Jump to content

+44 (band)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Rich Smith (talk | contribs) at 18:40, 16 July 2011 (Fix Dead Link). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

+44

+44 was an alternative rock band formed by Blink-182 members Mark Hoppus (lead vocals, bass guitar) and Travis Barker (drums, electronics, keyboards). The band also included former Transplants touring guitarist Craig Fairbaugh and the lead guitarist of The Nervous Return, Shane Gallagher.

Their sound has been described as "originally more electronic-based, eventually falling instead under the alternative rock umbrella".[1] The band name refers to the international dialing code of the United Kingdom, the country where Hoppus and Barker first discussed the project.[2] The band is currently on hiatus but Hoppus says the project still has not served its purpose.

History

Formation (2005)

+44 was announced in April 2005,[2] only three months after Blink-182 had announced their indefinite hiatus. The band originally consisted of elements not usually present in Blink-182's work, namely electronic drums, samples, keyboards and direct computer recordings.[3]

As work continued on the demos, Get the Girl vocalist Carol Heller was invited by Hoppus and Barker to audition her vocals. Heller's performance was agreeable enough to the band and as a result the three kept working on more songs together. The band's lineup changed again early 2006, with the addition of guitarist Shane Gallagher.

In order to progress with their demos, Barker and Hoppus acquired a studio, a move which marked a "turning point for +44." The band began working solely in the studio they had purchased, playing live drums, guitars and vocals. The band's original electronic elements became less evident, but still remained a key feature. As a result, Heller found she wasn't compatible with the band's direction, and with the addition of her wish to start a family, she left the band. The vocal work that Heller contributed is still present in the song "Make You Smile".[3] After this, Hoppus, Barker, and Gallagher were left to find a new backing vocalist. Guitarist Craig Fairbaugh of Mercy Killers then joined the band.

When Your Heart Stops Beating (2006–2007)

As the projected release date started to draw in, speculation on the title of the band's debut album began to circulate. At first, it was believed that the album would be called Little Death as it was listed as such in AP magazine. This was later revealed to be one of the tracks of the album. Hoppus finally settled on When Your Heart Stops Beating. The song "Lycanthrope" was released on the +44 website in early September 2006. This was only the second song that fans had heard other than "No, It Isn't". Lycanthrope was also featured on the soundtrack of the videogame Tony Hawk's Project 8.

Later in September KROQ-FM played the title track of the forthcoming album. The band played their first show on September 7, 2006 at The Roxy Theatre in Hollywood; Hoppus stated it was the first show he had performed in two years. The band followed this up by their second show and first UK performance at the London Astoria venue.

Prior to the album's release, Hoppus stated he was pleased that the original experimentation with keyboards and other electronic embellishments remained, particularly in songs like "155" and "Weatherman", his two favourite tracks on the record.[4] He stated the album was "by far the most lyrically personal music I have ever written" and it was in direct reference to Blink-182's split and "the ugly feelings that were left over afterwards".[3]

The album was released on November 14, 2006, in North America, November 13, 2006, in Europe, and November 11, 2006, in Australia.

During the shooting of the video for "When Your Heart Stops Beating", Travis Barker injured his arm, which was discovered weeks later after playing a whole European promo tour. This forced him to cancel drumming in the upcoming Australia and Europe tours. Gil Sharone filled in for him in these tours.[5]

+44 then covered The Smashing Pumpkins' song "I Am One" for a MySpace tribute to the band and also participated in the iTunes Foreign Exchange. For this they covered Wir sind Helden's song "Guten Tag" with an English translation and Wir sind Helden covered "When Your Heart Stops Beating" in a German translation, entitled "Wenn Dein Herz zu Schlagen Aufhört".

In 2007, +44 set off on the Honda Civic Tour along with Fall Out Boy, The Academy Is..., Paul Wall, and Cobra Starship. During the tour they filmed themselves playing for the music video of their upcoming single "155". On this tour, Victoria Asher from Cobra Starship performed vocals on "Make You Smile", and the band began adding "Dammit," "The Rock Show" and "What's My Age Again?" by Blink-182 to their setlists.

In 2011, When Your Heart Stops Beating was released for the first time on vinyl. Hot Topic sold the album on a blue/white swirl vinyl, matching the color scheme of the artwork on the sleeve.[6]

Second studio album and hiatus (2007–2009)

The first mention of +44 pulling out of their Sunday slot at the European festival; Reading Festival and show appearances was on August 6, 2007. The music website NME then released on August 8 with the official reason of studio commitments for their second album. On October 23, 2007, Hoppus stated that +44 had officially signed a deal with Interscope to start recording the new record.[7] On April 9, Hoppus stated that the delay of the second studio album was due to the lack of funding by the label. On May 25, he also stated that the new +44 album was still in pre-production.

On July 30, 2008, Metromix interviewed Barker where he explained about his solo record. When asked about +44, he stated:

"We're going to be a lot more proactive about it after I get my record finished and Mark [Hoppus] finishes producing the two records he's doing this year."

On September 19, 2008, Travis Barker was injured in a plane crash in Columbia, South Carolina. Barker has since made a full recovery.[8]

In an interview with MTV on January 19, 2009, Hoppus stated that he was working on songs for a solo album, with ten songs in various stages of completion.[9] During the interview he neither confirmed nor denied +44 were finished. On February 8, it was announced that Hoppus and Barker's former band, Blink-182, had reunited.[10]

In an interview with Alternative Press on February 19, 2009, when asked about the future of +44, Hoppus stated "I don't consider it done. We'll never say never with anything. As soon as you say, 'I'm not gonna do that anymore,' you find yourself in a situation where you wanna do that. Shane [Gallagher] and Craig [Fairbaugh] are awesome guitarists and great fun to play in a band with, so we definitely won't say that the band is done. But obviously, for the foreseeable future, all of our energy is going into Blink-182."[11]

In an interview with Blunt Magazine in March 2009, Hoppus was asked if +44 will continue again, where he stated "I think so, yes. I love Shane [Gallagher] and Craig [Fairbaugh]. They are great guitarists and good friends and I'd love to do another record with them. I know that Tom [DeLonge] plans to continue doing Angels & Airwaves in some capacity but right now all of our efforts are on Blink."[12]

Band members

Current members
Former members
  • Carol Heller – vocals, guitars (2005–2006)
Touring members

Filled in for Barker when he injured his arm.

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album details Peak chart positions
US
[13] 		US
Rock
[13] 		AUS
[14] 		AUT
[15] 		CAN
[13] 		SWI
[16] 		FRA
[17] 		GER
[18] 		IRL
[19] 		UK
[20]
2006 When Your Heart Stops Beating 10 2 22 36 8 79 134 30 77 50

Singles

Year Title Peak chart positions Album
US
[21] 		US
Alt.
[21] 		US
Pop
[21] 		AUS
[22] 		AUT
[15] 		GER
[23] 		IRL
[19] 		UK
[20]
2006 "Lycanthrope"[A] — — — — — — — — When Your Heart Stops Beating
"When Your Heart Stops Beating" 89 14 78 47 74 72 47 47
2007 "Baby Come On" — — — — — — — —
"155" — — — — — — — —
"—" denotes a release that did not chart.
  • A^ Released exclusively in the UK.

Compilation appearances

Year Title Label +44 song
2006 Kevin & Bean's Super Christmas KROQ "Christmas Vacation"
MTV Presents Laguna Beach: Summer Can Last Forever Interscope Records "When Your Heart Stops Beating"
2007 MySpace Tribute to The Smashing Pumpkins MySpace Records "I Am One"
Punk Goes Acoustic 2 Fearless Records "Baby Come On" (Acoustic)

Promotional CDs/7"s

Year Title Format
2005 "No, It Isn't" CD
2006 "Cliffdiving" 7"
"Lycanthrope" 7"
When Your Heart Stops Beating Album Sampler CD

Music videos

Year Title Album Director
2006 "When Your Heart Stops Beating" When Your Heart Stops Beating Liz Friedlander, Sheli Jury
"Chapter 13" When Your Heart Stops Beating Jason Bergh, Jon Marc Sandifer
2007 "155" When Your Heart Stops Beating Haven

Digital download

Remixes

  • "When Your Heart Stops Beating" (Electronic remix)
  • "Little Death" (Chris Holmes mix)

References

  1. ^ "+44 Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
  2. ^ a b "Blink-182's Hoppus, Barker Form Electronic Side Project". MTV. Retrieved 2009-02-23.
  3. ^ a b c "+44 Biography". iSound. Archived from the original on 2009-07-20. Retrieved 2009-07-08. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ "+44 Interview". IGN. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
  5. ^ "Travis Barker Breaks Arm, Bends (+44) Tour Plans". Blend Music. Archived from the original on 2009-07-20. Retrieved 2009-07-08. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "44 Vinyl Release - News Article". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved 2011-07-14.
  7. ^ Mark Hoppus' Blog
  8. ^ CNN - Blink's Barker critically injured in plane crash
  9. ^ MTV
  10. ^ Blink-182 Confirm Reunion On Grammy Stage
  11. ^ Alternative Press Magazine. "Interview with Mark Hoppus". Archived from the original on 2009-05-18. Retrieved 2009-05-16. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ "Blunt". Archived from the original on 2009-05-16. Retrieved 2009-05-13. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ a b c "Billboard charts". Billboard charts. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  14. ^ "Australian albums chart". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
  15. ^ a b "Austrian albums chart". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  16. ^ "Swiss albums chart". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  17. ^ "French albums chart". lescharts.com. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  18. ^ "German albums chart". musicline.de. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  19. ^ a b "Irish charts". irishcharts.com. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  20. ^ a b "British charts". Chartstats. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
  21. ^ a b c "Billboard charts". Billboard charts. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  22. ^ "Australian singles chart". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  23. ^ "German singles chart". musicline.de. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%2B44_(band)&oldid=439817613"