Blink 182

Formation and early years (1992–94)

Blink-182 was formed in Poway, California, a suburb outside of San Diego, in August 1992. Tom DeLonge was expelled from Poway High for attending a basketball game drunk and was forced to attend another local school for one semester. At Rancho Bernardo High School, DeLonge performed at a Battle of the Bands competition, where he was introduced to drummer Scott Raynor. He also befriended Kerry Key, who too was interested in punk music. Key's girlfriend, Anne Hoppus, introduced her brother Mark Hoppus—who had recently moved from Ridgecrest to work at a record store and attend college—to DeLonge on August 1, 1992. The two clicked instantly and played for hours in DeLonge's garage, exchanging lyrics and co-writing songs—one of which became "Carousel". One of the pair's early meetings was at a local skate park where Hoppus, in trying to impress his new bandmate, managed to fall from a lamppost and crack his ankles, an injury that put him in crutches for three weeks.

The trio began to practice together in Raynor's bedroom, spending hours together writing music, attending punk shows and movies, and playing practical jokes. Hoppus and DeLonge would alternate singing vocal parts. The trio first operated under a variety of names, including Duck Tape and Figure 8, until DeLonge rechristened the band "Blink". Hoppus' girlfriend was angered by her boyfriend's constant attention to the band, and demanded he make a choice between the band and her, which resulted in Hoppus leaving the band shortly after formation. Shortly thereafter, DeLonge and Raynor borrowed a four-track recorder from friend and collaborator Cam Jones and were preparing to record a demo tape, with Jones on bass. Hoppus promptly broke up with his girlfriend and returned to the band. Flyswatter—a combination of original songs and punk covers—was recorded in Raynor's bedroom in May 1993. Southern California had a large punk population in the early 1990s, aided by an avid surfing, skating, and snowboarding scene. In contrast to East Coast punk music, the West Coast wave of groups, Blink included, typically introduced more melodic aspects to the group's music.

"New York is gloomy, dark and cold. It makes different music. The Californian middle-class suburbs have nothing to be that bummed about," said DeLonge. San Diego at this time was "hardly a hotbed of [musical] activity", but the band's popularity grew as did California punk rock concurrently in the mainstream. DeLonge called clubs constantly in San Diego asking for a spot to play, as well as calling up local high schools, convincing them that Blink was a "motivational band with a strong antidrug message" in hopes to play at an assembly or lunch.

The band was on stage nearly every weekend, even at Elks Lodges and YMCA centers. The band soon became part of a circuit that also included the likes of Ten Foot Pole and Unwritten Law, and the band found its way onto the bill as the opening band for local acts at Soma, a local all-ages venue located on Market Street which the band longed to headline. Big-name acts such as NOFX and Green Day played on the main floor, while smaller acts were relegated to the basement, an area referred to as "the Dungeon". The original location closed its doors and relocated before the band would be promoted to the main stage (which required a 100+ crowd to attend). "Soma was like home away from home. All the punk kids who didn’t give a fuck about football games and proms or whatever came to hang out at Soma," claimed Hoppus. The band's first big show on the main floor took place on a Thursday, where the band opened for Face to Face. Hoppus' manager at the record store, Patrick Secor, fronted him the money to properly record another demo at local studio Doubletime. The result was Buddha (1994), which the members of the band viewed as the band's first legitimate release. By this time, the group had branched out to venues such as the Soul Kitchen in El Cajon, but Raynor's family relocated to Reno, Nevada, and he was briefly replaced by musician Mike Krull. The band saved money and began flying Raynor out to shows, but eventually Raynor moved in with Hoppus for a summer in which the band would record its first album and music video and gain even more exposure.

Early releases and touring (1994–98)

The heart of the local independent music scene was Cargo Records, which offered to sign the band on a "trial basis," with help from O, guitarist for local punk band Fluf, and Brahm Goodis, friend of the band whose father was president of the label. Hoppus was the only member to sign the contract, as DeLonge was at work at the time and Raynor was still a minor. The band recorded its debut album in three days at Westbeach Recorders in Los Angeles, fueled by both new songs and re-recordings of songs from previous demos. Although Cheshire Cat, released in February 1995, made very little impact commercially, it is cited by fans and musicians as an iconic release. "M+M's", the band's first single, garnered local radio airplay from 91X and Cargo offered the band a small budget to film a music video for it. Meanwhile, the record also drew the attention of Irish band Blink. Unwilling to engage in a legal battle, the band agreed to change its name. Cargo gave the band a week, but the trio put off the decision for more than two afterward. Eventually, Cargo called Blink-182, demanding that the band "change the name or [we'll] change it for you," after which the band decided on a random number, 182.

The band soon had a manager, Rick DeVoe, who associated with larger bands such as NOFX, Pennywise and The Offspring. In addition, the band crucially drew the attention of Rick and Jean Bonde of the Tahoe booking agency, who were responsible for "spreading the name of the band far and wide and getting the group as many gigs as humanly possible." Surf film director Taylor Steele, friend of DeVoe, was preparing a national tour to promote his new surf video GoodTimes, and the band signed on for its first national tour, which extended as far as the East Coast. The band members purchased their own tour van and embarked on the GoodTimes tour with Unwritten Law, Sprung Monkey and 7 Seconds. The GoodTimes tour continued and the band was whisked away to Australia, with Pennywise paying for the band's plane tickets. Fletcher Dragge, guitarist of Pennywise, believed in the band strongly. He demanded Kevin Lyman, founder of the Warped Tour, sign the band for the 1996 festival, telling him that "they're gonna be gigantic." Australia was very receptive to the band and its humorous stage shows and pranks gained them a reputation, but also made them ostracized and considered a joke.

By March 1996, the trio began to accumulate a genuine buzz among major labels, resulting in a bidding war between Interscope, MCA and Epitaph. MCA promised the group complete artistic freedom and eventually signed the band, but Raynor held a great affinity for Epitaph and began to feel half-invested in the band when it passed over the label. The group, who were wary of purists attempting to define "punk" and discouraged by Cargo's lack of distribution and faith in the group, had no qualms about signing to a major label but were fiercely criticized in the punk community. After nonstop touring, the trio began recording their sophomore follow-up, Dude Ranch, over the period of a month in late 1996. The record hit stores the following summer and the band headed out on the 1997 Warped Tour. "Dammit", the album's lead single, received heavy airplay on modern rock stations. Dude Ranch shipped gold by 1998, but an exhaustive touring schedule brought tensions among the trio. Raynor had been drinking heavily to offset personal issues, and he was fired by DeLonge and Hoppus in mid-1998 despite agreeing to attend rehab and quit drinking.

"I think Mark and Tom are better suited for what they are doing. It didn't fit me. I was always fighting for a different direction and that conflict eventually led to a split."

Travis Barker, drummer for tour-mate The Aquabats, filled in for Raynor, learning the 20-song setlist in 45 minutes before the first show. By July, he joined the band full-time and the band entered the studio with producer Jerry Finn later that year to begin work on its third album.

Mainstream breakthrough and continued success (1999–2004)

With the release of the group's third album Enema of the State in June 1999, Blink-182 was catapulted to stardom and became the biggest pop punk act of the era. Three singles were released from the record—"What's My Age Again?", "All the Small Things", and "Adam's Song"—that became major radio hits and MTV staples. "All the Small Things" became a number-one hit on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, but also became a crossover hit and peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Its video parodied boy bands and pop music videos and won Best Group Video at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Although the band was criticized as synthesized, manufactured pop only remotely resembling punk and pigeonholed as a joke act due to the puerile slant of its singles and associating music videos, Enema of the State was an enormous commercial success. The album has sold over 15 million copies worldwide and had a considerable effect on pop punk music, inspiring a "second wave" of the genre and numerous acolytes.

After multi-platinum success, arena tours, and cameo appearances (American Pie), the band recorded Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (2001), which debuted at number one in the United States, Canada, and Germany. Hit singles "The Rock Show","Stay Together for the Kids" and "First Date" continued the band's mainstream success worldwide, with MTV cementing its image as video stars. Finn returned to produce the record and was a key architect of the "polished" pop punk sound, and he served as an invaluable member of the band: part adviser, part impartial observer, he helped smooth out tensions and hone their sound. Recording sessions were sometimes contentious, as DeLonge strove for heavier and dirtier guitar-driven rock. With time off from touring, he felt an "itch to do something where he didn't feel locked in to what Blink was," and channeled his chronic back pain and resulting frustration into Box Car Racer (2002), a post-hardcore disc that further explores his Fugazi and Refused inspiration. Refraining from paying for a studio drummer, he invited Barker to record drums on the project and Hoppus felt betrayed. The event caused great division within the trio for some time and was an unresolved tension at the forefront of the band's later hiatus. Barker also explored hip-hop influences and teamed up with Rancid's Tim Armstrong to form the rap rock band Transplants.

The band regrouped in 2003 to record its fifth studio album, infusing experimentalist elements into its usual pop punk sound, inspired by lifestyle changes (the band members all became fathers before the album was released) and side projects. Blink's eponymous fifth studio album was released in the fall of 2003 through Geffen Records, which absorbed sister label MCA earlier that year. The worldwide touring schedule, which saw the band travel to Japan and Australia, also found the three performing for troops stationed in the Persian Gulf. "We got luxury there," said DeLonge of the band's shows in Bahrain and Kuwait. "We ate macaroni and mayonnaise. The troops said, 'We never get food like this.' It's so serious and so gnarly, the conditions are an afterthought after security. The guy who picked us up said, 'There's death everywhere… You guys remind us of reality. Out here it's just dirt, heat and dead bodies.' It was like we had been to hell."

Critics generally complimented the new, more "mature" direction taken for the album and its lead singles "Feeling This" and "I Miss You" charted high, with the latter becoming the group's second number one hit on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. Fans, however, were split by the new direction, and tensions within the band—stemming from the grueling schedule and DeLonge's desire to spend more time with his family—started to become evident.

Hiatus, side projects, and Barker's plane crash (2005–08)

In February 2005, Geffen issued a press statement announcing the band's "indefinite hiatus." The band had broken up after members' arguments regarding their future and recording process. DeLonge felt increasingly conflicted both about his creative freedom within the group and the toll touring was taking on his family life. He eventually expressed his desire to take a half-year respite from touring in order to spend more time with family. Hoppus and Barker were dismayed by his decision, which they felt was an overly long break. The band abruptly canceled a performance at a Music for Relief benefit show after rehearsals grew more contentious. Further arguments had ensued during rehearsals, rooted in the band members' increasing paranoia and bitterness toward one another. DeLonge considered his bandmates' priorities "mad, mad different," coming to the conclusion that the trio had simply grown apart as they aged, had families, and reached fame. The breakdown in communication led to heated exchanges, resulting in his exit from the group.

In the interim, Hoppus and Barker continued playing music together in +44. The group first began to lay down electronic demos in Barker's basement and Hoppus' dining room shortly after the breakup. +44's debut, When Your Heart Stops Beating, was released the following year but stalled commercially and received mixed reviews. Barker starred in the MTV reality series Meet the Barkers with his then-wife, former Miss USA Shanna Moakler. The group's later split, reconciliation and subsequent breakup made them tabloid favorites. Meanwhile, DeLonge disappeared from public eye, making no appearances, granting no interviews and remaining silent until September 2005, when he announced his new project, Angels & Airwaves, promising "the greatest rock and roll revolution for this generation." He later revealed he was addicted to painkillers at the time, recalling "I was losing my mind, I was on thousands of painkillers, and I almost killed myself," and did not realize that his promise of revolution sounded highly ambitious. The group released two albums in 2006 and 2007: We Don't Need to Whisper and I-Empire. During the hiatus, Hoppus shifted his attention to producing albums (most notably Commit This to Memory by former tour-mate Motion City Soundtrack) and hosting his podcast, HiMyNameisMark, while Barker launched a shoe line and worked on three other musical projects—the Transplants, +44, and TRV$DJAM, a collaboration with friend Adam Goldstein (DJ AM).

The band members did not speak from their breakup until 2008. That August, Jerry Finn suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and was taken off life support. On September 19, Barker and Goldstein were involved in a plane crash that killed four people, leaving the two the only survivors. Barker sustained second and third degree burns and developed posttraumatic stress disorder, and the accident resulted in sixteen surgeries and 4-8 hour blood transfusions. Hoppus was alerted about Barker's accident by a phone call in the middle of the night and jumped on the next flight to the burn center. DeLonge found out via the TV news at an airport while waiting to board a flight; within minutes, he was crying in his seat. "I thought he was going to die," says DeLonge, who quickly reached out to his former bandmate, mailing him a letter and photograph. "Instantly after the plane crash, I was like, 'Hey, I want to play music with him again.'" The trio eventually met up in the hospital, laying the grounds for what was going to be the band's reunion. Eventually, an arrangement was made for the trio to meet up at Hoppus and Barker's Los Angeles studio in October 2008. The three opened up, discussing the events of the hiatus and their break-up, and DeLonge was the first to approach the subject of reuniting. "Tom had just kind of come out to Los Angeles for the day," recalled Hoppus, "I remember he said, 'So, what do you guys think? Where are your heads at?' And I said, 'I think we should continue with what we've been doing for the past 17 years. I think we should get back on the road and back in the studio and do what we love doing.'"

Reformation, Neighborhoods, and Dogs Eating Dogs (2009–14)

Eventually, the band appeared for the first time on stage together in nearly five years as presenters at the February 2009 Grammy Awards. The band's official website was updated with a statement: "To put it simply, We're back. We mean, really back. Picking up where we left off and then some. In the studio writing and recording a new album. Preparing to tour the world yet again. Friendships reformed. 17 years deep in our legacy." Blink-182 embarked on a reunion tour of North America from July to October 2009, supported by Weezer and Fall Out Boy. A European festival tour followed from August to September 2010, and another spring European tour was scheduled for 2011, but was cancelled in order to complete the band's promised comeback album.

The recording process for Neighborhoods, the band's sixth studio album, was stalled by its studio autonomy, tours, managers, and personal projects. The band members produced the record themselves following the death of Jerry Finn. DeLonge recorded at his studio in San Diego while Hoppus and Barker recorded in Los Angeles—an extension of their fractured relationships and inability to communicate. Completion was delayed several times, which Hoppus attributed to the band learning to work by themselves without Finn, and both DeLonge and Hoppus expressed frustration during the sessions at the band's cabal of publicists, managers and attorneys (which DeLonge described as "the absolute diarrhea of bureaucracy"). A result of the band's split was each member hiring his own attorney, and during the sessions the band had four managers. In addition, Barker was releasing a solo record, DeLonge was involved in Angels & Airwaves, and Hoppus had to fly to New York City once a week to film his television show Hoppus on Music. DeLonge was also diagnosed with skin cancer in 2010, which was cleared. The album was released in September 2011 and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. Its singles—"Up All Night" and "After Midnight"—only attracted modest chart success, and label Interscope was reportedly disappointed with album sales.

"Despite growing evidence of remaining friction between the members," Blink-182 headlined the 10th Annual Honda Civic Tour with My Chemical Romance, which ran from August to October 2011. European tour dates rescheduled in order to complete Neighborhoods commenced in 2012, and the band left Interscope Records that October, becoming an independent act. The band subsequently released Dogs Eating Dogs, an EP, in December 2012. The band toured Australia in spring 2013; Brooks Wackerman replaced Barker on drums as Barker was unwilling to fly after his near death experience in his plane crash. The band followed these dates with a small North American tour in September 2013, which was followed by a series of shows celebrating the tenth anniversary of the band's self-titled album that November. The band played a European tour in August 2014, culminating in them headlining the Reading and Leeds Festivals; it was the band's fourth appearance at the festival and second headlining slot. In his autobiography, Can I Say, Barker claims DeLonge's behavior on tour was "introverted" until "money started coming in," after which "he'd get excited about Blink again." According to Barker, DeLonge abruptly quit sometime in mid-2014, only to renege on that the following day, suggesting motivational speaker Tony Robbins hold group therapy with the three.

Lineup change, California and future (2015–present)

The group planned to enter the studio to write and record its seventh studio album in January 2015, due for release later that year. The album saw delays (initially slated for 2013), attributed to DeLonge's schedule with Angels & Airwaves and other personal projects. According to Hoppus and Barker, a record deal was finalized and sessions were booked before DeLonge's manager informed the band he intended to spend more time on "non-musical activities" and indefinitely depart the group. In a Rolling Stone interview, Hoppus noted, "This is exactly the same sequence of events that happened when Blink broke up 10 years ago." In the piece, he stated that DeLonge's attitude toward new music was passive, while Barker asserted, "Why Blink even got back together in the first place is questionable."

As a result, Blink-182 performed two club shows and a slot at the Musink festival in March 2015 with Alkaline Trio vocalist/guitarist Matt Skiba "filling in" for DeLonge. DeLonge argued he did not exit the band by choice, claimed that "self-sabotage" had overtaken the band following Dogs Eating Dogs, and remarking that recent events "makes me really sad. [...] Our relationship got poisoned yesterday. Never planned on quitting, just find it hard as hell to commit." In response, Hoppus spoke on the band's future: "I just wish Tom does whatever makes him happy and stops holding Blink-182 back from what we all agree that we're going to do: play shows, record music, continue this legacy and have a good time doing it." After legal battles with DeLonge were worked out, Skiba rejoined Blink-182 as an official member, and the trio began preparations for new music.

The resulting album, California, was produced by John Feldmann. He was the group's first new producer since longtime collaborator Jerry Finn. Prior to his involvement, the trio began writing together at Barker's studio and completed dozens of song demos. They decided to shelve them upon working with Feldmann to start fresh, and they proceeded to record another 28 songs. California was recorded between January and March 2016. The band, as well as Feldmann, would regularly spend "18 hours" in the studio a day, aiming to start and complete multiple songs in that timeframe. "We all wanted to write the best record that we could [...] It does feel like a new beginning. It feels like when we used to tour and sleep in the van because that's all we wanted to do is play rock music," said Hoppus.

Upon its July 2016 release, California became the band's second number-one album on the Billboard 200, and first in 15 years; it also reached the top for the first time in the United Kingdom. Its lead single, "Bored to Death", became the group's first number one single in 12 years. The band supported the album with a large headlining tour across North America alongside A Day to Remember, the All-American Rejects, and All Time Low; the trek officially began July 21 in San Diego and concluded on October 8 in Irvine, California.

On August 5, 2016, Barker revealed that the band hopes to release an EP sometime around the Christmas season containing songs previously left off of California. However, on November 10, he stated that they chose to release said songs on a deluxe version of California, which they are currently working on. On February 28, 2017, Hoppus said on Twitter that the deluxe version would be released on May 19, 2017.

Musical style, lyrical themes and influences

Blink-182's music is often described as pop punk, a fusion music genre that combines some light characteristics of punk rock with pop music, "combining frustration and fast, sunny hooks". The New York Times writes that the band "[took] punk's already playful core and [gave] it a shiny, accessible polish." The band is also considered alternative rock. Blink-182's early albums such as Cheshire Cat and Dude Ranch are considered skate punk and punk rock. Blink-182 emerged from a "nurturing, often slapstick" Southern California punk scene, playing with groups like Guttermouth, NOFX and The Vandals, but the band's sound was criticized when it achieved mainstream popularity by several punk acts who wished to not be associated with the band's music. The band's sound evolved with its 2003 untitled effort, which incorporated post-hardcore influences into deeper, darker pop territory. Neighborhoods, released in 2011, combines arena rock, hip hop and indie rock inspiration. The Sydney Morning Herald characterised the band's sound as a "mildly tough approach to pop melodies with a decided adolescent spin".

Common lyrical themes include love, family, friends, and relationships. In greater detail, this includes "adolescent aimlessness, broken hearts and general confusion over the care and feeding of girls." Lyrics in singles such as "What's My Age Again?" reflect age and maturity, while more serious compositions such as "Stay Together for the Kids" touch on the subject of divorce. DeLonge said in a 1999 interview that the goal is to remain sincere and relatable, noting that the band takes its lyrics very seriously. Despite this, the band gained a reputation for occasional lyrical toilet humor (Take Off Your Pants and Jacket). As the band members grew older, lyrical themes began to reflect the realities of adulthood, including relationship woes, daily pressures and unexpected hardships, most prominently explored on Blink-182 (2003). On Neighborhoods, darker lyricism continues: themes concerning depression, addiction, loss and death were inspired by Barker's plane crash and the death of producer Jerry Finn.

The band has cited The Cure, Descendents, Bad Religion, Screeching Weasel, All, Face to Face, Down by Law, Pennywise, Green Day, The Vandals, Operation Ivy, Generation X, the Ramones, Fugazi and Refused as influences. The members of the band were also inspired by several mid-1990s "emo" acts, most prominently Jimmy Eat World and The Get Up Kids.

Legacy

Blink-182 was one of the most popular bands at the turn of the millennium, and spearheaded the second wave of pop punk and its journey into the mainstream. The glossy production instantly set Blink-182 apart from the other crossover punk acts of the era, such as Green Day. Cheshire Cat is often cited by bands and fans as an iconic release and Dude Ranch has been called a "genuine modern punk classic." Enema of the State catapulted the band to stardom, creating what New York described as a "blanket immersion among America's twenty-some million teenagers." At the band's commercial peak, albums such as Take Off Your Pants and Jacket and Enema of the State sold over 14 and 15 million copies worldwide, respectively. The band was featured alongside Green Day, Rancid, Bad Religion, NOFX, and The Offspring in One Nine Nine Four (2009), a documentary examining punk rock in California.

The band never received particularly glowing reviews, with many reviewers dismissing them as a joke act based on the humorous slant of its music videos. British publication NME was particularly critical of the trio, begging them to "fuck right off," and comparing them to "that sanitised, castrated, shrink-wrapped 'new wave' crap that the major US record companies pumped out circa 1981 in their belated attempt to jump on the 'punk' bandwagon." Nevertheless, subsequent reviews of the band's discography have been more positive. Andy Greenwald of Blender wrote, "the quick transformation from nudists to near geniuses is down-right astonishing." James Montgomery of MTV called Blink-182 one of the "most influential bands of the past 20 years," writing, "despite their maturation, Blink never took themselves particularly seriously, which was another reason they were so accessible."

"When it comes to having inestimable influence, Blink-182 might well be contemporary punk's version of the Beatles", wrote Scott Heisel in a 2009 Alternative Press cover story on the band. The same magazine later ranked Blink the fourth of the "30 Most Influential Bands of the Past 30 Years," just behind Radiohead, Fugazi, and Nirvana. The new generation of pop punk and alternative rock fans found the Blink sound "hugely influential," with Montgomery writing, "... without them, there'd be no Fall Out Boy, no Paramore, or no Fueled by Ramen Records." In 2011, The New York Times asserted that "no punk band of the 1990s has been more influential than Blink-182," stating that even as the band receded after its 2005 split, "its sound and style could be heard in the muscular pop punk of Fall Out Boy or in the current wave of high-gloss Warped Tour punk bands, like All Time Low and The Maine." Maria Sherman of The Village Voice took that sentiment a step further, writing "It's pretty simple: Blink-182 is the most important band of the '90s, dick jokes and all. Apart from the sound, Blink's ideology has been popularized […] their presence is everywhere." According to Kelefa Sanneh of The New Yorker, the group "emerged as a touchstone, spawning more imitators than any American rock band since Nirvana." Bands such as Panic! at the Disco and All Time Low originated covering Blink-182 songs. "Anyone in our genre would be lying if they said they weren't influenced by Blink-182," said Joel Madden of Good Charlotte. Bands such as You Me at Six and 5 Seconds of Summer have also named the band as influences.

The band's influence extends beyond pop punk groups, as well: Avril Lavigne, Mumford & Sons, The Chainsmokers, Owl City, FIDLAR, Best Coast, Wavves, Male Bonding, Grimes, Posture & the Grizzly, and DIIV have acknowledged the band's influence, and critics have noted traits of the band's sound in the music of Japandroids.

Discography