Blink-182

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blink-182
Left to right: Tom DeLonge, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker
Left to right: Tom DeLonge, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker
Background information
Origin Poway, California, USA
Genre(s) Pop-punk
Years active 1992 – 2005; indefinite hiatus
Label(s) Geffen Records
Website http://www.blink182.com/
Members
Mark Hoppus
Travis Barker
Tom DeLonge
Former members
Scott Raynor (1992-1998)

blink-182 (pronounced "blink one eighty two" or "blink one eight two") is a Pop punk band that formed in 1992 in San Diego, California, U.S. by Mark Hoppus (vocals and bass), Tom DeLonge (vocals and guitar) and Scott Raynor (drums) in the northern San Diego suburb of Poway. Its original name was just "Blink", but the group added the 3-digit suffix to its title after an objection from a band with the same name from Ireland. Travis Barker replaced Raynor on drums in 1998, midway through blink-182's US tour. The group went on "indefinite hiatus" in early 2005, which turned out to be the band's eventual split. Since then bandmembers are working on solo projects and there is no word whether the band will reform in the future.

The group is known for its catchy, simple melodies, as well as for satirical, and sometimes profanity-laden, toilet humor. Musically, the band played up-tempo songs with prominent major-chord harmonies, usually heavily produced, in contrast with their punk influences. The lyrical content of their songs was often light hearted, though this is less true of their later releases. Their last album in particular showed a significant departure from their previous works in terms of musical experimentation and lyrical sophistication.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Early career (1992-1995)

In May 1993, Blink released a demo tape entitled Flyswatter, recorded in drummer Scott Raynor's bedroom. It was their first album and a 4-track was used to record the material, resulting in poor sound quality and, according to Hoppus, only around fifty copies were produced. Their first real show took place at a bar and, since they were underage, they were only allowed to enter when it was time for their set. They bought 50 tickets to sell, but no one came to see them. After only one song Blink was kicked off the stage and out of the bar. Before the end of the year, the band released another demo tape known as Buddha. Around 1,000 copies were produced by Filter Records (owned by Hoppus' boss).

In early 1994, the success of the Buddha demo lead to Blink being signed with Cargo Records. Blink recorded their debut full-length album, Cheshire Cat, in just three days. The album contained a number of updated versions of songs that had appeared on the Buddha demo.

Shortly after the release of Cheshire Cat, Blink was threatened with legal action by a pop band in Ireland of the same name. In order to avoid a lengthy lawsuit, Blink appended "182" to the end of their name. The band has cited a variety of reasons for choosing 182. Among the things 182 supposedly signify are the number of times Al Pacino utters the word "fuck" in Scarface, the 1985 Timothy Hutton film, Turk 182!, their ideal weight or the amount of miles Hoppus had to drive to visit his girlfriend. The band has admitted that they like to invent reasons in interviews, and the numbers were actually picked at random. However, a local legend in their hometown states that their name means "Fuck RB", a reference to the San Diego high school that Hoppus and Delonge attended, where R is the 18th letter of the alphabet B the 2nd.

During the pop punk boom of the 1990s, blink-182 was signed by MCA in 1996 which later became Geffen Records.

Early tours included "the Poo-Poo Pee-Pee Tour" and the "Race around Uranus Tour".

[edit] Dude Ranch-era (1996–1998)

After moving to Encinitas, California, the band recorded the album Dude Ranch in 1996 with producer Mark Trombino. The album was released in 1997 and was relatively commercially successful, going platinum in Australia and selling 4 million copies worldwide. The single "Dammit" did well on U.S. modern rock charts. The single Josie was also relatively successful. In 1998, midway through a U.S. tour, Raynor split from the band. There are two common explanations of the split - Raynor had a serious drinking problem and was asked to go into rehab or leave the band, or alternately, that he departed in order to attend college. Raynor claims he agreed to go to rehab, but that the remaining band members fired him over the phone despite his acquiescence, because that they were doubtful of Raynor's sincerity. His expulsion occurred midway through Blink 182's U.S. tour. Hoppus and Delonge asked Travis Barker of the Aquabats, who had sat in for Raynor on short notice before, to play with them for the rest of the tour. Barker went on to join the band after the tour.

[edit] Mainstream breakthrough (1999-2002)

For the 1999 album Enema of the State, the band hired Rancid and MxPx producer Jerry Finn. The album was largely successful, propelling the band to pop punk fame and gaining a significant amount of airtime on MTV and Total Request Live (TRL). This was largely due to the commercial success of the songs "What's My Age Again?" and "All the Small Things" and the accompanying humorous music videos, and later the more serious "Adam's Song". Enema of the State sold over 10 million copies worldwide, which made it their bestselling album to that point. The album was heavily procuded and the punk influence was less obvious than ever. As a result, many prior fans felt the band had "sold out" and had strayed from its punk rock roots.

In 2000, the band released The Urethra Chronicles, a DVD which featured behing-the-scenes information.

The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show: The Enema Strikes Back, Blink 182's sole live album was released in 2000, featuring songs from their three albums: Cheshire Cat, Dude Ranch and Enema of the State. The album included one new studio song, "Man Overboard," among the live renditions. The album went out of print for a long time, making it very rare and much sought after, but is currently back in stores as of October 2006. A somewhat misleading sticker on the album reads "Limited Edition".

The band continued their commercial success with Take Off Your Pants and Jacket in 2001. Early releases of the album featured one of two bonus tracks. A European tour (in the winter 2001) in support of the new album was cancelled in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. Rescheduled dates in early 2002 were also cancelled due to Delonge's back problems.

[edit] Untitled-era (2003–2004)

After taking some time off in 2002, recording of the next record began in early 2003. A more laid back approach to song writing was taken. The result was a more mature sounding record than anything blink-182 had attempted before. The band released its fifth studio album on November 18, 2003. Described as "a self-meditation on romantic decay", the album featured the hit singles "Feeling This", "I Miss You", "Down", and "Always". Barker has said that the band left the album untitled (rather than self-titled) to represent a new Blink 182[1]. It showcased a style of music more complex and layered than anything Blink 182 had done previously, but still managed to receive significant airplay on radio stations and Fuse. The Cure front man Robert Smith, often cited as a major influence on the band, appeared on "All of This". Listeners called the riffs heavier and the lyrics more profound. During late 2003, the band embarked on what came to be known as the "Dolla Bill" tour. The name stemmed from the inexpensive ticket costs for attendance. The tour was largely popular with fans as the band played more intimate venues and ticket sales were heavily controlled to prevent touting. Also, special "meet and greets" were arranged before some of the shows. The tour would also visit The SOMA in San Diego, a venue where Blink 182 would go to watch and play gigs during their early years. A tour with No Doubt in the summer of 2004 was also very successful. More than 3 years after its release, the successful album has sold over 9 million copies worldwide. A version was later released in the UK with the song Not Now included. This song was later released on the greatest hits album which became there longest number 1 hit in the USA staying in the position for 4 weeks.


[edit] Indefinite hiatus, Greatest Hits and new bands (2005-present)

On February 8, 2005, Blink 182 was announced to perform at the Music for Relief's Concert for South Asia, a benefit show on February 18 planned for the tsunami in Asia that had occurred late the previous year. [2] A large amount of confusion occurred, however, when the band mysteriously pulled out of the gig. Four days later, many fans were shocked when Blink 182 announced they were going on an "indefinite hiatus", with Barker claiming that "We're taking a break and letting everyone be creative on their time off", adding that "We want to enjoy ourselves and regroup and write a record when it's the right time." He also said that the band members wanted to spend more time with their families. [3] Two months later, Barker and Hoppus announced they were forming a new band, +44, with Barker saying that "Blink, as far as I'm concerned, it's over.." [4]

The band remained relatively quiet for the next few months, but on August 29, 2005, Geffen Records announced their plans to release a career long "Greatest Hits" compilation that would be released on November 1 in the United States. One previously unreleased track was included "Another Girl Another Planet" (a cover song originally by The Only Ones, recorded as the theme song to the reality TV show Meet the Barkers), Also included was the previously issued B-side (to the "I Miss You" single) and Untitled album bonus track (Outside the United States), "Not Now" (which was used as the first single). The album immediately reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200 in the United States.

Three weeks later Delonge revealed his project, Angels and Airwaves, to the general public. He claimed it would be "the greatest rock'n'roll revolution of this generation" and "more emotional than Blink 182 and Box Car Racer put together." In his reason for why Blink 182 was on indefinite hiatus, Delonge suggested the mounting tension between himself and Hoppus, ultimately caused by DeLonge's desire for a break with his family and Hoppus' feelings of betrayal from the formation of Box Car Racer. He also announced his plans to create a film about the final days of blink-182 [5]. Angels and Airwaves released their debut album We Don't Need to Whisper on May 23rd, 2006, where it debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200. The band went on tour in the summer of 2006, with Taking Back Sunday as co-headliner.

Meanwhile, Hoppus and Barker remained under the radar; however, the first form of any new material from any of the former members of Blink 182 surfaced on December 13, 2005, from +44. The song, "No It Isn't," (which was meant as a response to anyone questioning if the song was about Tom DeLonge or blink-182) featured cryptic lyrics such as "Please understand, this isn't just good bye / this is I can't stand you" which many believe were directed at DeLonge. Incidentally, the song was leaked on the same day that Angels and Airwaves were slated to release their first song (and also Tom Delonge's 30th birthday), although conflicts caused the band to delay its release. The song was ultimately released on DeLonge's birthday, fueling further speculation from fans. Mark was at first hesitant to admit any correlation between the song and breakup, but has since admitted the song was about Tom and the breakup of the band.

In August 2006, Hoppus finally broke his silence and gave his first personal interview with the press in an extensive interview for b182.com. The origins of +44 (the name is the international calling code for the United Kingdom) were explained, but the real focus of the interview was Blink 182 and the hitherto-unexplained events that had led to the apparent rift. Hoppus said that the band was getting along at the time of their final album (as shown on "MTV video Album's Launch" about the progress of their recording), which was contrary to what DeLonge had stated in earlier interviews. Around the beginning of their last European leg of the tour, Blink 182 began preparation for a final U.S. tour, but later DeLonge had said he did not want to tour anymore, requesting a half year respite in order to spend time with his family. Hoppus revealed that he and Barker were initially upset, but they conceded to the break nonetheless. This led to the cancellation of the band's planned spring US tour. Hoppus stated that he and Barker eventually formed +44 at the end of the European leg, due to the fact that they did not want to wait for Tom's six months break to be over and because they still wanted to record. Tom also said he would only record in his home studio in San Diego and refused to record in Los Angeles as he wouldn't travel. Tom wanted to send demos and Pro Tools files back and forth. Mark declined saying Blink 182 was ceasing to be a band and using this method would lessen the album and would make a terrible cd. Mark and Travis accused Tom of trying to control everything. Tom replied by saying he couldn't be a part of anything he couldn't control. This effectively ended blink-182.

Regarding a possibility of reconcilation, Tom said that he would love to rebuild his relationship with Mark and Travis. Hoppus also could not say whether there was a possibility for the former bandmates to re-build their broken relationship, but as they are tight on their solo projects, prospects of a reunion seem slim for now.

[edit] Discography

Main article: blink-182 discography

[edit] External links

[edit] Official websites

[edit] Other

blink-182
Travis Barker | Tom DeLonge | Mark Hoppus
Scott Raynor
Discography
Albums: Flyswatter | Buddha | Cheshire Cat | Dude Ranch | Enema of the State | Take off Your Pants and Jacket | Untitled
Live Albums and compilations: The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back!) | Greatest Hits
Videos and DVDs: The Urethra Chronicles | The Urethra Chronicles II: Harder Faster Faster Harder | Greatest Hits
Related articles
Box Car Racer | Transplants | +44 | Angels and Airwaves | Expensive Taste
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