Gothic Theatre

+44 – Rescheduled from 10/25

FORMER BLINK-182 MEMBERS MARK HOPPUS AND
TRAVIS BARKER OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCE NEW BAND, (+44)

Interscope Records To Release Debut Album “When Your Heart Stops Beating” November 14th

SANTA MONICA, CA (August 28, 2006)—Former blink-182 co-founders MarkHoppus and Travis Barker have reunited under the aegis of a new band, (+44), and will release their much anticipated album, When Your Heart Stops Beating (Interscope Records), on November 14th. The album is produced by Hoppus and Barker and executive produced by long-time blink-182 producer Jerry Finn.

Recruited for their new journey as (+44)—pronounced “Plus 44”—Shane Gallagher (The Nervous Return) and Craig Fairbaugh (Transplants, The Forgotten, Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards) join singer-bassist Hoppus and drummer-keyboardist Barker and pick up where the popular, multi-platinum-selling band blink-182 left off after splitting in late 2004. “We were two-thirds of blink-182, so we’re not afraid of sounding like ourselves,” says Hoppus. “We’re not divorcing ourselves from the past, but we are pushing beyond the past. We’re progressing like musicians should.” Barker agrees: “Mark and I have a natural chemistry after playing together for so long and it’s only gotten stronger. This band is a continuation of blink-182 but it’s also different. For a long time, blink-182 was an underdog. I like being the underdog again.”

Barker has known Gallagher since they were 16 years old playing together in garage bands at Southern California backyard parties. Fairbaugh was another organic addition, having played with Barker in the now-defunct Transplants. “Musically, what we are doing now we could never have done a few years ago,” Barker says. “I love this band. And it’s even better that we’re doing this with friends. That’s the best feeling in the world.”

Upon naming the band (+44) after the international dialing code for the United Kingdom, their plan was simply to continue to create and explore. Barker put down his drums for six months and began piano lessons, bringing keyboards into the (+44) sound and opening up his songwriting talent. For the first time, Hoppus took on all of the lead vocals and lyric-writing and even added guitar to his usual bass duties. “I had no idea what I was capable of, especially as a singer. There’s a whole range in my voice, from barely whispering to really loud. I’m proud of how far I’ve come.”

(+44) is not a side project or an experiment. Though Hoppus and Barker produce other artists and guest on numerous projects, (+44) is #1 in their careers. Three years after the last original blink-182 album, (+44) is the culmination of their surging energy and creativity.

Hoppus continues to bring his expertise and passion as a producer of nascent bands. Among those he’s recently worked with are The Matches, Something for Rockets and the acclaimed punk-pop quartet Motion City Soundtrack. Since 2005 Hoppus has also actively produced his own podcast through the innovative website www.HiMyNameIsMark.com, spotlighting up-and-coming indie bands, playing new tracks, interviewing musicians and hearing their most outrageous tour stories.

Formerly the drummer for blink-182, Box Car Racer and Transplants, Barker is one of the busiest musicians in rock n’ roll. He has also joined the industry’s premier spinner DJ AM for a residency at the Pure Club at Caesars Palace and select dates throughout the country. Barker has enjoyed recent hip-hop success with chart-topping production collaborations with T.I., former UGK member Bun B, Pharrell, Gwen Stefani and Bubba Sparxxx. Barker is the founder of his own recording label, La Salle Records, and clothing line, Famous Stars and Straps.

(+44) (pronounced “plus forty four”) is a band formed by former blink-182 members Mark Hoppus (bass and vocals) and Travis Barker (drums and keyboards). Also playing in the band are former Transplants touring guitarist Craig Fairbaugh and the lead guitarist of The Nervous Return, Shane Gallagher. The band’s debut album, When Your Heart Stops Beating, is set for release November 14, 2006. The name (+44) was conceived as a reference to the international dialing code for the United Kingdom, where Hoppus and Barker first discussed the new project.

After blink-182 disbanded in February of 2005, both Hoppus and Barker wanted to keep working on music, and started writing and recording new songs together in Barker’s basement and Hoppus’ dining room and living room. Originally, the two were using electronic drums, keyboards, samples and direct computer recording.

While working on demos, the two invited punk rock vocalist Carol Heller to sing a song. Satisfied with her performance, the three kept working on other songs also. During the spring of 2005, guitarist Shane Gallagher joined the band. In October of 2005, Barker and Hoppus purchased a studio. According to Hoppus, this move marked a “turning point for (+44)”, as the band started working in that studio exclusively, and was finally able to play live drums and loud guitars and vocals. The electronic element of the band became less prominent, but still a key element of the band’s sound. By that time Heller found she did not fit well with the band’s new direction, and coupled with her desire to start her family, Heller left the band. Hoppus also insists that there are no hard feelings between (+44) and Heller, and that the band was in full support of her decision.

The band kept working on their first record, and about three-quarters of the way through recording, Craig Fairbaugh joined to play second guitar and backup vocals.

Regarding the lyrical content of the album, Hoppus stated that “the (+44) album is by far the most lyrically personal music I have ever written. The words are everything I have inside me put on a CD. This is the most personal album any of us have ever written. You want to know who we are, what we think, or how we feel? Listen to the (+44) CD.”[2] The album references the break-up of blink-182, and “the ugly feelings that were left over afterwards,” according to Hoppus. The song “No It Isn’t” was specifically written about blink-182