44 (band)

All you want to know about 44 (band)

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+44
Origin Los Angeles, California, USA
Genre(s) Pop punk[1], alternative rock
Years active 2005–present
Label(s) Interscope
Associated acts Blink-182
Box Car Racer
Transplants
The Aquabats
The Nervous Return
Expensive Taste
Juliette and the Licks
Mercy Killers
Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards
Website Official website
Members
Mark Hoppus
Travis Barker
Shane Gallagher
Craig Fairbaugh
Former members
Carol Heller

+44 (also known as Plus 44 and often stylized as (+44)) is an alternative rock and pop punk band based in the United States. The band was formed by former Blink-182 members Mark Hoppus (vocals and bass guitar) and Travis Barker (drums, percussion and keyboards), also consisting of former Transplants touring guitarist Craig Fairbaugh and the lead guitarist of The Nervous Return, Shane Gallagher. The band name refers to the international dialing code of the United Kingdom, the country where Hoppus and Barker first discussed the project.[2]

Contents

History

Formation (2004-2005)

Originally, +44 was only going to be a side-project of Blink-182 when Hoppus and Barker were talking about it during the Europe tour in late 2004[3], when they noted that Tom DeLonge was acting more and more distant and was becoming less interested in Blink-182. However, the events that followed in February 2005 caused +44 to become Mark and Travis' main focus rather than a side-project. The project consisted of elements not usually present in Blink-182's work, namely electronic drums, keyboards, and direct computer recordings. Barker later stated that the electronic element of the band was derived from "155", the first song he and Hoppus wrote as a band.[4]

As work continued on the demos, Get the Girl vocalist Carol Heller was invited by Hoppus and Barker to audition her vocals. Heller's performance was agreeable enough to the band and as a result the three kept working on more songs together. The band's lineup changed again early 2006, with the addition of guitarist Shane Gallagher.

In order to progress with their demos, Barker and Hoppus acquired a studio, a move which marked a "turning point for +44." [2] The band began working solely in the studio they had purchased, playing live drums, guitars and vocals.

The band's sound had started with an electronic element which became less evident, but still remained a key feature. As a result, Heller found she wasn't compatible with the band's direction, and with the addition of her wish to start a family, she left the band. The vocal work that Heller contributed is still present in the songs "Make You Smile", "Weatherman", and the early mix of "No, It Isn't". After this, Hoppus, Barker, and Gallagher were left to find a new backing vocalist. Guitarist Craig Fairbaugh of Mercy Killers then joined the band.

When Your Heart Stops Beating (2006-2007)

As the projected release date started to draw in, speculation on the title of the band's debut album began to circulate. At first, it was believed that the album would be called Little Death as it was listed as such in AP magazine. This was later revealed to be one of the tracks of the album. Hoppus finally settled on When Your Heart Stops Beating. The song "Lycanthrope" was released on the +44 website in early September 2006. This was only the second song that fans had heard other than "No, It Isn't".

Later in September KROQ-FM played the title track of the forthcoming album. The band played their first show on September 7, 2006 at The Roxy Theatre in Hollywood; Hoppus stated it was the first show he had performed in two years. The band followed this up by their second show and first ever UK performance at the London Astoria venue. Both shows were met with very encouraging reactions from fans, considering that at that time, only one completely recorded and mastered song, "When Your Heart Stops Beating" had been heard.

The album was released on November 14, 2006 in North America, November 13, 2006 in Europe, and November 11, 2006 in Australia.

During the shooting of the video for "When Your Heart Stops Beating", Travis Barker injured his arm, which was discovered weeks later after playing a whole European promo tour. This forced him to cancel drumming in the upcoming Australia and Europe tours. Gil Sharone filled in for him in these tours.

+44 then covered The Smashing Pumpkins' song "I Am One" for a MySpace tribute to the band and also participated in the iTunes Foreign Exchange. For this they covered Wir sind Helden's song "Guten Tag" with an English translation and Wir sind Helden covered "When Your Heart Stops Beating" in a German translation, entitled "Wenn Dein Herz zu Schlagen Aufhört".

In 2007, +44 set off on the Honda Civic Tour along with Fall Out Boy, The Academy Is..., Paul Wall, and Cobra Starship. During the tour they filmed themselves playing for the music video of their upcoming single "155". On this tour they began covering "Dammit", "The Rock Show" and "What's My Age Again?" by Blink-182.

Second studio album (2007-present)

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Please improve this section if you can. (November 2008)

The first mention of +44 pulling out of their European festival and show appearances was on August 6, 2007. The music website NME then released the following statement from the band on August 8, 2007 with the official reason of studio commitments for their follow up to their 2006 debut, When Your Heart Stops Beating.

"We want to start writing new songs and we are really excited about the direction we have planned. So we're going into the studio instead of playing these few dates. We hope our fans will forgive us for the cancellation; in the end, this will make for an even better live show when we come back."

Hoppus later also revealed some information regarding the writing of the follow-up to their debut album. He stated:

"Now we are starting to write the next record. We've got a bunch of ideas; a studio full of stuff, microphones, and effects; and a soundboard from 1970s. We're really excited to start putting together a new album."

On October 23, 2007, Hoppus stated that +44 had officially signed a deal with Interscope to start recording +44's second studio album.[5] On April 9th, Hoppus stated that the delay of the second studio album was due to the lack of funding by the label. On May 25, he also stated that the new +44 album was still in pre-production. He has been considering releasing demos of the songs on his website, but claims that label management might sue him.

On July 30, 2008, Metromix interviewed Barker where he explained about his solo record. When asked about +44, he stated:

"We're going to be a lot more proactive about it after I get my record finished and Mark [Hoppus] finishes producing the two records he's doing this year."

On September 15, 2008, Hoppus posted a video of himself playing a new song. [6] On September 18, 2008 Chris Holmes posted a second video on his YouTube page of Hoppus playing another song.[7]

On September 19, 2008, Travis Barker was injured in a plane crash in Columbia, South Carolina. Barker, according to doctors, is expected to make a full recovery within a year.[8]

On November 13, 2008, Mark Hoppus spoke at the mtvU Woodie Awards about Travis for the first time since the plane crash. Hoppus stated:

"He's home right now with his family, and he's healing and trying to stay as positive as he can. He's always been one of the most musically driven people I've ever known in my entire life, and he's still the same way," Hoppus said. "He can't wait to get back on the drums. He can't wait to get back in the studio, you know? I can't even imagine what he's had to go through these past weeks, and he's just trying to stay positive and get back in the studio and do good work."

[9]

Band members

Current members

Former members

Touring members

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album details Peak chart positions
US
[10]		 US Rock
[11]		 AUS
[12]		 CAN
[13]		 UK
[14]
2006 When Your Heart Stops Beating 10 2 22 8 50

Singles

Year Title Chart positions Album
US 100
[15]		 US Mod.[15] US Pop[15] US Dig.[15] UK
[14]		 AUS
[12]
2006 "Lycanthrope"[A] — — — — — — When Your Heart Stops Beating
"When Your Heart Stops Beating" 89 14 78 70 47 47
2007 "Baby Come On" — — — — — —
"155" — — — — — —
  • A^ UK single only.

Compilation appearances

Year Title Label +44 song
2006 Kevin & Bean's Super Christmas KROQ-FM "Christmas Vacation"
MTV Presents Laguna Beach: Summer Can Last Forever Interscope Records "When Your Heart Stops Beating"
2007 MySpace Tribute to The Smashing Pumpkins MySpace Records "I Am One"
Punk Goes Acoustic 2 Fearless Records "Baby Come On" (Acoustic)

Promotional CDs/7"s

Year Title Format
2005 "No, It Isn't" CD
2006 "Cliff Diving" 7"
"Lycanthrope" 7"
"When Your Heart Stops Beating Album Sampler" CD

Music videos

Year Title Album Director
2006 "When Your Heart Stops Beating" When Your Heart Stops Beating Liz Friedlander, Sheli Jury
"Chapter 13" Jason Bergh, Jon Marc Sandifer
2007 "155" Haven Lamoureux

Digital download

Remixes

  • "When Your Heart Stops Beating" (Electronic remix)
  • "Little Death" (Chris Holmes mix)

References

  1. ^ http://www.rockfeedback.com/article.asp?nObjectID=3868
  2. ^ a b "Mark Hoppus Tells All to B182.com". b182.com. Retrieved on 2006-08-14.
  3. ^ Plus 44 by Atomik
  4. ^ http://www.44disasters.com/scans/drummer_issue40/drummer_issue_40-page07.jpg Article Scan
  5. ^ himynameismark.com
  6. ^ himynameismark - September 15, 2008
  7. ^ YouTube - September 18, 2008
  8. ^ CNN - Blink's Barker critically injured in plane crash
  9. ^ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1599289/20081113/plus_44.jhtml
  10. ^ "Artist Chart History - +44 albums". Billboard. Retrieved on 2008-11-24.
  11. ^ "Top Rock Albums - When Your Heart Stops Beating". Billboard. Retrieved on 2008-11-24.
  12. ^ a b "+44 - When Your Heart Stops Beating (Album)". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved on 2008-11-24.
  13. ^ "Top Canadian Albums - When Your Heart Stops Beating". Billboard. Retrieved on 2008-11-24.
  14. ^ a b "Chart Stats - Plus 44". Chartstats. Retrieved on 2008-11-24.
  15. ^ a b c d "Artist Chart History - +44 singles". Billboard. Retrieved on 2008-11-24.

External links

v • d • e
+44
Mark Hoppus · Craig Fairbaugh · Shane Gallagher · Travis Barker
Carol Heller
Studio albums
Singles
Related articles
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%2B44_(band)"

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