|
 |
| Spotlight:
Mark Hoppus of +44
By: Kellie
The break-up of Blink 182 may have come as a shock for Mark Hoppus and millions of Blink 182 fans, but he’s not looking back now that his new band +44 is touring and slowly building momentum on the airwaves. He and former Blink 182 bandmate Travis Barker began recording songs after Tom DeLonge quit their band after 15 years together.
Now, almost two years after the Blink 182 breakup, Mark Hoppus is finally speaking publicly about his new band and what he really thinks about Angels and Airwaves. Early on, both Mark and Travis avoided talking about +44 and their new music because it was so early in its development. But what started as a more electronic collaboration with Carol Heller, a long-time friend of Barker’s, found its way back to the more polished punk sound that bears resemblance to Blink 182. The experimentation with the new elements has resulted in a very personal album for the Blink alums. In an interview with www.b182.com, Hoppus comments that that he loves their new album and that it has been the “hardest, and best last year and a half of [their] lives.”
|
|
|
|
(+44), pronounced Plus 44, consists of Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker of Blink-182, Shane Gallagher of The Nervous Return and Craig Fairbaugh of The Mercy Killers. The group got it's name from the international dialing code to the UK, because it is where Mark and Travis first discussed doing the project.
With the first leg of their tour underway, I caught up briefly with Mark to ask him about the new tour, Tom DeLonge, and how it feels to be starting over.
Official Site: Plusfortyfour.com
Mark's Blog: Himynameismark.com |
|
|
|
|
*All
songs on Artist Site. |
|
Tracks
from "+44" |
|
Mark Hoppus BN Shoutout |
|
|
+44 WebSite |
|
|
 |
|
I know that Travis had broken his arm and you guys are finally back in the swing of it, So how does it feel to be back on the road? 
It feels great to be back on the road. The tour has been really fun. And with Travis’ amazing ability to play with one arm, it’s like we haven’t skipped a beat; you can’t even tell that he’s missing an arm actually.