Mark Hoppus
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Mark Hoppus |
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Markus Allan Hoppus (born March 15, 1972 in Ridgecrest, California[1]) is an American musician, producer, and was one of the three founding members of the pop-punk band Blink-182 and the pop-punk/alternative band +44. He plays bass guitar and sings vocals. Lately, Mark Hoppus has produced albums for groups like Idiot Pilot, Simple Plan, New Found Glory and Motion City Soundtrack.
Biography
At the age of 15, Mark got his first bass guitar as a gift from his dad and earned money for a set of amplifiers by helping him paint his garage.[2] Mark never took bass lessons, instead he taught himself by playing to bands such as the Descendents, The Cure, and Bad Religion. Mark played by himself and sang in the band Pier 69, primarily covering songs by The Cure. He also played in a band called The Attic Children in 1988, during this time he lived in Washington D.C. He later moved to San Diego, where his sister Anne (now Anne Wright) introduced him to Tom DeLonge. DeLonge was a friend of Anne's at the time, and constantly complained about wanting to join a band. She finally introduced Hoppus and Tom DeLonge in August 1992. When Hoppus first went over to DeLonge's house, he was told DeLonge would be at the local skate park. Hoppus went over and found DeLonge skateboarding with his friends. Hoppus wanted to impress DeLonge, so he climbed on a lamp post, jumped off and cracked both ankles and heels and was on crutches for three weeks. He then started playing with DeLonge in his garage and they recruited original drummer, Scott Raynor. They went on to form Blink-182. In 1998, Travis Barker joined the band during a tour in California. Blink-182 went on to record many more albums which made the band very successful. The band recorded two number one hits, All The Small Things and I Miss You. As of 2005 the band went on an indefinite hiatus. Mark wanted to continue to write music so he started a new band with fellow band mate Travis. The band is called +44. In 2006 they released their first album entitled When Your Heart Stops Beating. The band is currently recording their second studio album.
Personal life
Mark married Skye Everly in 2000. She gave birth to their son, Jack Hoppus, in 2002. The three currently reside in Los Angeles, California. In the Summer issue of Baby Couture Magazine, Mark Hoppus was voted second place in The 50 Hautest Dads 2007.
Musical gear
Hoppus has been seen sporting his signature Fender Jazz Bass bass in a variety of different colors since the days of Blink-182. Recently, Mark's signature underwent a slight modification. The bodies are now made of Ash instead of Alder, making the bass lighter. The pickup locations were switched from their usual positions. The pickup that was placed under the E and A strings was also placed under the D and G strings and moved above the original position, placed higher than the pickup under the E and A strings, giving the D and G bass strings a warmer, thicker bass sound. The pickups Hoppus uses are Seymour Duncan Quarter-Pound pickups, the same as is on the Fender Precision Bass The current colors of his +44 touring basses include Olympic White, Sunburst and See-Through Blond all coupled with a tortoise shell pickguard. Besides his signature basses, Mark was seen using one other bass guitar live on stage: the 6 stringed Fender Bass VI, most notably for the song "I Miss You". [2] Prior to the use of Fender Basses, Mark heavily used Ernie Ball Musicman Stingray basses in various colors during the early days of Blink 182 up until the early Enema of the State period.
For live sound, Mark plugs his basses into 3 Ampeg SVT Classic bass heads running into 2 Ampeg 8x10 SVT bass cabs. Prior to the use of the all-tube SVT Classic heads, Mark used 2 Ampeg SVT-4 Pro heads which only feature a tube preamp.
Companies
Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge co-owned two companies, Atticus and Macbeth Athletics, Mark has sold his share in both companies; as well as loserkids.com[citation needed]. He is now co-owner of the clothing company from bandmate Travis Barker, Famous Stars and Straps[citation needed].
HiMyNameIsMark
"HiMyNameIsMark" (Also known as 'The Morning Zoo') is a podcast that was set up in the wake of the hiatus by Hoppus, and can be found at HiMyNameIsMark.com[1]. Every few weeks he released a show of songs by underground bands, interviews with band members and/or friends, and reminisces about happenings in his life. He is often joined on the show by his friends Chris Holmes (+44's engineer) and James Ingram (+44's assistant engineer). In 2005 Mark won the "Best Podcast" award, beating out many of the hottest podcasts.
Discography
References
- ^ "blink-182". AskMen.com. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
- ^ a b Dowling, Joshua (2004-08-27). "Mark Hoppus unplugged". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
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External links
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