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BLINK-182

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Biography: 

The new-school punk trio blink-182 was formed in the suburbs of San Diego, California around guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, and drummer Scott Raynor. Originally known as simply Blink, the band debuted in 1993 with a self-released EP, Fly Swatter. After releasing the album Buddha in 1994, the trio signed to Grilled Cheese/Cargo and released Cheshire Cat the following year. The threat of a lawsuit from a similarly named Irish band forced them to change their name to blink-182, but the group earned a higher profile touring the world with Pennywise and NOFX on the 1996-1997 Warped Tour, plus appearing on innumerable skate/surf/snowboarding videos. 

The third blink-182 LP, Dude Ranch, was jointly released in 1997 by Cargo and MCA. Dude Ranch expanded the group's audience and went platinum by the end of 1998, due in part to the popularity of their infectious teen anthem, "Dammit (Growing Up)." The group also signed officially with MCA, which released the band's fourth album, Enema of the State, in the summer of 1999. The album, produced by Jerry Finn (Green Day, Rancid), also welcomed a new member into the trio's ranks; Travis Barker, formerly with the Aquabats, settled in on drums after Raynor left midway through a 1998 U.S. tour. Enema was greeted with almost immediate success, and helped the band achieve the mainstream status of toilet-humored pop-punk kings that Dude Ranch had only hinted at. Driven by the commercially successful singles "What's My Age Again?," "All The Small Things," and "Adam's Song," music videos for the three songs (whose clips included themes of streaking and boy band spoofs) were MTV smashes as well. 

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After selling over four million copies of Enema of the State, the trio played on with the limited-edition release The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back) in fall 2000. The album featured the band's radio hits in a live setting, intertwined with their quirky sense of humor as well as the new song "Man Overboard." Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, issued in spring 2001, saw the band return to their SoCal punk rock roots. Maturity, of a sort, came with 2003's self-titled album, released on Geffen. Not only did the album sport a song ("All of This") that featured Robert Smith of The Cure, but "I Miss You" also topped the modern rock charts in 2005.

In February 2005, however, popular as ever and seemingly indestructible, blink-182 unexpectedly announced they would be going on an "indefinite hiatus," supposedly to spend more time with their growing families. Asking fans for help in selecting tracks, the group issued Greatest Hits that November. Bandmembers also continued on with other projects: Barker -- who had previously released an album with DeLonge as Boxcar Racer -- continued playing with the Transplants and running his clothing company, Famous Stars and Straps. His family was also spotlighted in the MTV reality show Meet the Barkers. Hoppus carried on with his Atticus fashion venture, began producing -- starting with Motion City Soundtrack's Commit This to Memory -- and hosting his own podcasts. He further began work with Barker in a new band, Plus 44. DeLonge also continued work with his lifestyle clothing company, Macbeth, and formally announced his new project, Angels and Airwaves, that fall.

After a terrible plane crash in August 2008 where producer Jerry Finn died and where Travis barely survived with thrid degree burns on his lower body and torso, the outfit got in contact with each other. The following year at the Grammy ceremony, Barker announced the bands reformation. They toured across America that year with Weezer and Fall Out Boy Supporting them.

For The Record:

 

Members included Travis Barker (born Travis Landon Barker on November 14, 1975; joined band c. 1997; former drummer and percussionist for The Aquabats), drums; Tom Delonge (born Thomas Delonge on December 13, 1975,), vocals, guitar; Mark Hoppus (born Markus Allen Hoppus on March 15, 1972, in Ridgecrest, CA), vocals, bass; Scott Raynor (left band c. 1997), drums.
 
Formed group 1993; released debut album Cheshire Cat, Grilled Cheese/Cargo, 1995; joined the Vans Warped Tour for the first time, 1995; released platinum-selling album Dude Ranch,Cargo/MCA, 1997; released Enema of the State, MCA, 1999; Enema of the State entered theBillboard album chart at number nine, 1999.
 
Addresses: Home—Blink 182, P.O. Box 500901, San Diego, CA 92150-0901. Record company—MCA, 70 Universal City Plz., Universal City, CA 91609; (818) 777-4000; fax (818) 777-1407. Website—Blink 182 Official Web Site.
 
Despite the record's popular success, their offers for media tie-ins, and the band's attempts to add more thoughtful lyrics to some of their songs, Blink 182 would not escape without facing some criticism, most of which centered upon the group's stage show antics. As Rotter explained, "Blink's leering, puerile patter would've been pretty common fare at a Motley Crüe show... but punks aren't to say 'Show us your tits!' and get such a warm response." Even though Delonge insisted that his group was simply "keeping it real" and acting "just like those kids out there," the more righteous punk bands and outspoken female punkers refused to see Delonge's logic. Both believe the sexism displayed by Blink 182 and other such groups, especially those who played on the Warped Tour of 1999, give punk music a bad name. Jessica Hopper, a publicity representative for several punk acts and editor of Hit It or Quit It, expressed her concern for the damage done to the punk scene in general. "Every time Blink is called a punk band, or even a pop-punk band," she said to Rotter, "we all get associated with that—we all get painted with that big, gross brush."
 
Moreover, Tristin Laughter of Lookout! Records, former home of Green Day, wrote in a 1999 Punk Planet (an influential music magazine) article, as quoted by Rotter "The treatment of women that [a female fan] is seeing reinforces her own sense that she exists to amuse and be exploited... boys who go see the punk bands on the Warped Tour may be inspired to start their own punk bands. Girls may be inspired to think they could actually be pretty enough to be cheered on when they remove their shirts." Likewise, Billy Spunke of the punk band the Blue Meanies told Rotter, "I think they [Blink 182] are just trying to get in the mindset of a teenager, which means a lot of curiosity about sex. But there are issues of responsibility that go with that."
Nonetheless, Blink 182 seemed unscathed by their critics as the band continued to gain even more fans. Besides music, the trio enjoys skateboarding and snowboarding when they find time, as well as creating and launching a new website. The site, which sells skate products over the internet, eventually grew into an enterprise involving 40 different merchandising companies.

Discography:
 
Cheshire Cat, Grilled Cheese/Cargo, 1995.
Dude Ranch, Cargo/MCA, 1997.
Enema of the State, MCA, 1999.

 

Source: artistdirect.com, eNotes

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This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com

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