Green Day tribute band, NOT.GREENDAY, fronted by Freeman High grad, returns to Spokane roots as part of national tour

When NOT.GREENDAY takes to the Knitting Factory stage on Friday, the performance from the acclaimed tribute band will act as a surreal homecoming for lead singer Cameron Scott Moore, along with a testament to patience and the power of connections.

After graduating from Freeman High School in 2009, Scott Moore knew he wanted to work in the music industry at any capacity but simply didn’t believe it was possible. His cousin, a drummer, introduced him to Green Day and Linkin Park “in the same hour” when he was 10 years old, igniting a love for alternative and punk rock.

After a few years working in retail and attempting community college, Scott Moore enrolled in the audio engineering program at Spokane Falls Community College. This eventually led to a position in entertainment management and audio engineering at the Roadhouse, a country bar, grill and live music venue that used to operate in Spokane Valley.

At the Roadhouse, Scott Moore “cut his teeth” in live music production and met Willie Woo Styx, a line cook and bassist. On a whim, the two started a band called Free the Jester that would go on to become one of Spokane’s most recognizable groups while garnering fan support well beyond the Lilac City.

“Neither one of us really knew what we were doing when it came to that, so we were kind of just winging it,” Scott Moore said. “We played a lot of really cool, big shows that, I’ll be honest, we had no business playing.”

Free the Jester consistently played the Knitting Factory, often as an opener for nationally touring bands, but it was because of their very first performance at the downtown venue that Scott Moore found himself working there in 2014. He immediately hit it off with Erik Young, the production manager, who offered Scott Moore an internship as a production assistant and runner.

“I ended up putting all of my marbles into that and working there full time, soaking up everything I could,” Scott Moore said.

Scott Moore earned the role of assistant production manager and worked with other local venues, such as the Spokane Arena and Fox Theater. He also worked with traveling audio engineer William Nieman, who connected Scott Moore with alt-metal band Helmet, who was in need of a tour manager while Free the Jester began to wind down in 2021.

Although he now tours the world with Wheatus, Scott Moore found himself having to walk away from his role with Helmet because of an initial side project that quickly expanded into much more.

Flashback to 2016 and the White River Amphitheatre in Auburn: Green Day, Scott Moore’s favorite band of all time, was headlining the West Side. He crossed the state in order to see them perform tracks like “Basket Case” and “American Idiot” from the pit. At one point, he was pulled on stage by frontman Billie Joe Armstrong.

Scott Moore wasn’t the only Spokane native at the barrier, where he met Mark Brown. The two immediately bonded over their shared love for the iconic rock band and became good friends. So, when Scott Moore was finally looking to “scratch the itch” of creating a Green Day tribute band in 2022, he gave Brown a call.

“Mark and I started NOT.GREENDAY … with the intent to just play our favorite band’s music,” Scott Moore said. “We just wanted to play the songs, and if we just played one show and had a good time and that’s all it was, we would’ve been content with that.”

But that one show quickly turned into a Pig Out in the Park performance by the Clocktower, which then turned into being signed by a booking agency in Atomic Music Group merely hours after an early morning press kit email from Scott Moore. Before the band knew it, they were being booked across the country.

“We took the opportunity with Atomic Music Group and said, ‘We have a completely open calendar,’” Scott Moore said. “Book us anywhere that wants us. We don’t care about what we’re getting paid.”

Consisting of Scott Moore on guitar and vocals, Brown on bass and vocals, Jim West on drums and RJ Weik on lead guitar, NOT.GREENDAY has spent more than 150 shows and 30 states growing, meeting fellow fans at their performances, and simply performing their favorite songs together. Green Day even found one of their stickers while exploring a California venue with CBS Mornings.

Interestingly enough, the tribute band has also been building a fan base of their own.

“We get people that travel from obscure, long distances to see us play, which is kind of mind boggling to me … just go see Green Day then,” Scott Moore said with a laugh. “We get people that come up to us at the merch booth like, ‘Do you have your own stuff out?’ Like, no, go listen to Green Day though.”

On Friday, NOT.GREENDAY will take Scott Moore back to the Knitting Factory stage so much of his career was built upon – whether performing or on the logistics side. Not half bad for a Freeman High graduate who simply wanted to work in music and has now found himself on both sides of the industry.

“This is, hands down, 100%, the biggest Spokane NOT.GREENDAY show that we’ve played yet, and we couldn’t be more thrilled,” Scott Moore said. “It’s just wild that, for the first time in my life, I feel like I have an actual career in this industry … It’s a joy and a privilege.”