Cheshire Cat (Blink-182 album)

Cheshire Cat is the debut studio album by the American punk band Blink-182. Recorded at Westbeach Recorders in Los Angeles and produced by O and the band themselves, the album was released on February 17, 1994 through local independent record label Cargo Music. "M+M's" and "Wasting Time" were released as singles to promote the album, and received popularity locally through radio play.

The trio were signed to Cargo after impressive live performances and demos. The album was produced over a period of three days at Westbeach, as the band lacked money for additional days of recording. The record was originally released with the band's name as Blink, until an Irish techno band of the same name threatened legal action, after which the band appended "-182" to the end of their name.

Released during the breakthrough year for punk rock in California, the album brought the band a small amount of success in thriving San Diego music scene as the band started to gather a following. The record has received positive reviews in the years following its initial release, and it cited by fans and critics as an iconic release.

Background

After being expelled from Poway High School for showing up drunk at a basketball game, Tom DeLonge attended Rancho Bernardo High School where he met Mark Hoppus. DeLonge often expressed the desire to be in a band, so Hoppus and Delonge formed a band. The two played for hours in DeLonge's garage, showing each other songs they had previously written, and writing new songs together – one of which would become the track "Carousel".^[3] The band then found Drummer Scott Raynor. After two demos, the band recorded an "official" demo titled Buddha over three nights, and distributed it to local record shops in San Diego themselves.^[4]

San Diego had a thriving music scene, and at the heart of that was local independent record label Cargo Music.^[5] O, guitarist of local Cargo Music-signed act Fluf, saw potential in the young band and pushed them from the beginning. Eric Goodis, president of Cargo, wanted to diversify the label by incorporating different styles of music.^[5] His son, Brahm Goodis, thought Blink and their style of Southern California punk fit the bill and encouraged his father to listen to a tape. Together, O and Brahm Goodis convinced Eric Goodis to attend a live performance of the band.^[5]

Goodis invited the three musicians into his office and made the band an offer: he wanted to "start small" by releasing a 7-inch with the band.^[6] Blink were more interested in pursuing a full-length release; they had already saved money for a budget and made arrangements with a friend from a local band to record and release one on their own.^[6] Upon knowledge of this information, Goodis withdrew his original offer and signed the band on a trial basis. Hoppus was the only member to sign the contract, as DeLonge was at work at the time and Raynor was still a minor.^[6]

Recording and production

The deal was completed and Blink immediately set off to record their debut at the famous Westbeach Recorders in Los Angeles.^[7] DeLonge and Hoppus were excited, as the "hallowed ground" had hosted influences Bad Religion, NOFX, Face to Face, and Ten Foot Pole. Blink only reserved the studio for three days, once again recording under serious time constraints.^[7]

Unfamiliar with the area, the trio got lost on their first day of recording, arriving at the studio three hours late.^[7] Blink got to work immediately, setting up Raynor's drums and beginning to lay down tracks. "We were working ten- to twelve-hours straight, hardly even breaking for food or anything," recalled Hoppus in 2001.^[8]The band made reservations at local hotel not far from the studio for a room with two double beds. Despite the request, the band were stuck with one king-size bed, with the three musicians sleeping three-across in one bed.^[9] DeLonge recorded through Bad Religion guitarist Mr. Brett's amp, and also accidentally broke his microphones.^[7]

Despite the lost time and the pressure of limited resources, the recording went well.^[8] Although the band desired to re-record some songs, they were unable to afford more studio time.^[10] As the band departed Westbeach, the quality of the recording was "near perfect" to the young band.^[9]

Packaging and title

The album was titled Cheshire Cat after the famous character from the Lewis Carroll novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.^[10] The cover art features a Siamese cat with intensely colored eyes. The photo originated from a calendar a salesman had left at DeLonge's employer's warehouse. The band's request to use the photo was denied by the calendar company, however, the band employed Cargo's art department to computer enhance the photo until the band was safe from copyright infringement.^[10]

Release and promotion

Cheshire Cat was released through Cargo Music on February 17, 1994 on cassette. Initially, Goodis bet DeLonge the album would only sell 3,000 copies; by 2001, over 250,000 copies of the debut were sold.^[6] A CD release of the album occurred in 1995, and a vinyl version was released in small quantities in 1996. Along with the re-release of Buddha in November 1998, Cheshire Cat was re-released and received national distribution for the first time.

"M&M's", described by Anne Hoppus as "a song that hit a special chord with fans," was the first to have radio play. Mike Halloran, disc jockey at XETRA-FM (branded on-air as 91X), made the song a regular part of his radio show playlist, which Hoppus cites as the first person to play the band.^[10] When DeLonge first heard their song on the radio while driving in his truck, he rolled down his window, "yelling at everyone to turn their damn radios on."^[14] The single was a local success and Cargo offered the band a small budget ($10,000) to film a music video. Darren Doane, who had previously worked with MxPx and Pennywise, directed the clip. "We weren't planning on doing anything with that video except hoping it got on a surf video or something," said Hoppus.^[14] A Cargo Music employee presented the video to MTV with the executives "threw the tape out" upon seeing guns in the film.^[15]

Cheshire Cat was a strong seller for an independent band.^[15] The band were acquiring legions of new fans and radio play, and the buzz created by the album inspired manager Rick DeVoe to call Hoppus, wanting to manage the band. DeLonge threw together a "press kit" for DeVoe, which included photocopies of fanzines, reviews, and some cartoons drawn by DeLonge.^[15] The band members were ecstatic when DeVoe signed on with the band, as he promoted larger bands such as Pennywise, NOFX, and The Offspring.^[16] The attention also brought forth calls from Rick Bonde, of the Tahoe Agency, a booking agency based out of Lake Tahoe that worked with big punk and ska names such as Sublime. The husband-and-wife team of Rick and Jean Bonde, who owned and operated the company, began arranging shows for the band and minitours that gave Blink their first promotion outside of San Diego.^[16]

Meanwhile, the record also drew the attention of an Irish techno band, also named Blink. Unwilling to engage in a legal battle, the band agreed to change their name.^[16] Cargo gave the band a week, but the trio put off the decision for more than two afterward. Eventually, Cargo called the band, demanding to "change the name or [we'll] change it for you," after which the band decided on a random number, 182.^[17]

The album has received generally favorable reviews in the years since its initial release. Apart from some minor complaints of the vocals and lyricism of the album,^[11] several reviewers have deemed it a good album.^[11][12] Due to the fast nature of majority of songs on the album, it is often cited as Blink-182’s most "punk" album.^[18]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge and Scott Raynor. Additional lyrics on "Wasting Time" by Jeff Forrest.^[12]. 

• Tracks 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 11 and 13 originally appeared on Buddha.
• During the outro of "Depends," the intro riff from Guns n' Roses's "Sweet Child o' Mine" can be heard, but is quickly cut off. After the music is finished, Mark recites a quote from the film Airplane!.

Personnel

Charts

Album

References

• Hoppus, Anne (October 1, 2001). Blink-182: Tales from Beneath Your Mom. MTV Books / Pocket Books. ISBN  0-7434-2207-4. 

Notes

External links

• "M+M's" Official music video on YouTube