Blink 182 – Cheshire Cat альбомының тарихы

1995 studio album by Blink 182

Cheshire Cat is the debut studio album by American rock band Blink 182 (then known as simply "Blink"), released on February 17, 1995, by Cargo Music. The trio, composed of guitarist Tom DeLonge, bassist Mark Hoppus, and drummer Scott Raynor, formed in 1992 and recorded three demos that impressed the San Diego–based Cargo label. In addition, their reputation as an irreverent local live act at venues such as SOMA alerted the label, who was seeking to expand into different genres. Due to budget constraints, the album was recorded quickly with producer Otis Barthoulameu at Westbeach Recorders in Los Angeles. Producer Steve Kravac engineered the recording and advised the trio to record additional overdubs. As such, the band spent an additional week re recording several tracks at Santee, California's Doubletime Studios. The album was originally released with the band's name as Blink, until an Irish band of the same name threatened legal action, after which the band appended " 182" to the end of their name. Released during the breakthrough year for punk rock in California, the album brought the band great success in and outside of the San Diego skate punk scene. "M+M's" and "Wasting Time" were released as singles to promote the album, and received popularity locally through radio play. The band toured in support of the album vigorously, most notably on the GoodTimes Tour in 1995, which brought them outside of California for the first time. Cheshire Cat is cited by bands and fans as an iconic release, and has sold over 250,000 copies as of 2001.

San Diego based trio Blink 182, formed in 1992, first promoted itself by recording low fi demos to distribute to local record stores and at concerts. The three eventually were playing concerts at local venues such as SOMA, which alerted local independent record label Cargo Music. Pat Secor, who funded the trio's demo Buddha and was the former boss of Hoppus, pulled for Blink's move to Cargo through a roommate who knew Cargo executives. Otis Barthoulameu, guitarist of local Cargo Music signed act Fluf, saw potential in the young band and pushed them from the beginning. Eric Goodis, president of Cargo, wanted to diversify the label by incorporating different styles of music. Goodis invited the three musicians into his office and made the band an offer: he wanted to "start small" by releasing a 7 inch with the band. DeLonge has said that Goodis did not favor the band, and invented the Grilled Cheese imprint of Cargo in order to keep them away from the main label. The Cheshire Cat sessions were to be the last performance with the band for Raynor, whose family had moved to Reno, Nevada. Raynor stayed with his sister for the summer of 1994 in order to rehearse for the recording of their debut album. The band rehearsed in DeLonge's garage, where they wrote "M+M's".

The deal was completed and Blink immediately set off to record their debut at the famous Westbeach Recorders in Los Angeles. Despite the fact that the band were now in possession of a contract with the biggest indie label in San Diego, Cargo were still not in a position to offer more than a few days' worth of finances to record the trio's first efforts for their new home. The band made reservations at local hotel not far from the studio for a room with two double beds. Despite the request, the band were stuck with one king size bed, with the three musicians sleeping three across in one bed. DeLonge recorded through Bad Religion guitarist Gurewitz's amp, and also accidentally broke his microphones. According to Jeff Forrest, the band eventually decamped to more familiar surroundings of Doubletime Studios in Santee, California, where they recorded Buddha. The trio booked the studio for one week to allow time for additional recording. Still, recording progressed quickly at Doubletime according to Forrest, and the record was mixed as they went along. Despite the lost time and the pressure of limited resources, the recording went well. The album's title and cover artwork originated from a calendar DeLonge had purchased. His day job in the first years of the band was hauling bags of concrete. While at work at an industrial park warehouse, a foreign salesman going door to door approached him with the calendar, which showcased photographs of cats. The band's request to use the photo was denied by the calendar company, however, the band employed Cargo's art department to computer enhance the photo until the band was safe from copyright infringement.

The band expanded their fan base outside of San Diego by embarking on their first national tour shortly after the release of Cheshire Cat. Alongside 7 Seconds and Unwritten Law, the band travelled in a small convoy of cars, being too young and broke to afford a van. Unwritten Law loaned the band their van, named "The Cock", for their first out of town gig in Reno, Nevada, and it broke before they were able to make it back. The GoodTimes Tour of October 1995, featuring the aforementioned bands and Sprung Monkey, introduced the trio to the south and east and was the band's first national tour. The trip was not without its incidents: DeLonge was arrested for underage drinking on Halloween 1995 in Jacksonville, Florida, and on another occasion, a small riot broke out between bouncers using excessive force and fans. The trio desperately wanted to continue on the second leg of the tour in Australia but lacked the funds; the members of Pennywise helped out and bought the band's plane tickets. Raynor recalled the tour fondly in 2010: "Honestly, the shows went well. We always got a good reaction, and the next time we came around we had more fans and better floors to sleep on — some with carpet!" Early 1996 saw the three trekking to Alaska to perform and compete in a King of the Hill snowboarding contest. It was the site of an infamous prank fight between the members of the band and Pennywise that ended with local police being called and hotel security banning them. The band's first headlining tour took place afterward, and the following February dates — later dubbed the "Shitty Weather" tour — found the band performing through a harsh rain and snow. By March 1996, major labels began courting the band and the trio signed a joint venture deal with MCA Records to distribute their sophomore effort, Dude Ranch, to be recorded that winter. In all, the group toured the US three times and went to Alaska, Australia and Hawaii twice. "It's tiring," DeLonge told Thrasher in November 1996. "Then again, I just remember I used to work at this stupid job. I think about that, and I realize I'm not that bad off."

+ Release history and formats for Cheshire Cat Region Date Label Format Catalog Ref. United StatesFebruary 17, 1995Cargo MusicCDCRGD 86136Grilled CheeseGRL 001Cassette1996LPJapanToy's FactoryCDTFCK 88798United Kingdom1998Geffen486 136 2Russia2002Universal Music Russia486 136 9United States2010Geffen / Universal Music Special MarketsLPB0014942 01