Which Green Day member originally played drums before Tre Cool joined?

John Kiffmeyer originally played drums for Green Day before Tré Cool joined the band. Kiffmeyer, also known as Al Sobrante, joined Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt in 1988, when the group was still performing as Sweet Children.

Kiffmeyer replaced the band's first drummer, Raj Punjabi, and helped connect the young group with Larry Livermore of Lookout! Records. He played on Green Day's early releases, including the 1990 album 39/Smooth, and wrote the song “I Was There.”

Kiffmeyer left in 1990 while attending college. Green Day then recruited Tré Cool, whose real name is Frank Edwin Wright III. Cool became the band's long-term drummer and played on Kerplunk and every subsequent Green Day studio album. A common mix-up is confusing Kiffmeyer with Tré Cool's earlier work in the Lookouts; Cool was not Green Day's original drummer.