blink-182 -- also Blink-182 -- (formerly known as blink) is a Southern-Californian pop punk band that was formed in 1992 by Tom DeLonge, Mark Hoppus, and Scott Raynor in Poway, California. After the rise of mainstream punk bands such as The Offspring, and Rancid, they are credited for continuing the post-grunge rock revolution.

blink-182 is made up of three members: Thomas (Tom) Matthew DeLonge on guitar, Markus (Mark) Allan Hoppus on bass, and Travis Landon Barker on drums (Travis replaced original drummer Scott Raynor, who left the band shortly after the album Dude Ranch was released). The band is known for playing catchy melodies as well as for their satirical toilet humour. Blink-182 are unusual amongst punk rock bands for playing up-tempo songs in a major key, with prominent major-chord harmonies that are usually digitally mixed to provide a much cleaner sound than most other punk/rock recordings, which generally employ distortion and a ragged analogue mix to achieve the opposite effect. The lyrical content of their songs (prior to their last album) is often humorous and uplifting.

History

In 1992, when Hoppus moved to San Diego, California and was thinking of starting a band, he was introduced to Delonge by Mark's sister, Anne Hoppus. They decided that they needed to look for a drummer, and DeLonge discovered Scott Raynor, a drummer from his school. After considering a number of names (such as Duct Tape) the band agreed to call themselves just blink. This would later have the numbers "182" added onto the end to avoid legal conflicts with an existing Irish band called blink (see below).

Albums:

Flyswatter / Buddha / Cheshire Cat

Towards May, 1993 blink released an EP known as Flyswatter, recorded using a boom box in Raynor's bedroom, which explains the poor sound quality. In an interview, Hoppus said that around eighty copies had originally been produced. Before the end of the year, the band released another demo cassette known as Buddha. Around 1,000 copies of this were produced by Kung Fu Records. In early 1994, blink released their first full-length album, Cheshire Cat, released on Grilled Cheese Records. The album contained many new versions of songs that had appeared on the Buddha demo.

Shortly after the release of Cheshire Cat, blink were threatened with legal action by a techno band in Ireland of the same name. In order to avoid a lengthy lawsuit, blink added the numbers 182 to the end of their name, all the band members but one have made it clear that the numbers were picked at random. In one interview, Travis stated that the "182" was the U.S. radio codeword meaning 'homicide' (apparently confusing "182", the radio codeword for conspiracy, for "187"). During the pop punk boom of the 1990s, blink-182 were signed by MCA which later became Geffen records.

Dude Ranch

After moving to Encinitas, California, the band recorded the album Dude Ranch with producer Mark Trombino. The album was a hit, and two singles from it ("Josie" and "Dammit") rose to the top of the U.S. airplay charts. In 1998, the band met a slight setback. Raynor, who had a serious drinking problem at the time, was reportedly asked to leave the band and go into rehab, although there are also reports that he decided to leave to go to college. Raynor claims he agreed to go into drug rehab, but the rest of the band kicked him out over the phone because they didn't believe that he would do it. Whatever the explanation, he left midway through a U.S. tour. He was replaced by Travis Barker, who had been playing with support band The Aquabats. It is widely believed that the single "Man Overboard" on the band's live album speaks directly to Raynor's rift with Mark and Tom.

Enema of the State

In 1999 the album Enema of the State was released. The CD was successful, propelling the band to pop punk fame, and gaining a large 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?", "Adam's Song", and "All the Small Things"; and particularly to the infamous music video for "What's My Age Again" which featured the band streaking. They sold seven and a half million copies of the album worldwide, which made it their best-selling album up to that point. The sound on Enema of the State was rooted in the same genre as earlier punk-rock bands such as NOFX, Green Day, and The Offspring, but it was more accessible to the mainstream, with a punky-feel. Many original fans felt that the band had strayed from their punk rock roots.

The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show: The Enema Strikes Back

blink-182's only live album, The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show was released in 2000, it is no longer produced, and is sought after by collectors. The songs are from three of the group's first three albums: Cheshire Cat, Dude Ranch and Enema of the State. The album also includes some newer joke songs.

The album also contains twenty-nine bonus tracks, which are all joke tracks of Mark, Tom, and "Satan" talking. A combined track of all 29 joke tracks called "Words of Wisdom" is available.

Take off Your Pants and Jacket

2001 saw blink-182 continue their commercial success, recording Take off Your Pants and Jacket (the strange title was a punning reference to masturbation), which followed the same basic formula of "Enema of the State". In 2001, blink-182 appeared on the cover of CosmoGirl, and won a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award.

In 2002, bands such as Good Charlotte, New Found Glory, and Simple Plan began following the same route as blink-182, marking the expansion of the pop-punk genre. Mark Hoppus participated in the making of Simple Plan's debut album, No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls.

After touring for the promotion of this record, the band decided to take a break. During this time the members of the band took different paths, Mark passed more time with his newborn son Jack, while Tom and Travis were involved in a side-project called Box Car Racer, in addition to this, Travis worked on The Transplants. Both bands explored other musical styles.

According to latest interviews with Tom, Box Car Racer project caused much friction between him and Hoppus, which was one of the main reasons the band abruptly broke.

blink-182 (self titled album)

After taking some time off in 2002, following the record tour, the band released their fifth self titled record on November 18, 2003. Described as a self-meditation on romantic decay, the album featured the hit singles "Feeling This" (previously named "Action"), "I Miss You", "Down", and the 1980s-influenced "Always". Travis Barker has confirmed that the band left the album untitled (rather than self-titled) to represent a new blink-182. It showcased a style of music deeper than anything blink-182 had done previously, but still got a good deal of play on pop stations and MTV. Critics have deemed their sound similar to that of The Police and U2, although members of the band claim they took most of their influence from The Cure, whose front man Robert Smith had appeared on "All of This". Listeners called the riffs heavier and the lyrics more profound. The lyrical content of their songs is often humorous and uplifting. A tour with No Doubt in the summer of 2004 was very successful. In many ways it also helped blink-182 break away from the common pop punk genre, dismissing predictable similarities that could be seen from band to band. blink-182 were now on a pedestal next to Green Day overlooking the genre they helped to create despite the album's lack of commercial success. This would be the first sign of the decline in the regular pop punk scene which was later followed by Green Day's huge commercial success American Idiot, an album very dark and experimental like the one from blink-182, but with a more political theme that was able to launch them to new heights.

Greatest Hits

Blink-182 released their "Greatest Hits" on November 1, 2005. Tracks from their previous records, from "Cheshire Cat" to their last untitled album, are on it. Also included were two previously unreleased tracks - "Not Now" which was recorded during the "Untitled" sessions and previously exclusive to the iTunes Music Store, the U.K. edition of the album and the Australian version of the "I Miss You" single, and the other, "Another Girl, Another Planet", a cover of the band The Only Ones used as the theme from Meet the Barkers.

Indefinite hiatus

2005 was set to be a busy year for blink-182. In the middle of a European tour, Geffen records had them scheduled to release another album, as well as a fifth and final single from the untitled album. However, on February 21 2005, the band announced that they would not be able to play at the "Music for Relief" Tsunami benefit show in Anaheim, California because of "unexpected circumstances". The following day it was stated on the band's official website that they would take an indefinite break in order to spend more time with their close friends and loved ones. The statement has since been removed.

Band member Travis Barker confirmed during a February 2005 interview on KROQ that they are taking a rest from their normal activities, and that they are focusing on some alternative projects: Delonge will continue directing music videos (as he directed the Taking Back Sunday music video "I Know You Know"), Hoppus will be producing records (he recently produced the Motion City Soundtrack album "Commit This to Memory"). Hoppus now hosts his own Podcast Show every two weeks especially for your iPod. Barker will be busy with the Transplants and that summer's Warped Tour. In addition to this, the beginning of 2005 marked the premiere of Barker's own reality television show, called "Meet the Barkers". In a similar fashion to previous MTV reality television shows (such as "The Osbournes") "Meet the Barkers" features all the members of the Barker family in their day-to-day activities.

Barker has been interviewed many times since the start of the break in performing and recording. He has given many answers which have confused the fans. In a recent interview with Drum! Magazine Travis Barker stated that the band "probably, most likely" will make a new record in January 2006. However, he has also claimed a number of times that blink are completely over. In August 2005 he told Kerrang magazine: "Being in the Transplants is a step forward for me. I'm in a band with two dudes who love playing music, and that's much more than I could say for blink-182 towards the end."

Information concerning who was the cause of the split has recently surfaced, with Barker claiming that Delonge is the reason: "It's just Tom who decided that he didn't want to play that kind of music and that he wanted to come back home, with his family." The final word Barker had to say about the situation is: "I'm only 1/3 of the band, I'm not blink-182 alone. I mean I don't want to talk about it. All I can say is that you can ask your questions to two other persons." Also according to Barker there would be a best-of album issued in December 2005 (although it was later advanced to November of the same year), which in his opinion means the virtual end of the band. However, there is no word from other band members, or an official statement as to whether the band has permanently ceased to exist.

In an interview on MTV News, Hoppus announced that he and Barker were working on a side-project called Plus 44, that Carol Heller (of So-Cal punk band Get the Girl) would be in the band, and also that a CD release is expected in Autumn 2005. Later Barker said that the date has been pushed back to Summer 2006.

In an interview with Kerrang magazine, Delonge disclosed that the formation of Box Car Racer had caused a massive internal rift within the band, with Hoppus feeling betrayed by Delonge's and Barker's actions. Delonge also revealed that the record label had offered him a solo contract, which he had declined. He added that since the announcement of the hiatus DeLonge has not spoken to either Hoppus or Barker, though he said that business commitments with Hoppus made it inevitable that they would reconcile their differences in the future. "Part of the charm about this whole situation is that we still have these companies together, which means that one day we have to come together and rebuild our friendship."

Furthermore, on the U.K.'s BBC Radio 1, rumours about a solo album from Delonge were partially confirmed during a live interview with The Foo Fighters on 23 August. They claimed that Delonge is currently at the Foo Fighters' studio and is "recording the drums for his new record". Recently, information has surfaced regarding Delonge's solo album. According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, he registered the name "Angels and Airwaves" on June 24 2005.

On September 15 an official statement appeared on the blink-182 site: "For the past 6 months, Tom DeLonge has been in the studio preparing the greatest rock-n-roll revolution for this generation. Stay tuned to Macbeth Shoes for the latest news regarding Tom DeLonge's new band, Angels and Airwaves".

Much of the information disclosed about reasons for the break presents a greater sense of ambiguity.

According to DeLonge the last words Mark and Travis said to him were: "If your family is going to be your priority, then you better be cool with the repercussions"

Personnel

• Tom DeLonge – guitars, vocals (1992–present)
• Mark Hoppus – bass, vocals (1992–present)
• Travis Barker – drums (1998–present)
• Scott Raynor – drums (1992-1998)

Discography

Studio Albums

Enema of the State (1999)

Take off Your Pants and Jacket (2001)

Blink-182 (2003)

Compilation Albums

Live Albums

Demos

DVDs

• Probed Unauthorized (2000)
• Man Overboard/Adam's Song (2001)

Singles

Trivia

• Travis Barker currently co-stars in a new television show, Meet the Barkers, with his wife, Shanna Moakler.
• Tom DeLonge appeared in the film Idle Hands as a fast-food worker; he only had one line.
• Tom DeLonge, Mark Hoppus, and Travis Barker made up the "garage band" in the "Nadia strips on the net" scene from the movie "American Pie". (Travis was not credited, although he does appear on screen. He was incorrectly credited as Scott Raynor.)
• The names of their albums seem to go in alphabetical order. It was not intentional but when the band members heard the rumors that they were doing the albums in order they put a "g" on their Take off your Pants and Jacket CD
• Blink-182's greatest hits cover similar looking to the Offspring's is apparently a homage to "real punk rock" according to Travis

Side projects by band members

• Box Car Racer (now defunct)(Tom and Travis)
• The Transplants(Travis)
• Plus 44(Mark and Travis)
• Angels and Airwaves(Tom)

Companies owned by band members

• Atticus Clothing (Co-owned by Mark and Tom)
• Loserkids (Apparel Store)
• Macbeth Shoe Co. (Co-owned by Mark and Tom)
• Famous Stars and Straps Apparel Store (Owned by Travis)
• La Salle Records (Owned by Travis)
• Wahoo's Fish Tacos (one store in Northern California owned by Travis)
• Resting Bird Entertainment (Co-owned by Mark and Tom)