Blink 182

Blink 182

Gitarist & Vocalist
Full name: Thomas Matthew DeLonge
Wife: Jennifer DeLonge (a.k.a. Jen Jenkins)
Children: 1 girl- Ava Elizabeth DeLonge (born on July 15th/2002)
Pets: German Shepherd named Grey
Current residence: Encinitas, California
Birthday: December 13th,1975
Past and Present Bands: Past-Blink 182, Box Car Racer Current- Angels and Airwaves.
Hometown: Poway, California
Fact about him: When he was 15 years old, he got suspended from school for getting drunk at a basketball game.

Bassist & Vocalist
Full name: Markus Allen Hoppus
Wife: Skye Hoppus (a.k.a. Skye Everly)
Children: 1 boy- Jack Hoppus
Past and Present Bands: Past- Blink 182 Current- +44
Pets: 3 dogs- Atticus, Cheesburger, and Ahi
Current residence: Encinitas, California
Birthday: March 15th,1972
Fact about him: His role model is Homer Simpson

Drummer
Full name: Travis Landon Barker
Ex-Wife: Shanna -Former Miss USA
Children: 1- boy Landon Barker
Past and Present Bands: Past- Blink 182 Current- +44
Current residence: San Diego, California
Birthday: November 14th,1975
Fact about him: He has a tattoo along his collar bone that reads- "Can I Sad"

In the life of every band, there comes a time to take stock; to reflect on goals set and goals achieved; to offer a silent prayer of thanksgiving for the many blessings so richly bestowed upon us.

For Blink-182, this is not the time.

In the past, Blink-182 won a Teen Choice Award, a Blockbuster Music Award, and appeared on the MTV Awards '00 where they performed "All The Small Things" and won Best Group Video. In Europe they received an MTV Europe Award for Best New Act. They performed on Saturday Night Live and the Tonight Show (twice), appeared in American Pie and opened the Billboard Music Awards. The band also graced the covers of Rolling Stone, Alternative Press (twice), Teen People, Teen and CosmoGirl, just to name a few.

It's safe to say the blink-182 is now a worldwide phenomenon, with their records reaping platinum and their concert tours packing ‘em in all across Europe, Australia, Asia, and the Americas. And earlier this year, blink-182 ventured back to the studio with producer Jerry Finn to record their fourth studio album, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (you should say the title out loud to fully appreciate the subtle, sophisticated humor).

By every indication, Take Off Your Pants and Jacket is turning out to be an evolutionary hybrid for blink-182, as hooky as 1999's multi-platinum Enema of the State, but with all the punk spirit of their MCA debut album Dude Ranch. "This is the hardest, fastest record that we've done," says blink's Tom DeLonge of the upcoming album. "It's way more punk-rock than our previous records, and we're excited about it." Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (release date 6/12/01) follows Enema of the State and last year's smash live album The Mark, Tom and Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back).

The band's popularity has only increased since their formation in '93. They began building momentum with a string of popular 7"s, and in 1994 they released their first full-length album, Cheshire Cat, on Grilled Cheese (a division of Cargo Music). In 1996, they signed a joint-venture record deal with Cargo Music and MCA Records, with their first MCA release Dude Ranch (1997) setting the stage for their current success. By the end of 1998, they had emerged as one of the most popular pop-punk bands of the year – the album went platinum in the U.S. and the year-end Billboard Airplay Monitor Report (BDS) stats indicated that "Dammit (Growing Up)" from Dude Ranch earned top spins at many key radio stations.

Blink-182 took a break from the road after Christmas '98 to begin pre-production for Enema Of The State, recorded in the band's hometown of San Diego at Signature Sound. Handling production duties was Jerry Finn, whose previous credits include Green Day and Rancid. Enema Of The State shattered the standard set by Dude Ranch. World-wide sales are now over seven million copies, not to mention the fact that the CD perched high atop the upper-reaches of Billboard's Top 200 for over a year. The album's three singles, "What's My Age Again," "All The Small Things" and "Adam's Song" dominated MTV, alternative, rock and Top-40 radio.

Their summer tour, where The Mark, Tom & Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back) was recorded, sold a third of a million tickets. The aforementioned album was a 20-track collection of live versions of classic blink-182 hits produced by Jerry Finn, and also contained never-before-released songs, a new studio track, and all the hilarious potty-mouthed one liners a fan could want. In its limited release, The Mark, Tom & Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back) sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide. In other Blink-182 news, a massive U.S. summer 2001 tour is on the drawing boards, and a book about the band's early days, written by Hoppus' younger sister, Anne, now carries a title, Tales From Beneath Your Mom. It's scheduled to hit bookstores in mid-September.

Then there's the ever-expanding blink-182 mercantile empire, which stretches from pole to pole, from sea to shining sea. First there's their own blink182.com website for fans and curious onlookers. Travis's "Famous Stars and Straps" is a successful retailer and website for clothes, belts and accessories. Mark and Tom's "Loserkids.com" is an equally vibrant website for clothes, skates, music, movies. But despite these ancillary success stories, Mark, Tom and Travis never lose sight of what's most important for blink-182 and their worldwide legions of fans: music and tasteless comedy at every opportunity.

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The days of Blink 182 are no more. Tom, Travis and Mark are in various different bands now, in different directions. But the music and the fun that Blink 182 created in our lives will live on.
Check out Blink 18 and +44's music to see what became of the Rock Trio in recent years.