Blink-182 Are Sick...

...Of being so far removed from the indie SoCal punk world. States guitarist Tom DeLonge, "It's not that we don't love punk. We're still completely into that scene, and now we really don't get to have a hand in it."

Since the stellar success of Enema Of The State, the band has found themselves constantly placed in huge, impersonal venues. Add to that the knee-jerk reaction to toss every veritable Blink clone onto the bill and one can see where their frustrations are founded.

"We love bringing friends on the road," adds DeLonge. "For the Enema tour, we thought 'what band would we love to watch every single night?' BAD RELIGION! We're just starting to realize that we can use this in our favour."

But how do they intend to stick close to the SoCal roots that they feel are constantly being hacked away at? "Well, we want to make it beneficial for everyone involved. I think the next time we go out, we're going to see if AFI would be into it. They have such a solid, diehard fanbase... and they fucking rock, which doesn't hurt any."

Recognizing that their own fanbase is becoming broader, they see the actual amount of true punks in the audience diminishing. Bringing an act such as AFI on tour might be the necessary kick of mohawked adrenaline that Blink so desperately need. Finishing with a sad yet amusing anecdote, DeLonge justifies the cause entirely.

"Just last night, we played a Descendants cover. We wanted to see just how many punk fans were in the audience and maybe turn some more fans onto the music that got us started. The final note rings out and I ask if anyone can name who wrote the tune. Silence. Twenty thousand people and it's fucking silent. Finally, some kid in the first row yells out 'Sublime' 'cause they covered it too. He was promptly removed."