Mark Hoppus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mark Hoppus | ||
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 Mark Hoppus (right)
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Markus Allan Hoppus | |
| Born | March 15, 1972 Ridgecrest, California, USA |
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| Origin | Poway, California, USA | |
| Genre(s) | Pop punk Punk rock Alternative rock |
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| Occupation(s) | Musician Record producer |
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| Instrument(s) | Vocals Bass Occasional Guitar |
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| Years active | 1992–present | |
| Associated acts |
Blink-182 +44 |
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Markus Allan Hoppus, better known as Mark Hoppus, (born March 15, 1972 in Ridgecrest, California[1]) is an American musician and was one of the three founding members of the pop punk band Blink-182 and the alternative rock band +44. He plays bass guitar and sings vocals.
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Early life
At the age of 15, Mark got his first bass as a gift from his father and earned money for a bass amp by helping him paint his house.[2] Mark never took bass lessons, instead he taught himself by listening to bands such as the Descendents, The Cure and Bad Religion.[2] Mark played bass and sang in the band Pier 69, primarily covering songs by The Cure. He also played in a band called The Attic Children in 1988, during this time he lived in Washington D.C. He later moved to San Diego, where his sister Anne introduced him to Tom Delonge. Delonge was a friend of Anne's at the time, and constantly complained about wanting to join a band. She finally introduced Hoppus and Tom Delonge in August 1992. When Hoppus first went over to Delonge's house, he was told Delonge would be at the skate park. Hoppus went over and found Delonge skating with his friends. Hoppus wanted to impress Delonge, so he climbed a lamp post, jumped off and cracked both ankles and heels and was on crutches for three weeks.
Blink-182
Hoppus and Delonge, with their friend, drummer Scott Raynor, decided to form a band in 1992. They were under the name "Duck Tape" until their third show, when Delonge said he liked another name, "Blink". It was around this time that Hoppus, who was attending college at the time with vague hopes of being a high school English teacher, started working at the local record store. Here he was given financial stability along with the gigs the band needed to get Blink started on its road to success. Hoppus knew the band would be gigging on the weekends so he told his boss at the record store he would need the weekends off. He finally was able to quit his job in 1996 when the band's touring schedule began to take off. Only one thing got in the way. An Irish techno band already had been using the name "Blink" and threatened them with a court case, so they changed their name to Blink-182. Rumors have suggested they chose the "182" because that is the number of times Al Pacino says "fuck" in the movie "Scarface", the amount of times Delonge counted Hoppus blinking in one minute or how many times each member had sex added together (to name but a few) but the band has stated that the figure was picked randomly.
In 1997, after the release of their third album Dude Ranch, Blink-182 went on tour with The Aquabats (whose drummer at the time was Travis Barker). Barker would eventually replace Raynor as Blink-182's drummer, who was dismissed from the band after being given an ultimatum to quit drinking and go to rehab. Later on Blink-182 broke up. Rumor has it that they wanted to spend more time with their families. Delonge decided to make a new band called Angels and Airwaves. As soon as Blink-182's manager told Mark and Travis they started a new band called Plus 44. [1]
Musical appearances
Hoppus provided backing vocals on MxPx's eighth studio album Panic for the song "Wrecking Hotel Rooms", and the MxPx song "Empire" from the soundtrack of The Passion of the Christ. He also provided backing vocals on Simple Plan's song "I'd Do Anything" on the album No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls. He also appeared in the music video for the same song. Mark also managed the band Fenix*TX for a while after hearing their CD, but in 1999 because of the popularity of Blink 182's album Enema Of The State, Hoppus passed managing duties onto Blink-182's manager Rick DeVoe. Mark also produced the second album of Minnesota band Motion City Soundtrack, Commit This to Memory and sung vocals on the song "Hangman". Recently Hoppus also provided vocals for electronic rapper Renee Renee's song "Paper Doll". He also produced a few songs on The Matches new album "Decomposer" along with Nick Hexum from 311. He also recorded bass on New Found Glory's third full length album "Sticks and Stones" on the track "Sonny". He is currently working with Travis Barker, Shane Gallagher, and Craig Fairbaugh on an alternative rock band called +44; their first album was released on November 14, 2006
Musical gear
Mark has been a known user of Ernie Ball Musicman Stingray basses from the "Cheshire Cat" to early "Enema of the State" era. Disliking the sound of those basses, he started to use Fender Precision Basses during the middle of the "Enema of the State" era, having had one early custom bass guitar made for him. The first custom Fender creation consisted of a lake placid blue Precision bass body and neck with a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound bass pickup and one volume knob. Mark's first true signature bass was the metallic red bass guitar featured in the music video "Adam's Song", made by Fender Custom Shop's Alex Perez which consisted of a Fender Jazz bass body with a Precision bass neck, Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound bass pickups and a single volume knob.
Mark has been seen sporting this signture bass in a variety of different colors since then. Recently, Mark's signature under went a slight modification. The bodies are now made of Ash instead of Alder to make the bass lighter. The pickup locations were switched. The pickup that was placed under the E and A strings was also placed under the D and G strings and moved above the original position, placed higher than the pickup under the E and A strings, giving a warmer thicker bass sound. Also, the colour has changed from, most notably, blue, green and pink w/ white pearloid pickguard, to a see through honey colour w/brown pearloid pickguard. Besides his signature basses, Mark was seen using one other bass guitar live on stage: the Fender Bass VI, most notably for the song "I Miss You".[2]
For live sound during the Enema of the State and Take Off Your Pants and Jacket era, Mark's basses plugged into two Ampeg SVT-Pro4 amp heads which ran into two Ampeg 8x10 bass cabs. His more recent setup includes running his basses into three Ampeg SVT-Classic amp heads running into two Ampeg 8x10 cabs.
Personal life
Hoppus married his girlfriend, Skye Everly, on December 2, 2000.[1] Their son, Jack Hoppus, was born on August 5, 2002. He lives in Los Angeles, California with a studio where he records his +44 album. In addition to working on promoting his new album, Hoppus is trying his hand at producing, working with the Los Angeles rock band Something for Rockets on their second, as yet untitled, album. He also produced Motion City Soundtrack's album "Commit This to Memory".
Companies
Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge co-own two companies, Atticus and Macbeth Footwear, however in a recent interview for B182.com Mark has stated he is selling his share in both companies; as well as loserkids.com. He is now co-owner of the clothing company from bandmate Travis Barker, Famous Stars and Straps.
Himynameismark
Himynameismark is a podcast set up in the wake of the hiatus by Mark, and can be found at Himynameismark.com[2]. Every two weeks he plays songs by underground bands, interviews his favorite artists, and reminisces about happenings in his life. In 2005 Mark won the "Best Podcast" award, beating out many of the hottest podcasts.
In the April issue of Alternative Press, Mark stated that he would one day love to post his new band's music on the podcast itself.
On Hi, My Name Is Mark, Podcast #24, +44's manager's phone number slipped out. Several listeners have called and one claims that Mark called back. The podcast has been updated with edited information.
Discography
References
- ^ a b blink-182. AskMen.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
- ^ a b c Dowling, Joshua (2004-08-27). Mark Hoppus unplugged. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
External links
| Blink-182 |
| Travis Barker | Tom DeLonge | Mark Hoppus |
| Scott Raynor |
| Discography |
| Studio albums: Cheshire Cat | Dude Ranch | Enema of the State | Take off Your Pants and Jacket | Blink-182 |
| Demo tapes: Flyswatter | Buddha |
| 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 | Riding In Vans With Boys | Greatest Hits |
| Related articles |
| Box Car Racer | Transplants | +44 | Angels and Airwaves | Expensive Taste |
| Mark Hoppus | Craig Fairbaugh | Shane Gallagher | Travis Barker |
| Carol Heller |
| Discography |
| When Your Heart Stops Beating |
| Singles |
| "Lycanthrope" | "When Your Heart Stops Beating" | "Chapter XIII" | "Baby Come On" |
