Blink 182 vs. All
By Monica Bielke
Art by Keith Shore

When the opportunity arose to interview a member of the most popular pop-punk band the genre has ever seen, I took it. Then I got to thinking it might be fun to compare the most popular with the most influential.

Name: Mark Hoppus
DOB: March 15, 1972
POB: Ridgecrest, CA

How old were you when you started playing?
I started playing bass when I was 16. I never took a lesson although I should have. In retrospect I probably should have learned to play my instrument just a little bit better.

You don’t think you’re any good?
No. I mean I can totally get by with what we do, but I taught myself and some of my technique is totally shit.

Who were your influences?
My biggest influence and the biggest influence for the whole band is this band called the Descendents. They’re the band that got us all into punk rock and the band that we all really looked up to when we were growing up.

What do you think Blink 182 has contributed to music?
The best comment that we get, and we get it a lot, is that people e-mail us or write us and say ‘I never listened to punk rock music before and then I heard your band and I heard you talk about the Descendents. Or I heard you talk about Pennywise, or NOFX, or Bad Religion or Face to Face or any of these bands. And I totally started getting into a different style of music.’ And it’s great! That’s the biggest compliment, to open somebody’s eyes to a whole different style of music.

Have your relationships with your friends really changed since things have taken off for the band?
Not really. The people that we hang out with are the friends we’ve had for a long, long time. Even if they’re not in my close circle of friends they’re all people that I’ve known for a really long time and knew us when we were nobodies. They don’t care...I mean they’re very happy for the success of our band but that’s not what motivates them to be nice to us. And our families are super supportive. But I think the reason a lot of people get fucked up when they get famous is ‘cause they surround themselves with yes people that always tell them that they’re so great. Our friends are like, ‘What are you talking about? You’re an idiot.’

What’s the biggest drawback to being Mark from Blink 182?
There is no drawback. I could sit here and say that it’s upsetting that I get recognized a lot when we go out now, or that there’s invasions on my privacy now and then, but that small downside is insignificant compared to how much fun we’re having now, that I feel like an asshole complaining about anything.

What would you say has been the career highlight so far?
The bar gets raised all the time. When we sold out the Palace in LA I thought that was the biggest thing that could ever happen in my life. ‘Oh my God we sold out the Palace!’ And then when we sold out the Palladium I was like ‘Wow! No band gets bigger than this.’ And now we’re playing The Great Russian Forum and that’s sold out. I mean everything that happens to me is a total blessing and I can’t even put a value on anything. It’s all great.

Name: Bill Stevenson.
DOB: September 10, 1963
POB: Torrance, CA

How old were you when you started playing?
I started playing drums when I was 14. But I didn’t get my first drum set until I was maybe 15 and then that’s right when I started the Descendents.

Who were your influences?
Real early on it would have been Kiss and Black Sabbath as far as drumming goes and just a basic ear for powerful guitar. But then once the Descendents were going a little bit we were really influenced by this band called The Last, and also this band called The Alley Cats and also by Black Flag. At that point I wasn’t in Black Flag, I was just a fan. So those would have been the three biggest influences.

You have obviously influenced a lot of bands. How do you feel about that?
That’s sort of flattering, but honestly, I just consider us to have been part of a continuum ‘cause we had our influences too. Just like anybody else did.

What do you think that you have contributed to music?
Some of the just totally don’t give a fuck songs. I think that affected things. That was a noticeable influence. We did songs like; “I Like Food” or “I Wanna Be A Bear” or “Welcome To De Weinershnitzel.” Those sorts of things. They really had a cool influence on bands not adhering as much to typical song structure. On the new record I’ve got that song, “She Broke My Dick.” I realize that you’ve got a lotta, lotta, lotta bands doing that kinda stuff now but back when we first started doing it 20 years ago it seemed to ring a little more uniquely.

Have your successes and notoriety changed your relationships with the people in your life?
I know when I was 21, 22 I got kind of an ego and I started treating people kind of differently. But fortunately I got over that and back to my normal self. Or at least I got to a new self that wasn’t such a dick. I think it’s bad if you get famous when you’re too young. You think you’re special instead of thinking that you’re lucky.
Are there currently any added complications to your life because you’re Bill from ALL or the Descendents?
Nah, that makes it easy. Maybe a few doors open that wouldn’t otherwise. That sort of thing.

What would you say has been a career highlight for you?
(much um-ing and ah-ing) I can think of so many cool things. You know it’s funny, the thing that keeps coming to mind is this stupid show that we did in Wyoming not that long ago. We played in this kid’s garage and for some weird reason I just had the funnest time ever. So maybe in some ways I’d consider that to be a career high even though we had to run the electricity from the generator in our truck. But it sure was fun.