Gender: Male
Status: Single
Age: 101
Sign: Virgo
City: BAKERSFIELD
State: California
Country: US
Signup Date: 1/6/2006
|
|
|
|
Thursday, September 10, 2009
|
Current mood:  accomplished Category: Music
Blink’s Back!
EXCLUSIVE! Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus recalls glory days and moving forward in the midst of tragedy – live at Rabobank on Sept. 14.
Above from left: Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge, Travis Barker. Courtesy Photo.
By Matt Munoz, Bakotopia.com contributor
It’s been a bittersweet comeback year for Blink-182.
After going on indefinite hiatus in ’05 to concentrate on life out of
the spotlight as one of pop music’s all-time most successful rock
trio’s, Blink members: Mark Hoppus – bass, Tom Delonge – guitar, and
Travis Barker – drums, have returned with guardian angels in tow.
Formed in the inland city of Poway, CA in 1992, “Blink” as they’re
known to fans (182 was added in ’94 after being sued successfully by an
Irish rock band of the same name), return to Bakersfield, appearing
live at Rabobank Arena on Monday, Sept. 14, at 6pm.
After releasing their underground self-titled debut in ’94, it was 97’s
sophomore effort, “Dude Ranch” with the teen break-up hit, “Dammit!”
that made them pop music darlings.
If you remember MTV videos, then you couldn’t avoid their comedic video
to “What’s My Age Again?” from ‘99s, “Enema of The State” that featured
the boys running naked through city streets.
Holding steady atop the rock charts through most of the late ‘90s into
the 2000s, things came to a frustrating hilt in ‘05, sending each
member off to pursue other musical ventures – DeLonge’s ‘Angels and
Airwaves’, Hoppus with ‘+44’, and Barker’s ‘The Transplants’, among
others.
Like all of the band’s side projects, Barker’s recent drum work with DJ
AM (Adam Goldstein) grew in popularity until the night of Sept. 19,
2008 when both artists miraculously survived a South Carolina plane
crash. Following Barker’s recovery, Blink-182 would make their return
announcement during an appearance on the 51st Grammy Awards held
earlier this year.
But just as fans rejoiced and friendships were renewed, it all took a
back seat to tragedy. Goldstein is found dead in his NYC apartment from
an apparent drug overdose this past August 28. Some speculated it was
due to the pain caused by burns suffered in the plane crash.
Above: Barker and DJAM.
In spite of all the emotional pain and scattered tabloid fodder, all
three friends plan on paying tribute to the youthful spirit of their
music for Blink-182 fans with a new appreciation for life and
friendship.
Bassist Mark Hoppus, 37, took time before a show soundcheck in
Portland, Oregon to turn some bright lights on their reunion, audience
evolution, and life as a pizza guy in his hometown of Ridgecrest, CA.
You are from Ridgecrest, CA - a city not known for a fertile
music scene. What inspired you to pick up the bass and form your first
band?
MH: I
started listening to bands like The Cure, Bad Religion, Pennywise, and
The Descendents, and a bunch of friends of mine in Ridgecrest liked the
same kind of bands, and we picked up our instruments and started our
own little thing, which was just like covers at that point.
I was approached by a fan to ask if you ever worked at Johns Pizza & Ice Cream in Ridgecrest?
MH: I totally worked there. 4 or 5 years? I started off making pizzas, worked my way up to the register, then up to waiting tables.
How would you describe yourself as an employee?
MH: I
was a model employee. I abided by the rules, worked my a** off, and I
think I was a really great waiter. Hopefully I was an asset to the
restaurant.
Do you ever go back to visit your hometown?
MH: Yeah,
my father and step-mother live out there, so I find myself out there
quite a bit around holidays and stuff to visit and see what’s up.
The "pop punk" label has been attached to bands going all the way back
to The Jam and Ramones in the ‘70s, and now to Blink-182. How did your
sound develop?
MH: We
drew from a lot of different influences. We drew from The Beatles, The
Descendents, NOFX, Face To Face, The Cure, and everything in between…
When Travis joined the band, we had such a wide range of musical
influences, that I think we just found our own sound, something we
really loved and just drew from a lot of different places.
Do you hate the term "Pop Punk?"
MH: Not at all, I’m totally cool with the term “pop punk”. I think that fits Blink-182 for sure.
I don’t think there’s just one term to describe Blink-182. I think “pop
punk” is where we came from and where we started, but hopefully we’ve
branched out from there onto our own territory and our own definition –
and I don’t know what that is.
Do you feel like “punk legends?” Or does that make you sound old?
MH: We’re
a rock band. We just do our own thing, keep our head down and try to
write the best music we can. Everything else is for other people to
determine what we are.
What the early days like being young, free, and hugely successful?
MH: We
were always blown away by what our band achieved. Starting with selling
out a small club in San Diego to having a song on the radio, selling a
million records…Every step of the way we’ve been humbled by appreciate
all the hard work that it took to get to those places. I don’t think
we’ve taken anything for granted since day one.
With all that fame, at what point did you feel that you had to go on hiatus?
MH: When
nobody thought that they were enjoying themselves in the band and
nobody felt like they were getting along. It just became really
acrimonious. We needed to take a step back and find ourselves, what was
important to us in the band and as individuals. Luckily, after four
years having to do that, we’ve come back and are lucky enough to have a
tour as fun and successful as this one is. It’s a blessing that we’ve
been given a second chance for sure.
Like No Doubt's return to the road, this tour has been an instant
success. Was there any fear as an artist that it might not be as
well-received?
MH: We
had no idea what to expect when we booked this tour. Our booking agent
had a giant ulcer in his stomach for three months as he put this tour
together, then the dates when on-sale and everyone was just completely
blown away by how well the tour was selling. Everyone lets out a big
sigh of relief at that point.
What does the make-up of the audience look like now compared to 1999?
MH: It’s
kind of all over the place, and really cool. There are people that have
obviously just started listening to Blink or listened to Blink for a
few years, but never got a chance to see us live, people that have been
there since day one who are bringing there own kids to the show. We
have people in there late-20s, people in their teens... It’s a very
diverse crowd, as far as ages go.
The 2008 plane crash that Travis was involved, then the recent death of
his friend DJ AM in the midst of a Blink-182 reunion, plus the tabloids
have all been obvious life-changing experiences. How has the band been
able to deal with all of this and stay focused?
MH: We
just really keep to ourselves, keep our head down, deal with all that
other stuff on our own time, and try and keep going on the tour as best
we can. It’s definitely been a huge blow to the tour with the loss of
our friend, DJ AM. We took some time off and tried to gather ourselves
and are continuing on with the tour as best we can - but, obviously
very saddened by the loss of our friend.
Will there be a full-length Blink album soon?
MH: Absolutely
- when we get back from this tour. We started writing the album before
we left, but had to take a break to rehearse and do production for this
tour. But when we return, we’re going to go back in the studio and
finish the album and hopefully have it out sometime in 2010.
The first time you performed in Bakersfield was at the Bakersfield
College outdoor theater with The Aquabats in ’98 right before Travis
Barker joined Blink-182. Since then you've been back with Green Day.
What can fans expect at your show on Sept. 14?
MH: This
is the most amazing production that we’ve ever brought on tour. We’ve
been rehearsing for three months leading up to the tour, and trying to
make this the best show we’ve ever put on.
In your opinion, what is Blink-182's finest moment?
MH: I
don’t think we’ve reached that yet. Every single time something great
happens to our band, I feel like it’s our finest moment and I’m always
continually amazed at how things keep going and keep progressing. I
don’t know if our finest moment has been hit yet. I hope not, because
we always hope to be doing better work each year.
Any parting messages for Bakersfield and of course your Ridgecrest brethren?
MH: Thank You very much for your support, and we’ll see you at the shows.
Is there anything you'd like the public to know about the band?
MH: We’re all very sexy men.
Blink-182 Official Website
(click on flier below to purchase tix)
------------------------
Blink-182 LIVE!
with Taking Back Sunday and Asher Roth
-Monday, September 14
-Rabobank Arena
-6 pm
-$38, $34, $24
-www.ticketmaster.com
-322-2525
8:57 PM
Powered by  | | English | | Albanian | | Arabic | | Bulgarian | | Catalan | | Chinese | | Croatian | | Czech | | Danish | | Dutch | | Estonian | | Filipino | | Finnish | | French | | Galician | | German | | Greek | | Hebrew | | Hindi | | Hungarian | | Indonesian | | Italian | | Japanese | | Korean | | Latvian | | Lithuanian | | Maltese | | Norwegian | | Polish | | Portuguese | | Romanian | | Russian | | Serbian | | Slovak | | Slovenian | | Spanish | | Swedish | | Thai | | Turkish | | Ukrainian | | Vietnamese |
|
|
|