Mark Hoppus
Mark Allan Hoppus[a] (born March 15, 1972) is an American musician, songwriter and producer who is known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist for the rock band Blink-182, being the only member to appear on every one of their albums. He is also part of the pop rock duo Simple Creatures.
Mark Hoppus
- Musician
- singer
- songwriter
- record producer
- podcaster
1
- Vocals
- bass guitar
1988–present
Hoppus became interested in skateboarding and punk rock in junior high, and received a bass guitar from his father at the age of 15. After he moved to San Diego in 1992 to attend California State University San Marcos, his sister introduced him to Tom DeLonge, and they formed the band Blink-182 with drummer Scott Raynor. The band produced several rock recordings and toured exhaustively before signing to major label MCA to co-distribute their sophomore effort, 1997's Dude Ranch, which featured the Hoppus-penned hit "Dammit".
After replacing Raynor with Travis Barker, Blink-182 recorded Enema of the State (1999), which launched them to multi-platinum success. Two more records followed—the heavier Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (2001) and the more experimental untitled fifth album (2003)—before the band split in 2005 following internal tension. Hoppus continued playing with Barker in +44 in the late 2000s. Blink-182 subsequently reunited in 2009 and continue to record and tour worldwide.
Aside from his musical career, Hoppus has had multiple successes behind the recording console, producing records for groups such as Idiot Pilot, New Found Glory, The Matches, Motion City Soundtrack, and PAWS. He has previously co-owned two companies, Atticus and Macbeth Footwear, and created a new clothing line in 2012 named Hi My Name is Mark. Hoppus hosted a weekly podcast in 2005 through 2006, which returned in 2015, and he hosted his own television talk show, Hoppus on Music, from 2010 to 2012 on Fuse.
Musical style[edit]
Songwriting[edit]
Hoppus primarily writes most of his songs on an acoustic guitar.[64] He is self-taught, "and consequently I don't have the best technique", he remarked in 2004. "I think you would learn how to paint by painting, rather than reading books about painters or painting and I think it's the same with music. You learn by doing and getting influences from other artists."[12]