DeLonge And Winding Road 

That said, the TRL and Rolling Stone-friendly band does have a shitload more to say than most pop bands. And punk bands too, frankly. It's just that if you're over 20, you feel like you've already learned it all -- which you haven't, obviously, which is why most of you don't talk to your parents, still go see rock shows, and pine after the girl you can never have. Blink believes in keeping it simple, and the formula obviously works; so well, in fact, that the band's rather professional songcraft is often overlooked. Then again, the constant poo-poo and pee-pee jokes probably ain't helping.

CL recently had a chance to spend some time with DeLonge, whereupon he touched on the above subjects (and, likely, himself).

Creative Loafing: Doing a lot of these interviews today, huh? That must get old.

Tom DeLonge: Kind of. They line 'em up just like children on my honeymoon.

Um, OK. Speaking of which, do you ever think that the band's music and musicianship get overshadowed too much by the focus on the band's... er... carefree image?

I think to the critics it does. Not to our fans. I don't think our fans go out and buy a daily and read a review of our show. I think they go out and buy magazines that mean something to them, where it has a real article in it where they interview us and stuff. I don't think we'd have the success we have now if our songs weren't somewhat meaningful.

It seems sometimes that your band does have lots of older fans that don't want to admit it. When you sell five million plus albums, it can't all be 16-year-old kids...

That statement is more true than you think. Our songs are catchy and they're about girls. And how can you ever say you don't like that? The Beatles did that. It's the history of rock music. A catchy song about a girl. And to say you don't like it because "Oh, I don't think their jokes are funny." It's just so dumb. But it's alright. If they don't like it, that's fine.

Coming from a punk background, are you involved much in the day-to-day workings of the band?

God. Not that much. It's a partnership, though. When things come through for us to work on to help people hear our band, we want to do what we can to help it out, you know? It would be nice if we never had to do any work, but that's not the reality. And it's a good thing to do, because the purpose of being on a big label is to help find out different avenues for kids to hear your songs, and that's why we started the band in the first place.

Is it important to you to turn on the kids to the punk stuff you love and grew up on, to sort of return the favor?

We turn on lots of children! (laughs) Yeah, I think we've opened up lots of doors. And I think that any little punk rock band after us will do the same thing for younger kids. I've been in this music since like 7th grade. It just became a hobby of mine to go to the store and buy bands I just barely knew about. Or heard other bands that I like to talk about liking, or (bands they've) played with. And we've done the same. I think that every year a band comes out that will turn kids on to others. It's all about the scene we're from; it's even better, because I think it's a real good, honest kind of music that really helps kids find something to relate to in those difficult years of growing up.

Do you find yourself writing songs to your audience? Who, in fact, are growing up like you are?

We are. Though we don't really think of it that way. We just try to grow as a band, and in an indirect way we feel that the music will grow with our fans. We never think about writing an older, more mature song. We just try to write a better song that's a more well-written song than what we've written in the past. I think that's what a fan wants, too. They don't want to hear the same thing year after year after year.

How did you hook up with Green Day for the "Pop Disaster" tour? It'd been proffered that you guys had a sort of rivalry.

The way I describe it is that it just sort of came through various bureaucratic channels. People were just talking about it, and we just got told one day that the higher-ups were talking about this idea. We just said, "OK, talk to us when you get the logistics." They did, and both sides agreed to it, and so we set it up. The biggest thing is that no one ever expected we'd be on the same bill together. Everyone expected this rivalry between Green Day and Blink-182, which there never really was one. They just wanted one because we were a three-piece pop punk band that came after a three-piece pop punk band, and we both write songs about girls... whatever. In any case, now people can see us in the same venue and see the differences. And there are a lot. We're actually friends now.

You're in a new band with Blink drummer Travis Barker. When does the album come out? Are you going to tour smaller rooms?

It comes out May 20, I think. We're gonna do a tour in the fall in some smaller rooms, which I'm really excited about. Box Car Racer really doesn't have any fans yet. I couldn't imagine playing big places 'cause no one would know who we are! (laughs) But it's fun for a musician like me, used to playing bigger venues all the time, to play these smaller shows.

On a less serious note, I know you're a huge UFO and alien nut. I have to ask: Have you ever seen a UFO?

I haven't. Dammit! Not that I know of. I kind of wonder, since I'm so obsessed with it, that something may have happened when I was a kid. Maybe I'm just a freak. Maybe I get abducted every night and I have no idea -- I just think I'm dreaming about naked men.

Blink-182 will perform Monday, May 20, at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre. Green Day and Jimmy Eat World are also on the bill. *