SUNDAY JUNE 18, 2006
When It Comes To Publicity, Plus-44's Mark Hoppus Is No Tom DeLonge
While Hoppus' silence may have cemented his status among Blink diehards as "the sane one," it's proven to be a bit of a hindrance when it comes to news about Plus, which he started with Blink drummer Travis Barker in April 2005.
What little is known about the band has been provided though various interviews with MTV News — mostly with Barker — and via Hoppus' Web site. Since February, the group has been recording material in a Los Angeles studio owned by Barker and Hoppus, and in recent weeks, Hoppus started discussing a handful of new songs, including "Lillian" (which he said "will kick a million asses") and a track tentatively titled "Weatherman."
Hoppus has also used Plus-44's MySpace page to address rumors that Carol Heller — Plus' singer and the former vocalist for SoCal punk band Get the Girl — had left the band (or, even scarier, that she was found dead in Northern California).
"I heard Carol was dead or quit the band," Hoppus wrote. "Well, let me clear this one up for all of you: Carol is very much alive. She actually is sitting right next to me on this nice comfy leather couch."
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Mike Patton's Agenda: Touring With Peeping Tom, Humiliating Mark Hoppus And Danny DeVito
Patton et al. recently shot a video for first single, "Mojo," with director Matt McDermitt (Backstreet Boys, Motion City Soundtrack) that features cameos by model Rachel Hunter, Dan "The Automator" Nakamura, Blink-182's Mark Hoppus and Patton buddy Danny DeVito. DeVito plays "a guy watching late-night TV in a wife-beater and boxers" who flips through the channels and gets bombarded by "each commercial and infomercial and Bowflex ad you'd see at 2:30 in the morning," with most of the album's collaborators playing roles in the re-created spots.
"It's a pretty cute, haunting video," said Patton. "[Nakamura and Hoppus] are thrust into a fake episode of 'Cops,' and they're getting harassed, beat-up and generally abused."
here
Mark Hoppus Joins Fuse
Former Blink-182 co-vocalist/bassist Mark Hoppus has signed on as the "official spokesperson" of Fuse TV's Just for the F of It site.
Hoppus will be blogging and providing a biweekly podcast for the site which provides music, gaming and entertainment content. He had this to say:
"We're both trying to bring new music to a new audience and occasionally introduce something that fans might not have otherwise been exposed to...And we're both under the impression that people give an F about what we're trying to say."
Hoppus and Travis Barker announced their post-Blink-182 project, Plus 44 last year. The band also includes Carol Heller, formerly of Get the Girl and formed when their former band went on an indefinite hiatus.
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THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 8, 2005
PUNKS FIGHT FOR CBGB CLUB AS DEADLINE LOOMS
Members of GOOD CHARLOTTE, AUDIOSLAVE and BLINK-182 are among the stars calling for politicians to help save famous New York punk venue CBGB from closure as the club's deadline looms.
Punk acts have been performing at a month long festival of shows at owner HILLY KRISTAL's Bowery club, but all the publicity and cash raised from the venture still might not be enough to keep the place open.
And Blink-182's MARK HOPPUS claims, "When I saw on the news that there was a possibility that it would be closing down, it was on par with, like, 'They're closing down Mount Rushmore (South Dakota landmark)' or something like that. It can't happen."
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Forward Motion
JUSTIN PIERRE would like it clarified that despite his ludicrous hairstyle and the fact his band boast more than 25 tattoos between them, he is a self-proclaimed nerd.
To advance his geek credentials, Pierre notes his former day job was working at an embroidery company in Minnesota.
"It's funny because kids think I'm cool," the 28-year-old frontman of Midwestern punks Motion City Soundtrack says.
"I'm so f--ing uncool. I know it, my girlfriend knows it. I still get beat up by all walks of life wherever we go."
The quintet formed in Minneapolis in 1997, and the newly released Commit This To Memory is their second album for punk label Epitaph.
It's also a significant step up for a band that specialises in anthemic power-pop littered with pop cultural references.
The band were signed to Epitaph in 2003 after recording I Am the Movie independently and selling it out the back of their tour van for a year after shows.
Last year they began writing and recording demos for a month in Los Angeles.
"We used to have a practice space in Minneapolis we called `The Dungeon'," Pierre says.
"We all hated it because it sucked the life and energy out of the band. Going to a studio in LA was great for us, it felt like a new atmosphere and we ended up writing half the record there."
The band roped in Blink-182's Mark Hoppus as producer. The association rose on a European tour with Blink. Guitarist Josh Cain bonded over music with Hoppus.
"They're both music nerds and really into the recording aspects of things," Pierre explains.....
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Busy Barker Gives Update On Projects
Travis Barker seems to be constantly in motion, even for a drummer. While Blink-182 takes an indefinite hiatus, Barker is keeping incredibly busy with two bands, a TV show, his own line of sneakers and now another little one on the way. He took a moment to talk to MTV.com and give an update on his newest band, Plus-44. "We'll get back to writing Plus-44 songs sometime in October. That's when I have a couple of weeks off before I leave on the Pennywise tour [with his current band, Transplants]," he told MTV News. "In the meantime, Mark [Hoppus, also of Blink-182] and Carol [Heller, Plus-44's female vocalist] have been writing, and I'll just kind of join back up with them here or there. And then for sure we'll work hard on it for a couple of months starting in February." Barker expects the completed album to be released sometime next summer.
Barker is also hoping to make some time to collaborate with DJ AM (fiance of Nicole Richie). "I have 10 days off between the Warped Tour end and the beginning of the European festivals, so there's talk about doing a show with AM in Los Angeles before I leave. So it never ends," he told MTV. "And I've got a shoe coming out with DC in fall, so if we don't play that week, we're going to play the release party for my shoes, which is in August or November or something. I don't really know. I've got so much going right now, I forget."....
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Disney Presents $2 Million to the Make-A-Wish Foundation
Disney's once-in-a-lifetime fundraising event held aboard the Disney Magic cruise ship last night generated more than $1 million for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. After Disney Chief Executive Officer Michael Eisner presented the check to Make-A-Wish Foundation of America President and Chief Executive Officer David Williams, Disney President, Chief Operating Officer and CEO-Elect Bob Iger called upon Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse to present Williams with a surprise second check for $1 million dollars donated by the company.
The $2 million will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America and the Greater Los Angeles, Orange County and Inland Empire, Calif., chapters, helping them continue their mission of granting the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.
Those who attended the party and participated in the fun, interactive events with guests aboard the Disney Cruise Line ship included: Kelly Preston (Sky High), Paige Hemmis and Paul DiMeo (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition), Randy Jackson (American Idol), Raven-Symone and Kyle Massey (That's So Raven), Amy Bruckner (The Suite Life), Christy Carlson Romano (Kim Possible), Kurtwood Smith (That 70's Show), Diane Disney Miller (Silverado Winery), Ashley Parker Snider (Fess Parker Winery & Vineyard), Mark Hoppus (Blink 182), Skateboarder Bob Burnquist, Los Angeles Dodgers Eric Gagne and Jason Phillips, Los Angeles Angel Tim Salmon, Los Angeles King Steve Avery, Green Bay Packer Ahman Green and Cincinnati Bengal TJ Houshmanzadeh.
Honorary Cruise Directors, who helped to raise pre-awareness and support for the event, were: Jim Belushi, Candice Bergen, Tom Bergeron, Amanda Bynes, Jackie Chan, Johnny Depp, Jennifer Garner, Chris Harrison, Teri Hatcher, Tony Hawk, Felicity Huffman, Hugh Jackman, George Lopez, Garry Marshall, Christy Carlson Romano, John Stamos and Raven-Symone.
Disney's history of wish granting started when Walt Disney opened Disneyland in 1955 and hosted children from around the world. In 1980, Disney joined together with the newly launched Make-A-Wish Foundation to help grant the Foundation's first official wish -- a trip to Disneyland for 7-year-old Frank "Bopsy" Salazar. Today, Disney fulfills more than 5,000 wishes each year, with a Disney theme park visit remaining the Foundation's most requested wish....
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Mark Hoppus Throws House Party For Motion City Soundtrack
The best things in life are free. Just ask Motion City Soundtrack. After all, it was some complimentary T-shirts that got them in touch with Blink-182, who took the Minnesota quartet on the road as the opening act on their European tour. And things just sort of snowballed from there."We had a relationship with Atticus clothing, and people there introduced our album to [Blink bassist/ Atticus co-founder] Mark Hoppus, and he wanted to take us on tour. Then there was a blurb in Rolling Stone where he dropped our name and it was mind-blowing," explained prodigious-haired Motion City frontman Justin Pierre. "And then we were over in Europe and he asked us if he could produce our next record. We were like, 'Um, yeah!' "
And Hoppus wasn't even kidding. So after the bands parted ways, he kept in touch with the guys in MCS, and while his own band began to wind down the touring cycle for its untitled 2003 album, Hoppus booked time at Seedy Underbelly studios in Valley Village, California. There, in that house-turned-studio, is where Motion City Soundtrack would spend the next six weeks of their lives, recording their second album, the recently released Commit This to Memory...
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