Travis Barker
Photo: MTV News
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, California — At this point, you've probably heard everything the members of Blink-182 have had to say about their loooong-in-the-works new album, from their initial announcement that they were "in the studio writing and recording" in February 2009 and the first mentions of "Up All Night," the new song they never ended up playing on their reunion tour, to Mark Hoppus' promise to do "all I can to have a new Blink-182 album in 2010" and, finally, Travis Barker's admission that the album wouldn't hit stores until 2011.
So you probably took it with a grain of salt when, earlier this week, Barker tweeted that the new Blink record would be out "this summer." And we did too. So when we visited Barker in his NoHo studio — where he played us a handful of tracks from his upcoming solo album, Give the Drummer Some — we had to ask about the status of the Blink album. From the sound of things, well, summer is definitely in the cards.
"I think we'll turn in our album in June or July, honestly, and, I mean, the stuff's awesome," Barker said. "It's coming close, to the point where these are completed songs and they're not going to change. These are album versions."
Barker said Blink have "five, pretty much, songs" finished for the album and added that its delay has had as much to do with his and his bandmates' hectic schedules as it does with the way they've chosen to work this time around.
"You know, it's hard, because we would get home from a tour, and then Tom [DeLonge]'s side project would go out, his side project comes back, he's back now, he's ready to get in the lab, [and] I'm about to say, 'Peace out, I'm about to do my thing.' So it's like, when we're in a room together for more than a month or two, it's gonna really happen," he said. "I mean, up until the last album, every album was written in a week. All of us had ideas, we would come, we would get into a room, [and] we'd go, 'OK, you want to write the album?' And we'd write those songs, and then we'd record them the next week. Now ... we all have studios, we all have the luxury of staying home and doing it, and we don't have to get into a room to get an idea out or pay for a studio. So a lot of it's going down. Like, we're working in separate studios, just really kind of working on music."
For the record, yes, he realizes Blink fans have been waiting a very long time, but he promises that the wait will most definitely be worth it.
"I wish I could play everyone the songs now," he smiled. "Like I said, they sound awesome."
What are you expecting from the new Blink album? Let us know in the comments!
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