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1995

YEAR IN REVIEW: Blink become Blink-182, they release their debut album, Cheshire Cat, and embark on their first national tour, supporting the surf video GoodTimes.

 

1/21/1995: Davey Quinn of Tiltwheel confirms that Scott Raynor has "rejoined" the band, flying in for shows from Reno. He claims the band has been performing very little since his departure due to his "situation" (i.e., family in Reno).

1/28/1995: 

  • The band performs at ? in Lancaster, California.

    • Other bands included Tiltwheel and Skankin Pickle.

2/5/1995: Cheshire Cat is finally ready for release, as the band receives the first box of CDs from the manufacturers. Mark's mother kept the first batch of discs, and he posted a photo of the box on social media in 2018. Image 1, Image 2

2/10/1995: 

  • The band performs at the Whiskey a Go Go in Los Angeles, California. Poster

    • Other bands included Unwriten Law, Incubus, Ten Foot Pole, and Addicts for the Automatic.

2/1995 (undated): Stiff Pole Records releases Six Pack to Go, a compilation album. Tiltwheel is featured with a song titled "Bl'ink". Quinn says on alt.punk that it is a re-written song from the band's Short Bus EP "when Tom was playing with us."  The song is essentially "Does My Breath Smell?", and can be heard here. Tom's association with Tiltwheel is largely a mystery, though it's assumed he also briefly played with the band during this time period.

2/17/1995: Blink releases its debut album, Cheshire Cat, on Grilled Cheese, a newly-created division of Cargo Records.

2/24/1995: 

3/3/1995: 

  • The band performs at Huntridge Theater in Las Vegas, Nevada, as part of the Billabong S.I.A. Tradeshow Party. Poster, Poster 2

    • Other bands included Sick of It All, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Unwritten Law, Dance Hall Crashers, and Incubus.

3/25/1995: 

  • The band performs at the Big Bear Convention Center in Big Bear, California. Poster

    • Other bands included Pennywise, Face to Face, Unwritten Law, and the Line.

  • Davey Quinn, on alt.punk, records this date as 3/31/1995, though K£V¥Ñ-¹8²'s tour schedule lists it as 3/25/1995 -- it's possible it was rescheduled to 3/25.

3/30/1995: Blink gets an article in the San Diego Union Tribune.

3/31/1995: 

  • The band performs at the YMCA Skate Park in Kearny Mesa, California. Ticket, Poster, Poster 2

    • Other bands included Dance Hall Crashers, Jughead's Revenge, and Screw 32.

  • Quinn notes in this alt.punk listing that the show will precede others "in Anchorage, Alaska and Valdez, Alaska" — one can assume that the Valdez show was the 4/3 gig at the Totem Inn.

4/1/1995: 

4/3/1995: 

  • The band performed at the Totem Inn in Valdez, Alaska. Flyer

    • Other bands included Pennywise and Dance Hall Crashers.

4/29/1995: The band performs at Missile Park in San Diego, California, as a part of May Day Festival. Poster

Ticket

5/19/1995: The band performs at the Micah Building in Salem, Oregon as part of the Skate Park Fundraiser Gig. Other bands included Sideways People, The Jimmies and Blame It On Him.Ticket Stub

Poster

Mid-1995 (undated):

  • Scott officially moves back to San Diego and moves in with Mark and his sister at his mother's house. Raynor in TFBYM: "That summer I lived with Mark and his family was probably the greatest summer of my life so far. I left home at 17, came to San Diego, we bought a van, finished our first video... I had all kinds of dreams in my head and they were all coming true.”

  • The band secure Rick DeVoe as their manager. He had started a promotion company called Big Dummy under the umbrella of Bill Silva Presents. DeVoe managed Unwritten Law, was the first to promote the Offspring, and was close friends with Pennywise.

  • DeVoe introduced the band to Rick Bonde of the Tahoe Agency, a booking agency based out of Lake Tahoe that worked with bands like Sublime. Bonde and his wife arranged several mini-tours for the band that took them outside SoCal for the first time.

  • The trio purchase a white Chevy Beauville as a touring van, and nicknamed it "the Millennium Falcon".

6/3/1995:

  • The band performs at Viva Las Vegas in Anaheim, California as part of an album release party for Litmus Green. Poster 1, Poster 2

    • Other bands include Unwritten Law, Litmus Green, and Assorted Jelly Beans.

    • User 10tranjan66 recalls this show : Funny thing is I saw them in 1995 playing in a small venue called Viva Las Vegas. Basically just a warehouse in Anaheim. I remember Mark Hoppus having blue hair. I wouldn't be surprised if I was actually at that exact show. Great show. Other bands in the lineup were Unwritten Law, Litmus Green, Assorted Jelly Beans and maybe a few others I can't remember".

6/4/1995: The band performs at the Palace in Hollywood, California. Other bands included Jimmy Eat World, White Kaps, D.F.L, Strung Out and Fear. Stage Times

6/11/1995: Punk Sucks, a compilation album featuring "M+M's", is released. It's later the subject of a bitter dispute on the newsgroup alt.punk between Mark, Tom, and the CD's distributor, David Taba.

6/17/1995: 

  • The band performs at SOMA in San Diego, California. Flyer

    • Other bands included Buck-o-Nine (headliner), Sprung Monkey, and Schleprock.

6/23/1995: 

  • The band performs at Patterson Hall in Fresno, California. Poster 1, Poster 2,

    • Other bands included Unwritten Law, One by One, and Grownd.

6/24/1995: 

6/25/1995: The band performs at Blondes in Santa Fe Spring, California. Flyer

6/30/1995: The band performs at the Trocadero in San Diego, California. Other bands included Skankin' Pickle and the Rudiments. Poster

7/4/1995: The band performs at the Monty's Den, San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California.*

7/6/1995: The band performs at the Roxy in Hollywood, California. Poster, Flyer 

7/8/1995: 

  • The band performs at "The Barn" at UC Riverside in Riverside, California. Poster, Flyer

    • Other bands include Dance Hall Crashers (headliner), Unwritten Law, and the Aquabats.

  • This was the band’s first time playing with the Aquabats, though Travis Barker was not yet in the band; he did not join until early 1996.

7/18/1995: 

  • The band performs at the Showcase Theatre in Corona, California. Picture 1, Picture 2

  • Kerry Key, friend of the band, takes photos that night, one of which is later used as the cover for the "M+M's" single.

7/21/1995: The band performs at the Aquatic Center in Lake Havasu, Arizona.

7/22/1995: 

  • The band performs at "The Barn" at UC Riverside in Riverside, California as part of an album release party for Punk Sucks. Flyer, Other Flyer

    • Other bands included Strung Out, Naked Aggression, He's Dead Jim, Homegrown, and White Kaps.

7/25/1995: The band performs at The Casbah in San Diego, California.*

7/26/1995: 

  • The band films the music video for "M+M's", according to a clapperboard seen in the original music video.

  • Here is a behind-the-scenes video of the shoot, which was originally released on some low-budget VHS in the 1990s.

7/27/1995: 

7/28/1995: The band performs at Downtown Performance Center in Tucson, Arizona.

7/29/1995: The band performs at the Mesa Ampitheatre in Mesa, Arizona.

7/30/1995: The band was set to perform at the Huntridge Theatre in Las Vegas, Nevada. Other bands included Skankin Pickle, One By One and Atta Boy Skip. According to kvaden in the comments from the original post, "that Skankin Pickle/Blink show ended up not happening. The roof caved in two days prior".

Flyer

7/31/1995: 

8/3/1995: Blink officially changes its name to blink-182.

8/4/1995: The band performs at Berkeley Square in Berkley, California.*

Picture 1

Picture 2

8/5/1995: 

  • The band performs at Cal State Long Beach in Long Beach, California, as a part of Surf Aid '95. Flyer

    • Other bands included Skankin Pickle, Lagwagon, Unwritten Law, Strung Out, 7 Seconds, Sprung Monkey, No Fun at All, and Sack Lunch.

8/10/1995: The band performs at Gig's in Anchorage, Alaska. Other bands included Sleeve and Freedom 4th. This was a 21 and over show. Flyer

8/11/1995: The band performs at Gig's in Anchorage, Alaska. Other bands included Liquid Courage and 36 Cramyfists. This was an all-ages show. Flyer

8/18/1995: 

  • The band performs at the Showcase Theatre in Corona, California. Poster, Poster 2,

    •  

      Ticket

      Other bands included Schleprock (headliner), Buck-o-Nine, and No Fun at All.

8/19/1995: 

  • The band performs at Neckhoff in Orange, California. Poster, flyer

  • Other bands included The Skeletones, One Eye Open, Kids of Widney High and Assorted Jelly Beans.

  • I had this date recorded prior to finding the poster for the aforementioned show: "The band performs at the Riverport Amphitheatre in St. Louis, Missouri as a part of Pointfest 4." It didn't contain a source and was not one of Kevin-182's dates, so while probably real, it could've been in 1996. Leaving this here for now.

9/1995: The music video for "M+M's" is serviced to "independent video production companies."

9/6/1995: "M+M's" is released as a single.

9/8/1995: Taylor Steele's surf movie "Factory Seconds" is released and includes the song "Carousel" as the opening song of the movie. Video

9/16/1995: The band performs a free show at Time Out in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Advert

Picture from the Albuquerque Journal

9/19/1995: The band performs at the Mercury Cafe in Denver, Colorado. Other bands included The Vandals and Strung Out. Ticket Stub

Picture

9/20/1995: The band performs at DV8 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Other bands included The Vandals, Strung Out and Blue Tip. 

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9/23/1995: 

  • The band performs at SOMA in San Diego, California. Ticket, flyer 1, flyer 2

    •  

      Flyer 3

      Other bands include 7 Seconds (headliner), Blue Meanies, and Shades Apart.

10/4/1995: 

10/10/1995: The band's newsletter announces their name change. It also announces They Came to Conquer Uranus (set then for mid-November), and a future split EP with Swindle.

10/13/1995: The band performs at the Oakhurst Community Center in Oakhurst, California. Other bands included Stinkaholic and Fury 66. Two Flyers from the Show

10/14/1995: 

  • The band performs at Galaxy Theatre in Costa Mesa, California. Ticket

    • Other bands included Rhythm Collision.

10/19/1995: The band performs at The Underground in Santa Barbara, California.

10/21/1995: 

10/22/1995: 

10/24/1995: The band performs at the Nile in Mesa, Arizona. Poster

10/25/1995: The band performs at Nations Tobin Park in El Paso, Texas. Other bands included 7 Seconds, Welt and local band Out Of Hand. Flyer

10/27/1995: 

10/28/1995: The band performs at Emo's in Austin, Texas.

10/31/1995: 

  • The band performs at the Milk Bar in Jacksonville, Florida, beginning the GoodTimes tour.

    • Other bands included 7 Seconds, Unwritten Law, and Sprung Monkey.

  • This was the official first date of the GoodTimes tour. According to TFBYM, the band toured in their van ("the Falcon") and brought along Mike Lucena and Cam Jones for "moral support”.

  • This was the infamous show where Tom was arrested. From TFBYM: "Despite being warned that the Jacksonville police were cracking down on Halloween "crime," Tom, who was underage at the time, drank quite a bit. Which might still have been okay, if he hadn’t wandered out into the streets still firmly grasping his bottle of beer." Tom spent the night in jail, but DeVoe bailed him out, allowing them to continue on the tour.

  • Ryan Key, future frontman of the band Yellowcard, was in attendance for this concert, he remembered in a 2017 interview for JUICE Singapore: "Blink was my first club punk show rock show actually. I saw them on the Cheshire Cat tour in a basement in Jacksonville, like 300 people there. I'm pretty sure that Tom DeLonge got arrested that night for indecent exposure."

11/1995 (undated): Hopeless Records releases the VHS compilation video Cinema Beer Goggles, which collects punk rock bands' music videos, including the very first release of "M+M's".

11/1/1995: 

  • The band performs at the Edge in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

    • Other bands included 7 Seconds, Unwritten Law, and Sprung Monkey.

11/2/1995: 

  • The band performs at Embassy in Orlando, Florida.

    • Other bands included 7 Seconds, Unwritten Law, and Sprung Monkey.

11/3/1995: 

  • The band performs at J.R.’s Stampede in Palm Bay, Florida.

    • Other bands included 7 Seconds, Unwritten Law, and Sprung Monkey.

  • This show has always been listed as taking place at the Zoo, in Melbourne, Florida. However, in 2020, I received a note from timeline reader Craig, who states the gig was moved to the aforementioned venue. Craig writes “I recall Blink played a double set […] the drummer for U.L. had a broken wrist.” As the following day’s concert was also moved to a separate venue, I feel no need to doubt our reader. Thanks Craig!

11/4/1995:  

  • The band performs at the State in St. Petersburg, Florida. Poster

    • Other bands included 7 Seconds, Unwritten Law, and Sprung Monkey.

  • The show was to have originally taken place at a venue called Jannus Landing, but "low ticket sales" (according to a 2017 post on Instagram) forced them to change venues to presumably a smaller one.

11/7/1995: 

  • The band performs at Mad Monk in Wilmington, North Carolina.

  • Flyer

  • Poster​

  • Other bands included 7 Seconds, Unwritten Law, and Sprung Monkey.

11/8/1995: 

  • The band performs at the Head Room in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

  • Other bands included 7 Seconds, Unwritten Law, and Sprung Monkey.

  • A bonus hidden track on the Japanese edition of Dude Ranch, titled "Dog Lapping", has recordings from a show played in South Carolina. It's unknown if this was recorded on this date.

  • According to TFBYM, an all-out bar fight escalates at this show: "The bands took exception to the amount of force the bouncers were using with the kids. [...] It was the Old West — punches were flying, chairs were thrown, and bottles were breaking."

11/9/1995: 

  • The band performs at the Abyss in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

    • Other bands included 7 Seconds, Unwritten Law, and Sprung Monkey.

11/10/1995: 

  • The band performs at Scandals in Ocean City, Maryland.

    • Other bands included 7 Seconds, Unwritten Law, and Sprung Monkey.

11/11/1995: 

11/12/1995: 

  • The band performs at TBA in New York, New York.

    • Other bands included 7 Seconds, Unwritten Law, and Sprung Monkey.

11/18/1995: 

  • The band performs at After Dark in Honolulu, Hawaii, completing the first leg of the GoodTimes tour. Audio, Video

    • Other bands included the Vandals and Guttermouth.

11/22/1995: 

  • The band performs at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, California. Poster, ticket, ticket 2

    • Other bands included Vitamin L, Donuts n' Glory, and Homegrown.

12/1/1995: 

  • The band performs at Stewart's in Mooloolabah, Australia, beginning the second, Australian leg of the GoodTimes tour. Picture 1, Picture 2, Picture 3

    •  

      Green Gremlin who attended this show gives further information about this particular show : "I think it was Pennywise / Blink 182 late 1995 or early 1996 in a place called the Roxy in Fortitude Valley. Show ended in a riot/stage invasion which saw Pennywise's gear thrashed. Watched some of it being crushed against the barriers and then climbed up on top of the PA and watched the rest of the gig from there. Was a great show."

      Other bands included Pennywise, Bodyjar, and Downtime.

  • Here is another poster detailing more info about the Australian run of GoodTimes dates, including additional support acts and venue info.

  • This was the band’s first Australian show, and first international show ever.

12/2/1995:  

  • The band performs at Fisherman's Wharf in Surfer's Paradise, Australia.

    • Other bands included Pennywise, Bodyjar, and Downtime.

  • K£V¥Ñ-¹8²'s schedule lists this as venue and show as The Spit in Gold Coast, Queensland, for whatever reason.

12/3/1995: 

  • The band performs at Leagues in Central Coast, Australia.

    • Other bands included Pennywise, Bodyjar, and Downtime.

12/5/1995: 

  • The band performs at Worker's in Newcastle, Australia.

    • Other bands included Pennywise, Bodyjar, and Downtime

12/6/1995: 

  • The band performs at Sands Hotel in Narrabeon, Australia.

    • Other bands included Pennywise, Bodyjar, and Downtime.

12/8/1995:

  • The band performs at Waves in Woolongong, Australia. Poster 

    • Other bands included Pennywise, Bodyjar, and One Inch Punch.

12/9/1995: 

  • The band performs at Selinas in Sydney, Australia. Poster

    • Other bands included Pennywise, Bodyjar, and One Inch Punch.

12/10/1995: 

  • The band performs at Phoenician in Sydney, Australia. Poster

    • Other bands included Pennywise, Bodyjar, and One Inch Punch.

12/12/1995: 

  • The band performs at Metropolis in Perth, Australia. 

    • ​Other bands included Pennywise, Bodyjar, and Beaver Loop.

12/14/1995: 

12/15/1995: 

  • The band performs at the Palace in Melbourne, Australia. Poster

    • Other bands included Pennywise, Bodyjar, and One Inch Punch.

12/16/1995: 

12/21/1995: The band receives their first big profile: an article in the Los Angeles Times.

12/21/1995: 

12/27/1995: The band performs at the Roxy in Los Angeles, California. Poster

12/28/1995: 

  • The band performs at the Nile Theater in Mesa, Arizona. Poster

    • Other bands included Spaceman Spiff, Jimmy Eat World, and Jill.

    • From the band Jill on Facebook : "Blink 182 had recently released their album "Cheshire Cat" and were getting very popular , regionally. Not yet the mega band they would go on to be, but still very popular. We knew who they were from a punk compilation (forget the name?), that included their song "M+M's". We thought they were kinda cool, and we were already massive Jimmy Eat World fans. They were our buds. We knew this show would be fun, and we were really looking forward to playing it. Although we played with Jimmy Eat World many times, they did not end up playing this show, for whatever reason (despite being on the flyer). I remember after our set, Jay (bassist) and I were outside cooling off and reflecting on what we considered a pretty triumphant evening. Tom Delonge (Blink 182's guitarist) came outside and said : You guys are like, a combination of all my favorite bands! I loved it! The he pulled his dong out and openly peed on the sidewalk, outside of the club".

  • A VHS containing “M+M’s” — from a post-production facility --  is timestamped with this date. It’s unclear if this is the new iteration of “M+M’s” re-submitted for airplay on MTV and MuchMusic. Image

12/31/1995: The band performs at San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California, as a part of SOMA's New Year Bash. Ticket 1, Ticket 2, Ticket 3

Undated

The band performs at the Krass record store in Cronulla in Australia. Here is some more information about this show by reddit user Sea-Late

"I saw Blink in the mid 90s play to about 15 of us in Krass record store in Cronulla. Regular show. The original drummer was in the band. We helped them all unload their gear. No one really knew who they were at the time. It was a free gig after school so why not. I can tell you it was mid afternoon at Krass record store in Cronulla. From memory, one of their mums was with them. Set up in the corner, played to a handful of us who had never heard them before. At the time, Cronulla had quite a big skate/ surf punk music scene of local bands, so I don't think anyone thought too much about it other than it was a fun hour or so. Pretty sure they gave us all Cheshire Cat stickers."

Mark and Scott make a cameo appearance in the music video for "Go" by Dance Hall Crashers. Here is more information in regards to that video from Gavin Hammon (drummer of DHC) : "If memorey serves, Mark and Scott (the original drummer) from Blink were two of the aliens. I was the one behind the drumkit. (There's a quick shot of the aliens playing our gear). This video was a lot of fun to make!" Music Video

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