In the cafeteria in Carquinez Middle School, ten-year-old Dirnt met Billie Joe Armstrong, with whom he bonded instantly. Armstrong began to play guitar with Mike, and the two spent much time at Armstrong's house in 1984 and they played songs by various artists, most notably the Ramones, Ozzy Osbourne, Def Leppard, Hüsker Dü, AC/DC, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Replacements, the Who and Van Halen. At the age of 14, they formed a group named "Sweet Children" with Billie Joe singing and playing lead guitar, Mike playing rhythm guitar, Sean Hughes on bass and Raj Punjabi on drums.