Enema of The State - Background

Background

By 1997, Blink-182, consisting of Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge, and Scott Raynor, began to receive mainstream exposure as their sophomore record, Dude Ranch, shipped gold and the lead single "Dammit" began to be added to rock radio playlists across the country. The band entered an extended period of touring beginning that summer, which included each date of the worldwide 1997 Vans Warped Tour. Desperate for a break, the band only would return their home of San Diego, California for days at a time before striking out the next tour. Tensions began to flare in the band, and Raynor announced to his fellow members that he would depart following the SnoCore Tour in February 1998. For many shows during a short mintour across the western coast, the band enlisted Travis Barker, drummer for the opening band The Aquabats, to fill in for Raynor. Barker, who had not had time to prepare or practice with the duo, learned the drum tracks for the 20-song setlist in only 45 minutes before the first show and performed them flawlessly thereafter.

Raynor returned for a time for a largely successful Australian tour in the spring, and the band became increasingly uneasy and arguments grew worse. Following these events, Hoppus and DeLonge fired Raynor through a phone call under mysterious circumstances that have never been fully explained. Initial news reports explained that Raynor had "reportedly returned to school."DeLonge would later claim that Raynor had a drinking problem that led to his expulsion: "One show he dropped his sticks 10 times. It was so disturbing to see someone ruining himself." Raynor instead claims that he felt uneasy with growing popularity and fought against the more poppy direction the band began to enter. Barker joined Blink-182 full-time in summer 1998 and toured with the band for the remainder of 1998. The addition of Barker inspired the DeLonge and Hoppus to "play better" and keep up with their new member, who DeLonge called "perfect."