Box Car Racer
Box Car Racer |
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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", and enlisted Barker because he stated that he didn't want to pay for a studio drummer. David Kennedy from Hazen Street completed the trio and an eponymous album was ready to be recorded. Tom was insistent on a bass player, so he hired Anthony Celestino who was Kennedy's friend. Guests on the album included Mark Hoppus from Blink-182 on the song "Elevator", and Tim Armstrong from Rancid and Jordan Pundik from New Found Glory on "Cat Like Thief". It has been suggested that Hoppus felt betrayed after Box Car Racer's formation causing tension between DeLonge and Hoppus which would continue to rise.
DeLonge and Barker claim the group was heavily influenced by Dischord Emo, citing influences such as Rites of Spring, Fugazi and later era post hardcore bands such as Quicksand.
Box Car Racer took a hiatus after their headlining tour in 2003. DeLonge has stated publicly that the project has served its purpose, and is now defunct and will never reunite. There are noticeable similarites between the intro's of Box Car Racer's 'There Is' and Angels & Airwaves' 'The War.Many Blink 182 and Tom Delonge fans say that Boxcar Racer is Tom Delonge at his best and that Boxcar Racer is better than Angels and Airwaves.
Origin of name
The band's name comes from the B-29 Bomber which dropped the second wartime atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. The plane's name was "Bockscar". Tom has said in an interview that he has seen the name misspelled as "Boxcar", and thusly, dubbed the band under that name for their music and lyrics pertaining heavily to love and war. He wanted the band to also have a three word name, thus the name "Box Car Racer". Although Tom Delonge's main instrument is guitar, he played bass on their album also.
Members
- Tom Delonge - Vocals, Guitar, Piano, Bass
- Travis Barker - Drums
- David Kennedy - Guitar
- Anthony Celestino - Bass
Discography
Albums
| Album Cover | Date of Release | Title | Label | Editions | US Album Chart Peak Position | US sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Box Car Racer | Geffen Records | Enhanced CD, Import, Album Length Compact Disc | 12 | 1,000,000 |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 | US Modern Rock | US Pop 100 | UK Singles Chart | |||
| 2002 | "I Feel So" | - | 8 | - | 41 | Box Car Racer |
| 2003 | "There Is" | - | - | - | - | Box Car Racer |
DVD
| DVD Cover | Date of Release | Title | Label | Editions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Boxcar racer dvd.jpg | 2002 | Box Car Racer (DVD Single) | Geffen Records | DVD-Video |
