Blink-182 came to prominence in the early 90s punk scene in California where their energetic shows made them a hit with crowds. The group was signed to independent label Cargo Records where they released their debut album “Cheshire Cat”. While the album was not commercially successful, it picked up a lot of buzz and is considered an iconic pop punk album of the time.
The buzz generated by this first album caused a bidding war between multiple mainstream labels and the band eventually signed with MCA. Drummer Scott Raynor’s disagreement with this decision contributed to his drifting from the band and he was eventually fired in 1998 and replaced by Travis Barker.
With the new record label and new line up settled, Blink-182 released “Enema of the State” in 1999 and quickly rose to fame with singles “Adam’s Song”, “All the Small Things” and “What’s My Age Again?” all receiving regular airtime on MTV. The album was the band’s most successful release to date and went to number 9 on the US Billboard chart.
The stress of constant touring and promotion as well as differences about where the band should go with their next album boiled to a head and caused the band to go on an indefinite hiatus in 2005. After Travis Barker was involved in a serious plane crash, the group reunited in 2008 and went on to start work on their sixth studio album, “Neighborhoods”, which was released in 2011 and charted at number 2 in the US.
Blink-182 has cited The Ramones, The Cure and The Vandals, amongst others, as influences for their music, but the reality is that Blink-182 are massive influencers and inspirations for musicians all around the world. The band inspired the second wave of pop punk music in the new millennium and also single-handedly bought this music into the mainstream. For this reason, their music will certainly live on for generations.
The San Diego siblings formed the band in 2007 and with the support of their old label Equal Vision recorded an album’s worth of tracks just between the two of them. That album became ‘A Flair For The Dramatic’ and, after adding new members Tony Perry and Jamie Preciado, they began to build their profile with relentless touring.
They played shows throughout 2007, 2008 and some of 2009 including high profile dates on The Warped Tour and with the likes of ‘A Day To Remember’ and ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ amongst others.
Vic and Mike somehow found the time within all that touring to partner up with the likes Craig Owens and Johnny Craig to form supergroup ‘Isles & Glaciers’ however the group disbanded soon after their only release, 2010’s ‘The Hearts of Lonely People’ – some things are too good to last.
2010 also saw the band back in the studio recording what would become ‘Selfish Machines’ which went to number one on the Billboard Heatseekers Charts. And what would they do next? Well a load more touring of course!
This next wave of touring carried them through into 2012 when they released ‘Collide With The Sky’ and saw the band reach new highs of popularity. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number 12 and went on to over 100,000 copies. After winning RockSound’s band of the year in 2013, the band’s popularity continues to grow as they are really a testament to what can occur when siblings get on!
Think early 2000s fashion, baggy jeans, chains, and terrible hair, ‘say it ain’t so, I will not go, turn the lights off, carry me home’. This song takes me right back to my young teenage self, jumping round my bedroom with a hairbrush as a microphone. Back in 2012 when I got asked if I would like to go and see Blink-182 live, I thought, sure!
Although my enthusiasm for them had somewhat dwindled over the last decade, it’s always fun to have a bit of a throwback and that’s exactly what I was hoping for when I went to their London O2 Arena concert. Even from the upper tier of the arena, the sound quality was amazing and as they game out on stage they began playing ‘Feeling This’ over the tumultuous sound of a cheering arena crowd.
The atmosphere was fuelled by the incredible set of the album cover and laser lights dancing across the stage and out towards the audience. As the show progressed, they began singing more and more classic, culminating in ‘All the Small Things’, which is what everyone was desperate to hear.
They really did put on a fantastic show, great vocals, performance, and energy, I’m so glad I went.
Pierce the Veil became my favourite band in just 2012. The fact that, two weeks later I had booked tickets to see them surely highlights how incredible they truly are. Pierce the Veil gained a lot of popularity with newest album 'Collide With the Sky' but still manage to play venues as intimate as the Camden Koko. Funnily enough, I saw them on bassist Jaime's birthday. Furthermore, he had broken his leg merely days before, but that didn't stop him from giving the greatest performance possible. In fact, everything about the show was brilliant. Endless interaction with the crowd ranging from 'It's pronounced Hi-Me!' To 'I'm doing this one acoustic so I can hear all your beautiful voices' Pierce the Veil make their shows as fun as possible for anyone attending. There were laser lights, there were drumsticks and at least ten minutes dedicated to watching Jaime throw pics at people. There was a lot of fun. They played the classics, ending with an explosive encore of 'King for a Day,' and it's obvious how much effort they put into making sure that the crowd enjoy themselves. Full of homemade confetti, torches tied to the ends of guitars and a group photo to end the night, Pierce the Veil make their low-key show a great and unforgettable experience.