Win +44 t shirts!
+44 Competition!
Former blink-182 co-founders Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker have reunited under the aegis of a new band, (+44), and will release their much anticipated album, When Your Heart Stops Beating (Interscope Records), on 13th November. The album is produced by Hoppus and Barker and executive produced by long-time blink-182 producer Jerry Finn.
Recruited for their new journey as (+44) – pronounced “Plus 44” – Shane Gallagher (The Nervous Return) and Craig Fairbaugh (Transplants, The Forgotten, Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards) join singer-bassist Hoppus and drummer-keyboardist Barker and pick up where the popular, multi-platinum-selling band blink-182 left off after splitting in late 2004. “We were two-thirds of blink-182, so we’re not afraid of sounding like ourselves,” says Hoppus. “We’re not divorcing ourselves from the past, but we are pushing beyond the past. We’re progressing like musicians should.” Barker agrees: “Mark and I have a natural chemistry after playing together for so long and it’s only gotten stronger. This band is a continuation of blink-182 but it’s also different. For a long time, blink-182 was an underdog. I like being the underdog again.”
Barker has known Gallagher since they were 16 years old playing together in garage bands at Southern California backyard parties. Fairbaugh was another organic addition, having played with Barker in the now-defunct Transplants. “Musically, what we are doing now we could never have done a few years ago,” Barker says. “I love this band. And it’s even better that we’re doing this with friends. That’s the best feeling in the world.”
Upon naming the band (+44) after the international dialing code for the United Kingdom, their plan was simply to continue to create and explore. Barker put down his drums for six months and began piano lessons, bringing keyboards into the (+44) sound and opening up his songwriting talent. For the first time, Hoppus took on all of the lead vocals and lyric-writing and even added guitar to his usual bass duties. “I had no idea what I was capable of, especially as a singer. There’s a whole range in my voice, from barely whispering to really loud. I’m proud of how far I’ve come.”
(+44) is not a side project or an experiment. Though Hoppus and Barker produce other artists and guest on numerous projects, (+44) is #1 in their careers. Three years after the last original blink-182 album, (+44) is the culmination of their surging energy and creativity. Visit the band at http://www.myspace.com/plus44.
We have +44 ltd edition t-shirts to give away this month at the park, just answer this simple question
What band are Travis Barker and Mark Hoppus most famous for being part of?
a) Wink 93
b) Stink 72
c) Blink 182