Whether you liked blink-182 or not, the pop-punk band was one of the most influential groups of the past decade.
Many consider the San Diego trio’s music trite and thoughtless, but still you cannot deny their impact because blink-182 ushered in a new era in modern rock, and three-chord pop punk has been a staple of FM radio ever since the band’s 1997 “Dude Ranch” blew up.
But the blink boys’ lives weren’t as good as fans imagined from watching their jokey videos, and the band announced in February 2005 they were going on an indefinite hiatus. That was the end of blink, and singer-guitarist Tom DeLonge formed his band Angels and Airwaves just as singer-bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker retaliated with their next incarnation, +44.
The initial word on +44, which plays the Ogden on Wednesday, was that it would be Barker’s thrashing drums and Hoppus’ signature vocals set to a mostly electronic backing. But that was taken from early interviews with Hoppus and Barker, when the two had only worked for a few weeks in Barker’s basement. Upon further evolution, their songs, not surprisingly, resemble the sort of tunes blink-182 could have played.
The band released its debut full- length CD, “When Your Heart Stops Beating” on Nov. 14, and while its title track and lead single sounds like a collaboration between Hoppus, The Killers and Felix da Housecat, it’s the record’s one departure track.
Track No.1, “Lycanthrope,” is the quintessential blink song. With its colloquially narrative storyline, tuneful chorus and polished guitar play, it could have easily been the third single from “Enema of the State” or “Take Off Your Pants and Jacket.”
Just as the album was released and the tour started – with his pal Barker drumming with only one arm because of an injury – Hoppus caught up with us from Detroit.
Q: Has Travis’ arm recovered yet?
A: Travis’ arm is still broken, but hopefully we’ll find out this week if he’ll be able to play with both arms … The crazy thing is, even though he’s only playing with one arm, you can’t tell the difference. Everything he would normally play with his right arm, he’s now playing with a snare sample on his left foot.
Q: The record just now came out, so how’s the reaction been to the music, given that the fans can’t know it all that well?
A: People went online, streaming the album on MySpace a few days before the record came out. So there are some people singing along already, which is great.
Q: Does it feel like you’re starting all over again?
A: People are curious what we’re doing, after blink-182, and the reception has been great. I’m totally humbled. Plus I love the immediacy of these small venues.
Q: When did you and Travis decide to go through with this?
A: We first started talking about this in the U.K. We were on tour with blink at the time, and Tom’s manager called a meeting and said that Tom needed to take a year off and he didn’t want to tour or record or do press. He wanted to be done with music for a year. And Travis and I said, “That’s fine, but we won’t stop.” And he said, “We wouldn’t expect you to.” And then Tom quit blink.
Q: What instrumentation are you playing with live?
A: Still touring with rock instrumentation, two guitars, bass and drums.
Q: What about keyboards?
A: We’re sampling keyboards, tracking them from a computer. But we’re not tracking any guitars or vocals.
Q: It’s definitely more dancey than blink ever was.
A: Everyone expects us to be a dance, electronic band. I like the electronic element, the four on the floor kick drum, from the single. That song started off as me trying to learn how to program a keyboard with MIDI and program a drum loop. I was just trying to keep time with this keyboard part that I’d written. It sat on the hard drive for years. When we started going back over it, Travis kept the pattern and kept the four on the floor element.
Q: Do you think that song, or any of the others, would have ended up as blink songs had you guys stayed together?
A: Some of them would have. With +44 we were forced to break out of the routines of blink-182. With blink, everything was started on guitar and everyone had their certain roles. But now we’re approaching every song from a different origin and instrument. We learned a lot about songwriting.
Pop music critic Ricardo Baca can be reached at 303-954-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com.
+44
POP PUNK|Ogden Theatre; 8 p.m. Wednesday with The Matches | $21.75|ticketweb.com, 866-468-7621
