Blink-182 Reunion Rumor Causes Premature Exhilaration
Pop-punk group's various side projects, however, are progressing.
A quick note to Blink-182 fans out there: Don't hold your breath for a reunion anytime soon.
Last week, fan sites were abuzz with rumors that Blink — who went on "indefinite hiatus" in February (see "Blink-182 Announce 'Indefinite Hiatus' As Breakup Rumors Swirl") — were reuniting to play Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM's Inland Invasion concert on September 17, a move that probably would've shattered the record for shortest indefinite hiatus ever.
But according to Blink's label and management team, there is no truth to those rumors, and Blink-182 will not be performing. Even KROQ seemed to have no idea where the rumor came from.
"Um, no, I haven't heard about it. But it would be great," Gene Sandbloom, KROQ's operations manager, laughed. "We were actually joking about it earlier. It was one of the ideas that had come up in the room when we started talking about Inland, because we always try to make it a mix of old and new bands. But we never made a call to Blink's management, because we decided it was too soon after they had announced their split. It wouldn't have made sense."
So if you've already booked flights to L.A. in September, perhaps now would be a good time to cancel. Unless you wanted to check out the Alfalfa Festival being held at the nearby Antelope Valley Fairgrounds (it's pretty awesome). There's also the outside chance that you can cruise on over to drummer Travis Barker's house, where he and fellow Blink alumnus Mark Hoppus will be no doubt working on their side project, Plus-44, which Barker is recording in his basement (see "Travis Barker Calls His Plus-44 Side Project 'Way Out There' ").
The band's Web site, PlusFortyFour.com, recently went live, bearing the optimistic message: "Musical masterpiece in progress. Please be patient." While not a note of Plus-44's music has been heard, they're making strides on their debut album, which they hope to have a majority of written before Barker departs on this summer's Warped Tour with another side project, the Transplants (see "Warped Tour Lineup, Itinerary Officially Announced").
Of all the former Blink members, Barker is easily the most active. When he's not starring in his own reality-TV show, managing his clothing line or recording material with Plus-44, then he's getting ready for a round of promo to support the Transplants' upcoming Haunted Cities, due June 21. The band recently relaunched its Web site, TheTransplants.com, in anticipation of the release, where fans can view in-the-studio videos, stream the single "Gangsters & Thugs," or buy a ring-tone version of the tune.
Barker also recently revealed plans to collaborate with Nicole Richie's fiance, DJ AM (not his real name), for a jammy "DJ versus drummer" act (see "Travis Barker Hooks Up With Nicole Richie's Fiance, Makes Transplants Priority").
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Former Blink bassist/vocalist keeps quiet about electro-tinged side project.
Author: fendi begini Posted under:
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When It Comes To Publicity, Plus-44's Mark Hoppus Is No Tom DeLonge
Former Blink bassist/vocalist keeps quiet about electro-tinged side project.
Back when they were co-fronting Blink-182, Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus were often seen as musical brothers-in-arms: two like-minded pop-punk aesthetes, equally adept at writing catchy hooks and dispensing witty (if not a tad sophomoric) lyrics.
But if we've learned anything in the year-plus since Blink went on "indefinite hiatus," it's how different the two of them really are.
While DeLonge seems to have taken any and all opportunities to promote his new band, Angels & Airwaves, Hoppus has remained on the sidelines, content to produce albums for up-and-coming acts (see "Mark Hoppus Throws House Party For Motion City Soundtrack"); conduct delightfully seat-of-the-pants podcasts through his Web site, HiMyNameIsMark.com; and work — in relative secrecy — on his new act, the electro-tinged Plus-44.
While Hoppus' silence may have cemented his status among Blink diehards as "the sane one," it's proven to be a bit of a hindrance when it comes to news about Plus, which he started with Blink drummer Travis Barker in April 2005 (see "Blink-182's Hoppus, Barker Form Electronic Side Project").
What little is known about the band has been provided though various interviews with MTV News — mostly with Barker — and via Hoppus' Web site. Since February, the group has been recording material in a Los Angeles studio owned by Barker and Hoppus, and in recent weeks, Hoppus started discussing a handful of new songs, including "Lillian" (which he said "will kick a million asses") and a track tentatively titled "Weatherman."
Hoppus has also used Plus-44's MySpace page to address rumors that Carol Heller — Plus' singer and the former vocalist for SoCal punk band Get the Girl — had left the band (or, even scarier, that she was found dead in Northern California).
"I heard Carol was dead or quit the band," Hoppus wrote. "Well, let me clear this one up for all of you: Carol is very much alive. She actually is sitting right next to me on this nice comfy leather couch."
That post hasn't quelled Internet whisperings that Heller is, in fact, out of Plus-44 and that she has been replaced by guitarist Craig Fairbaugh. (A spokesperson for the band declined to comment on the matter.)
And while Hoppus could clear up all this mystery with just one interview, don't expect that to happen anytime soon. According to that same spokesperson — who asked not to be identified in this story — he's focusing all of his energy on completing the Plus-44 album in time for a late-2006 release. That also means there will be no Plus shows on the horizon, despite what you may have read on various Web sites.
"They're so close to finishing up the album, and they don't want any distractions," the spokesperson said. "Believe me, when you hear the music they're making, it'll be worth all the secrecy."
Former Blink bassist/vocalist keeps quiet about electro-tinged side project.
Back when they were co-fronting Blink-182, Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus were often seen as musical brothers-in-arms: two like-minded pop-punk aesthetes, equally adept at writing catchy hooks and dispensing witty (if not a tad sophomoric) lyrics.
But if we've learned anything in the year-plus since Blink went on "indefinite hiatus," it's how different the two of them really are.
While DeLonge seems to have taken any and all opportunities to promote his new band, Angels & Airwaves, Hoppus has remained on the sidelines, content to produce albums for up-and-coming acts (see "Mark Hoppus Throws House Party For Motion City Soundtrack"); conduct delightfully seat-of-the-pants podcasts through his Web site, HiMyNameIsMark.com; and work — in relative secrecy — on his new act, the electro-tinged Plus-44.
While Hoppus' silence may have cemented his status among Blink diehards as "the sane one," it's proven to be a bit of a hindrance when it comes to news about Plus, which he started with Blink drummer Travis Barker in April 2005 (see "Blink-182's Hoppus, Barker Form Electronic Side Project").
What little is known about the band has been provided though various interviews with MTV News — mostly with Barker — and via Hoppus' Web site. Since February, the group has been recording material in a Los Angeles studio owned by Barker and Hoppus, and in recent weeks, Hoppus started discussing a handful of new songs, including "Lillian" (which he said "will kick a million asses") and a track tentatively titled "Weatherman."
Hoppus has also used Plus-44's MySpace page to address rumors that Carol Heller — Plus' singer and the former vocalist for SoCal punk band Get the Girl — had left the band (or, even scarier, that she was found dead in Northern California).
"I heard Carol was dead or quit the band," Hoppus wrote. "Well, let me clear this one up for all of you: Carol is very much alive. She actually is sitting right next to me on this nice comfy leather couch."
That post hasn't quelled Internet whisperings that Heller is, in fact, out of Plus-44 and that she has been replaced by guitarist Craig Fairbaugh. (A spokesperson for the band declined to comment on the matter.)
And while Hoppus could clear up all this mystery with just one interview, don't expect that to happen anytime soon. According to that same spokesperson — who asked not to be identified in this story — he's focusing all of his energy on completing the Plus-44 album in time for a late-2006 release. That also means there will be no Plus shows on the horizon, despite what you may have read on various Web sites.
"They're so close to finishing up the album, and they don't want any distractions," the spokesperson said. "Believe me, when you hear the music they're making, it'll be worth all the secrecy."
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.
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. ~ John Bush & Corey Apar, All Music Guide
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.
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. ~ John Bush & Corey Apar, All Music Guide
