a young age and co-founded a band with childhood friend Cole Becker. The group went through several names before becoming Emily’s Army and, eventually, SWMRS. Over the years, the band released multiple albums, toured extensively, and developed a sound combining punk, indie rock, garage rock, and surf-influenced music. AllMusic identifies Joey as one of the musicians associated with SWMRS and traces the group’s beginnings to his childhood friendship with Becker.
Joey’s career has also included controversy. In 2020, musician Lydia Night publicly accused him of emotional abuse and sexual misconduct during a past relationship. Armstrong responded publicly, saying that he disagreed with some aspects of her account while acknowledging that he had failed her as a partner and had treated her poorly. He subsequently departed SWMRS.
Here is a closer look at Joey Armstrong, including his family background, musical beginnings, work with Emily’s Army and SWMRS, and what is publicly known about his life today.
Who Is Joey Armstrong?
Joey Armstrong, whose full name is Joseph Marciano Armstrong, is an American drummer born in 1995. He is the first child of Billie Joe Armstrong and Adrienne Armstrong.
Billie Joe Armstrong is internationally known as the singer and guitarist of Green Day, one of the most successful punk-rock bands to emerge from the United States. Joey’s mother, Adrienne, has been involved in business and creative ventures and previously co-founded Adeline Records with her husband.
Joey has one younger brother, Jakob Armstrong, born in 1998. Like Joey and their father, Jakob has pursued music. People report that both of Billie Joe and Adrienne Armstrong’s sons became musicians.
Although Joey’s famous surname inevitably attracted attention, his musical identity became most closely associated with drumming rather than following his father’s path as a guitar-playing frontman.
Joey Armstrong Early Life and Family
Growing up as Billie Joe Armstrong’s son meant that music was an important part of Joey’s childhood. His father was already experiencing major international success with Green Day when Joey was born.
Billie Joe Armstrong and Adrienne married in July 1994. According to People, Adrienne learned that she was pregnant with Joey shortly after their wedding, and Joey was born the following year.
Joey therefore grew up around musicians, recording, touring, and live performances. In later interviews, he said he watched Green Day perform from the side of the stage and was exposed to different styles of music growing up.
Rather than simply copying his father’s musical role, however, Joey gravitated toward drums.
Modern Drummer published an article by Armstrong in 2019 in which he discussed his development as a drummer and cited musicians including Fabrizio Moretti, Chris Mars, Tré Cool, Brian Chase, Dave Rowntree and Ringo Starr among his influences.
That range of influences helped illustrate that Joey’s musical interests extended beyond his father’s band.
How Joey Armstrong Started Playing Music
One of the most frequently told stories about Joey Armstrong’s childhood concerns the film School of Rock.
According to AllMusic, Joey and childhood friend Cole Becker were around nine years old when watching the movie inspired them to form a band. Cole played guitar and handled vocals, while Joey chose drums. Cole’s older brother Max Becker soon joined them on bass.
The young musicians experimented with several band names. They initially performed as the Raining Souls, later used the Clocks, and eventually adopted the name Emily’s Army.
The decision marked the beginning of the musical project that would eventually evolve into SWMRS.
What started as childhood friends playing together therefore became a long-running professional music project.
Joey Armstrong and Emil Army
Emily’s Army represented Joey Armstrong’s first major step toward a professional music career.
The band took its name in honor of Cole and Max Becker’s cousin Emily, who had cystic fibrosis. The group also helped raise awareness of the condition.
As the members gained experience, Emily’s Army began recording and performing more seriously.
The band’s debut studio album, Don’t Be a Dick, arrived in 2011. Billie Joe Armstrong produced the record, giving Joey and his bandmates the benefit of working with an experienced musician as they developed their own style. Joey’s website says Billie Joe worked with Green Day engineer Chris Dugan on the project.
Emily’s Army followed the debut with another studio album, Lost at Seventeen, in 2013. Billie Joe again produced the album.
The band toured and performed at punk-rock events while gradually moving beyond the sound associated with its earliest releases.
From Emil Army to SWMRS
As the musicians matured, their musical identity changed.
Emily’s Army released the Swim EP in 2014. After that period, the group briefly adopted the name Swimmers before settling on the stylized name SWMRS in 2015.
The name change represented more than a branding decision. The musicians were also expanding their sound.
SWMRS incorporated elements of punk rock, garage punk, indie rock, power pop, and West Coast surf-influenced music. AllMusic describes the group as combining old-school pop-punk with an indie-rock sensibility.
Joey remained behind the drums as the band entered this new phase.
Joey Armstrong Career With SWMRS
SWMRS helped Joey Armstrong gain recognition as a musician beyond being Billie Joe Armstrong’s son.
The group released Drive North, which became an important record in its development. The album was initially released independently before receiving a wider release after SWMRS signed with Fueled by Ramen.
The band later released Berkeley’s on Fire in February 2019.
During this period, Joey continued developing his drumming technique. In his 2019 Modern Drummer feature, he explained that he had previously pressured himself to master complicated techniques before focusing more on the qualities he admired in his favorite drummers.
SWMRS also worked to establish an identity independent of Joey’s famous father.
In a 2017 interview, band members said they deliberately avoided opportunities to perform with Green Day because they wanted SWMRS to stand on its own rather than be viewed primarily through its connection to Billie Joe Armstrong.
That effort became an important theme throughout Joey’s career: his family background gave him unusual exposure to professional music. At the same time, his band sought to develop its own audience and musical reputation.
Joey Armstrong and Billie Joe Armstrong
The connection between Joey Armstrong and Billie Joe Armstrong remains one of the main reasons people search for information about Joey.
Billie Joe is the singer and guitarist of Green Day, while Joey chose drums as his primary instrument.
His father’s influence was nevertheless significant. Billie Joe produced Emily’s Army’s early albums and offered the young musicians guidance and access to recording experience.
At the same time, Joey and his bandmates attempted to establish themselves separately.
SWMRS members told RIFF Magazine they avoided opening for Green Day for years because they knew Joey’s family connection could give them an unfair advantage.
Joey has also performed with family members. People note that Joey and Jakob have both shared musical moments with their father.
Joey Armstrong Brother Jakob Armstrong
Joey’s younger brother, Jakob Armstrong, is also a musician.
Jakob has performed as Jakob Danger and pursued his own musical projects, including the band Ultra Q.
The brothers have occasionally crossed paths professionally. Joey’s website notes that Joey, Jakob, and other musicians collaborated on projects during Joey’s SWMRS years.
Having Billie Joe Armstrong as their father naturally connects Joey and Jakob to Green Day’s legacy, but both sons have pursued music through projects separate from their father’s band.
Joey Armstrong Controversy
An important part of Joey Armstrong’s public history occurred in 2020.
In July of that year, Lydia Night, singer of The Regrettes, publicly accused Armstrong of emotional abuse and sexual coercion during a relationship that began when she was a teenager and Armstrong was an adult. Pitchfork reported that Night said the relationship occurred when she was 16 and 17.
These statements were allegations made by Night and should be described as such rather than presented as independently established findings.
Armstrong subsequently released a public response through SWMRS’ social media. He said that although he disagreed with some of Night’s statements, he believed she should be allowed and supported in speaking publicly. He acknowledged that he had failed her as a partner, described his own behavior as selfish, and said that he had previously apologized privately.
The episode became a major turning point in Armstrong’s public career.
Why Did Joey Armstrong Leave SWMRS?
Joey Armstrong is no longer with SWMRS.
When SWMRS publicly addressed its future in 2022, Cole Becker confirmed that Armstrong and bassist Seb Mueller had departed while the Becker brothers intended to continue the band.
People likewise identify Joey as a former member and report that he stepped away from SWMRS in 2022 to focus on his personal life.
As a result, descriptions that still identify Joey as SWMRS’ current drummer may be outdated.
The band has continued with a different lineup.
Where Is Joey Armstrong Now?
Compared with SWMRS’ most active years, Joey Armstrong now maintains a much lower public profile.
Reliable recent information about a major new band, solo album, or other high-profile music project involving him is limited. For that reason, treat claims about his current occupation, relationships, or future musical plans cautiously unless Armstrong or another reliable source confirms them.
His established professional history remains primarily associated with Emily’s Army and SWMRS.
For listeners interested in his recorded work, albums such as Don’t Be a Dick, Lost at Seventeen, Drive North, and Berkeley’s on Fire document different stages of his development as a drummer.
Joey Armstrong Musical Legacy
Assessing Joey Armstrong’s career requires separating his own musical work from his famous family connection.
As Billie Joe Armstrong’s son, he gained early exposure to the realities of professional music. However, Joey began playing with his childhood friends at a very young age and spent years performing, recording, and touring with them.
Emily’s Army evolved considerably before becoming SWMRS, and the later band developed a sound distinct from Green Day.
Joey’s drumming became part of that identity. His interest in musicians ranging from Ringo Starr to Fabrizio Moretti also demonstrates influences beyond his father’s immediate musical circle.
At the same time, the 2020 allegations and their aftermath became an unavoidable part of his public biography, followed by his eventual departure from SWMRS.
Conclusion
Joey Armstrong is best known as an American drummer, former member of SWMRS, and the eldest son of Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong and Adrienne Armstrong. Although he grew up around one of punk rock’s most recognizable bands, Joey began developing his own musical path as a child.
His friendship with Cole Becker led to the creation of a band that eventually became Emily’s Army. After releasing albums and touring under that name, the musicians reinvented themselves as SWMRS and developed a broader combination of punk, indie, and surf-influenced rock. Joey served as the group’s drummer during some of its most prominent years.
His public story also includes serious allegations made by Lydia Night in 2020, which Armstrong responded to publicly while disputing parts of her account and acknowledging that he had failed her as a partner. He later left SWMRS, which continued without him.
Today, Joey Armstrong keeps a lower public profile than during his years touring with SWMRS. Nevertheless, his work with Emily’s Army and SWMRS represents a substantial part of his musical life, giving him a career story that extends beyond his identity as Billie Joe Armstrong’s son.
You May Also Read: Angus Young Net Worth: AC/DC Career, Earnings, Royalties and Rock Legacy
