Fahrenheit-182: A Humorous and Inspirational Memoir by Mark Hoppus of Blink-182 by Mark Hoppus and Dan Ozzi
Mark Hoppus is the only person that has been a member of Blink-182 for the band's entire history. In his early life, he grew up in the Mojave desert. He was smart and did well in school. His family didn't have a whole lot of money, but they were not poor. Then his parents' marriage had issues. They separated and eventually divorced. There were violent boyfriends and other issues. Mark's sister chose to live with their mother, so Mark chose the father. They moved around a bit. Mark's academic performance faltered. He got into various substances and music. His first concert was They Might Be Giants in DC. He decided he liked to play bass. Later he managed get into a college in California, and lived with his Mom. His sister introduced him to Tom Delonge. They hit it off big and would form the nucleus of Blink-182.
The rest of the book is primarily related to the experience of the band. Even life events (like cancer) seem to be colored by the band. They were somewhat in the San Diego skate-punk scene, though there didn't seem to be a strong tie. Blink-182 was originally blink until another "blink" band sued. Their first concert had nobody in attendance. They had one guy at the next. However, they kept plugging away. Tom was the one that kept pushing for more goals and greater success. Scott, their first drummer was younger and more of an introvert. The book gently threads the issue of dumping him. Scott had a different personality and a drinking problem. He got booted and the band didn't talk to him much afterwards. Travis Barker was recruited from the Aquabats and that became the classic lineup.
They worked hard to get their break. Then they hit it big. They were willing to write poppy songs. They mocked boy bands and got pigeonholed as one. They ran around in nearly naked in a video. There were plenty of juvenile antics and jokes. There may be an undertext of this being a means to hide from concerns. Mark talks about many "one in a million" events. Travis was in a plane crash that killed others and left him burnt all over. Their producer died. Even a deer hit seemed to show tragedy. And later, Mark was diagnosed with cancer. The band became hugely popular. Then they broke up and did not-so-popular side projects. Then they got back together again to big success. Then Tom left again. This time they recruited another singer. They had some success. Finally after Mark's cancer treatment they got back together again as the original band.
The story is similar to other bands. There was a lot of hard work and a desire to succeed as well as lucky breaks. There was also plenty of tragedy of various types. There is very little that is taken outwardly very seriously. Even the cancer treatment was treated flippantly. The internal demons are a different story. How much of this is a facade and how much is just his way of looking at life?
