Blink-182
October 4, 2016
Grammy Museum- Los Angeles, CA
Tuesday evening brought together some lucky Blink-182 fans to the Grammy Museum for an intimate conversation with the band. With a less than 300 capacity ‘venue’, The Grammy Museum hosts tons of interviews, intimate performances and has amazing music exhibits. On October 4, taking a break from their months of touring, Blink-182 sat on the small stage and were interviewed for the Grammy Museum archives.
Blink-182 hasn’t released an album in five years, and on top of that, guitarist/vocalist Tom Delonge is no longer in the band. With Matt Skiba taking over Delonge’s vocal and guitar duties, and the release of their 16 track California album, there was much to discuss.
The three piece band made their way on stage, with Travis Barker bearing a cast on his right foot and holding a cane. It was later learned that he had been playing shows for nearly two weeks before having his foot checked out, only to learn it was fractured. 
The band was interviewed and spoke about their newest album California, working with John Feldmann who produced the album, picking Matt Skiba to replace Tom DeLonge, mentioning that had Skiba said no to the offer, they probably wouldn’t have made another album and been touring. He was their first and only pick to replace DeLonge. The night continued, and the band spoke about their musical influences from their earlier years, to the new music they’re listening to now. Barker explained that he was “happily confused” as a child, listening to many genres of music, from rock to rap. Mark Hoppus was the center of the interview, answering most of the questions as Skiba and Barker sat and listened, as much of the interviewer’s questions were geared towards Hoppus’ responses.
After nearly an hour of talking, the lights lit up and fans from the audience were able to ask questions which included a question of what Blink-182 even means. Hoppus took it upon himself to settle it “once and for all, right here at the Grammy Museum”. He explained that originally the band was called Blink, but their label was informed that another band overseas was using that name so they had to change it. They thought of “Blink Jr”, among others. Weeks went on and every time the label called, they still hadn’t come up with a name. So one day the label called and demanded a name so Hoppus thought on his feet and said “Blink-182” which meant absolutely nothing. He explained that the story was so boring and meaningless that they’ve been making up different stories about the how the band name came to be.
When the night finally ended, fans piled out of the theater and hovered around where the band was set to take some photos. As he waited for the other members, Mark Hoppus walked over to the fans and signed tickets, took selfies and spoke to as many as he could before being pulled away. After taking a couple photos, Skiba and Barker also stopped and signed things for fans and took selfies.
The Grammy Museum is a great place to catch your favorite well known or up and coming artist. You can sign up to be part of their foundation or check to see what other programs they have coming up here: http://www.grammymuseum.org
Review by: Nicole Lemberg
