Tom Delonge life and biography

Tom Delonge is one of the founding members, and a guitarist for Blink-182. While attending high school in Poway, California, he met Mark Hoppus, and, joining with Scott Raynor, the three formed Blink 182.

Early years:

Tom DeLonge was raised by his mother, Connie, and his father, Thomas Sr., in Poway, California. He has an older brother, Shon, and a younger sister, Kari. His first musical instrument was the trumpet, which his parents gave to him for Christmas when he was eleven. DeLonge was an average student in school, saying that "I knew exactly how hard I had to work in school. As long as I got that C, I wouldn't try one minute extra to get a B. I just cared about skateboarding and music." He played the guitar for the first time at his friend's house one afternoon, while listening to Bad Religion records. DeLonge got his first guitar as a freshman in high school as a 15th birthday present. DeLonge spent much time trying to learn songs by Descendents.

Despite his early interest in music, becoming a musician was not his first calling. "I was originally going to be a firefighter. I was in the San Diego Cadet Program", says DeLonge. One of DeLonge's first musical endeavors was Big Oily Men, a band of which he was the only constant member.

DeLonge was expelled from Poway High School during his junior year (1991) after being caught drunk at a school basketball game. He then attended Rancho Bernardo High School for the remainder of his high school years. When he returned to Poway High School during his senior year, the students voted him Homecoming King, despite the fact that he was not even on the ballot. DeLonge graduated high school in 1993.

When he began attending Rancho Bernardo High School in early 1992, he became friends with fellow student Anne Hoppus, who was also interested in punk rock. They became friends over the summer of 1992, when DeLonge expressed desire to be in a band to her. Anne introduced her brother Mark Hoppus to DeLonge in August 1992. To impress DeLonge, Hoppus climbed to the top of a streetlight outside of DeLonge's home - however, he broke both ankles on the way down, resulting in being in crutches for the next few weeks. DeLonge recruited old friend Scott Raynor from his days at Poway to become the drummer for the new band, initially named Duck Tape until DeLonge renamed the band as Blink.

career:

Blink released various demos throughout 1993 and caught the attention of local San Diego record label Cargo Music, where they signed and recorded their debut album Cheshire Cat in February 1994. The band quietly gained success in Southern California, touring throughout 1995 and 1996 in their own van. The band was threatened with legal action by an Irish pop band of the same name in 1994, and, to avoid a legal dispute, the band appended "182" to the end of their name.

The band moved to Encinitas, California in 1996, where they would record their second album Dude Ranch with producer Mark Trombino. Blink-182 recorded the album under Cargo Records, but signed with MCA in 1998 in order to handle increased distribution. The album was released in 1997 and was relatively commercially successful, selling 1.5 million copies worldwide. The single "Dammit" did well on U.S. modern rock charts, and the band received a small degree of mainstream success.

Hoppus and DeLonge fired Raynor midway through a U.S. tour in 1998 after a drinking problem became far too prevalent. Hoppus and DeLonge asked drummer Travis Barker of Blink-182's support band The Aquabats to fill in for Raynor for the remainder of the tour, and, after being impressed with Barker, asked him to join the band.

The band released their breakthrough album Enema of the State in June 1999 to commercial success, fueled by successful singles "What's My Age Again", "All the Small Things", and "Adam's Song". After releasing live album The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back!) in November 2000, the band entered the studio and recorded their fourth studio album Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, released in June 2001. The album continued the band's commercial success and popularity.

After performing with Box Car Racer for much of 2002, DeLonge and Barker rejoined the band to record their eponymous fifth studio album, released in November 2003. The album continued the commercial success that previous albums had endured, as well as being critically acclaimed: Blink-182 represented a more "mature" band than seen in the past, with the band infusing experimentalist elements into their usual pop punk sound, inspired by lifestyle changes (the band members all became fathers before the album was released) and side-projects (Box Car Racer and Transplants).

Tensions arose between the band members as DeLonge expressed his desire to cancel the tour and enter a half-year respite from touring in late 2004, and the band officially announced an "indefinite hiatus" in February 2005. DeLonge formed Angels & Airwaves while Hoppus and Barker continued playing music together in +44. In August 2008, the band's frequent producer Jerry Finn died of a cerebral hemorrhage, and Barker barely survived a plane crash in September, sustaining second and third degree burns on his lower body and torso. Both events would be catalysts for the band reuniting; in 2010, DeLonge reflected, "If that accident hadn't happened, we wouldn't be a band. Plain and simple. That was fate."

The band announced their reunion in February 2009 at the 51st Grammy Awards ceremony. A well-received reunion tour took place in mid-2009, with a European leg performed in summer 2010. Currently, the band is returning from the aforementioned tour and preparing to record their sixth studio album.

Blink-182 is recognized as a key pioneer of contemporary pop punk music, influencing various acts over their career.

Box Car Racer was a side-project from two members of the band Blink-182, featuring guitarist Tom DeLonge and drummer Travis Barker. DeLonge formed Box Car Racer to experiment with and record ideas he felt were not "Blink-friendly", along with Travis Barker. David Kennedy from Hazen Street completed the group and a self-titled album was recorded, which debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200. Although Tom handled bass duties, the band hired Kennedy's friend Anthony Celestino for the corresponding tour. Guests on the album included Mark Hoppus from Blink-182 on the song "Elevator", and Tim Armstrong from Rancid. Tim Armstrong did vocals with Tom in the song "Cat Like Thief". Box Car Racer disbanded in 2003 after DeLonge and Barker went back to the studio with Mark Hoppus to start recording of their new album Blink-182.

Tom DeLonge is the lead vocalist and lead guitarist for Angels & Airwaves, often stylized as AVA (Named after his daughter, Ava). Other members in the band include high school friend, former Hazen Street guitarist, and Box Car Racer guitarist David Kennedy; on drums former Rocket from the Crypt and The Offspring drummer Atom Willard; and on bass former 30 Seconds to Mars bassist Matt Wachter. AVA is influenced by a number of bands including U2, Pink Floyd, and The Cure. They released their debut album We Don't Need to Whisper on May 20, 2006. On April 23, 2007, it was announced that Ryan Sinn would not be playing at the free Earth Day concert at the M.I.T. campus due to difficulties within the band. He was later replaced with former 30 Seconds to Mars bassist Matt Wachter. The band's second full-length album entitled I-Empire debuted on the Billboard 200 Chart at No. 9 and sold 66,000 copies in its first week.

On June 21, 2008, DeLonge launched Modlife, a social-networking site and online operating system for musicians, bloggers and businesses. DeLonge's purpose is to "fix" the music industry. The band then released a documentary involving their music, titled Start the Machine.

Love is the third studio album by Angels & Airwaves, which was officially released for free worldwide on February 14, 2010 after being delayed on Christmas 2009. The album was downloaded over 500,000 times in the first 48 hours of its release. A movie, based on the Love album, is also being produced by the band. Delonge stated on Modlife that there could be a possible Fall 2010 release date of the film at The Sundance Film Festival. The film will also be called Love.

On July 14, 2010, Tom announced in a private Modlife modcam update that the band would be releasing their fourth upcoming studio album titled Love: Part II, along with the Love film in spring 2011. The album is set for an early March 2011 release.

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