Tom DeLonge
Thomas Matthew DeLonge, Jr. (born December 13 1975), is an American musician, best known as one of the founding members of, and guitarist/singer in, bands blink-182 and Angels and Airwaves. He lives with his wife Jennifer, his daughter Ava Elizabeth and German Shepherd Grey, in Encinitas, California. On the notes on the Angels and Airwaves CD, Tom refers to his unborn child as "his son Rocket". A while after this was pressed, Jennifer gave birth to Tom's second child, and he was called Rocket.
Tom DeLonge was raised by his mother and father in California. He has an older brother, Shon, and a younger sister, Kari. In 1990, on Tom's fifteenth birthday, he received his very first guitar from a friend who had found it lying in a dumpster. Tom was expelled from Poway High School during junior year after being caught drunk at a school basketball game. As Tom went to another school, he met Anne Hoppus, Mark Hoppus' sister, which led to the beginning of blink-182. When he returned to Poway High School during his senior year, the students voted him Prom King during the senior prom.
blink-182
Tom's first band, Big Oily Men, was just for fun. After getting expelled from his old high school on accounts of teenage drinking at a basketball game during his junior year, Tom met Anne Hoppus at his new high school. She had overheard him making a prank phone call to a dentist's office, and found him hilarious. They soon became friends. Tom constantly expressed his desire to form a serious band, so Anne introduced him to her brother, Mark Hoppus, who had recently moved to Poway, California. The night they met Tom was skateboarding with a bunch of friends in a plaza parking lot and to impress Tom, Mark climbed a lamp pole and jumped from the top, cracking both heels. Mark and Tom eventually came up with the name Duck Tape for the name of their band, and a small duck as the mascot. Duck Tape soon transformed into Blink. In need of a drummer, Tom tapped 14-year-old Scott Raynor, whom he had known from a Battle of the Bands contest. In 1992, the trio created a demo tape entitled Flyswatter.
Their first concert took place at a bar. Since they were underage, they were only allowed to enter when it was time for their set. They bought 50 tickets to sell but no one came to see them. After only one song Blink was kicked out. After the show, the bar manager came up to Tom, bought him a Snapple and said, "You deserve it." Blink eventually got more popular, and on their first real tour, Tom DeLonge was arrested for underage drinking. As they reached newer heights of popularity, they were forced to add a "182" to the end of their name due to threat of legal action by an Irish band already operating under the name Blink.
Political activities and views
During 2004, Tom played an active part in the campaign to elect John Kerry as President of the United States. He was involved in many rallies and spoke to different groups asking them to support John Kerry's election bid. In some cases, Tom and also fellow members of blink 182 aligned themselves with Punk Voter and had various political links on their websites.
On 10th May 2004, He spoke to Rolling Stone and said if President George W. Bush won the election, he would move to Canada (echoing similar comments by many other celebrities). He did not follow through however, as he still currently lives in America.
In 2006, DeLonge implied the United States government was partially responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks. DeLonge interviewed James H. Fetzer of Scholars for 9/11 Truth during a stint as guest DJ on San Diego, California, radio station 91X. During the interview, DeLonge said "The [World Trade Center] came down in a fashion similar to a controlled demolition ... and the expertise that is needed to fly those gigantic planes into that exact location could never have been achieved by someone who just learned how to fly a small plane." [1]
He actively supports breast cancer research, and has sponsored events like "Keep A Breast" with his company Macbeth Shoes.
Equipment
He has had two signature models: a Fender Stratocaster and a Gibson ES-335, both featuring one humbucking bridge pickup.
Discography
Links
blink-182
- blink-182 — Flyswatter (1992), vocals and guitar on the entire album.
- blink-182 — Buddha (1994), vocals and guitar on the entire album.
- blink-182 — Cheshire Cat (1994), vocals and guitar on the entire album.
- blink-182 — Dude Ranch (1997), vocals and guitar on the entire album.
- blink-182 — Enema of the State (1999), vocals and guitar on the entire album.
- blink-182 — The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show: The Enema Strikes Back (2000), vocals and guitar on the entire album.
- blink-182 — Take off Your Pants and Jacket (2001), vocals and guitar on the entire album.
- blink-182 — Untitled (2003), vocals and guitar on the entire album.
- blink-182 — Greatest Hits (2005), vocals and guitar on the entire album.
Angels & Airwaves
- Angels and Airwaves — We Don't Need To Whisper (2006), vocals and guitar on the entire album.
Box Car Racer
- Box Car Racer — Box Car Racer (2002) vocals, guitar, and bass
| Studio albums | |
|---|---|
| Live albums | |
| Compilation albums | |
| Demos | |
| EPs | |
| Video albums | |
| Tours |
|
| Associated acts | |
| Related articles | |
References
- ^ Boddie, Neil. "BLINK 9/11. Former blink-182 singer questions Bush's honesty about the World Trade Center Attacks" Blender July 2006: 28., prisonplanet.com [1]