Have you ever met someone from Poway? Have they talked about how their older sibling went to school with some of the members of Blink-182? Even if you never asked.

On their Wikipedia page, you will find under the History -> Formation and initial years. A photo of Poway circa 2004, this is that photo. Sad, I know.

Clearly, you can see how one of the most successful pop-punk artists would have emerged from such a beige place. 

Jokes aside, Blink-182 was formed in 1992 after Tom Delong was expelled from Poway High School for being drunk during a basketball game. He then had to go to Rancho Bernardo High School. From there, he went on to meet the rest of the band. The band had a few names before Blink was decided on. Duct Tape and Figure 8 were just two of their various names. During that time, they wrote what eventually would become "Carousel." The first song of their 1995 debut album, "Cheshire Cat."

With the newfound attention, they signed to Cargo Records, a local label that helped them record "Cheshire Cat." This got the attention of an Irish band named Blink. Not wanting to deal with any legal battles, Cargo gave them a week and said, "Change the name, or we'll change it for you." Eventually, they decided on a number that local legend dictates is not random, 182.

Blink-182 eventually signed to MCA, who promised them full creative freedom. Around that time, they released their most successful album, "Ennima of the State" in June 1999. All the songs you know are in this one! Soon, they became a staple on MTV, running down the streets of LA with their Tom Delongs hanging. 

In 2001, they released "Take Your Pants off and Jacket," which became their first number-one album in the U.S., Canada, and more. After that, their self-titled album "Blink 128" in 2003. This was their fifth studio album, released through Geffen Records, which took over MCA at the beginning of 2003. Though critics were quick to judge due to a change in sound, making it a bit more experimental and mature sounding, songs like "Miss You" and "Feeling This" were high on the charts that year. 

In 2005, Geffen Records announced that the band would take an indefinite hiatus. The band broke up apparently due to arguments over the direction of their next album. The band members did not speak after their break up until 2008. This was when their former producer, Jerry Finn, unfortunately, passed away due to a cerebral hemorrhage, and a couple of months later, Travis Barker (drummer of Blink 182) was involved in a plane crash, killing four people and leaving only two survivors. These traumatic incidents eventually led to the band getting back together in 2009. 

Almost five years after their hiatus, the band was finally back together, officially announced by a performance at the 2009 Grammy Awards. After this, the famous trio went on a North American reunion tour. Then, in September 2011, Blink-182 released their sixth studio album, "Neighborhoods," which, unfortunately, did not do as well in the charts as some of their past works, leaving their label at the time, Interscope, to be disappointed with the results. 

The band continued to tour in the early 2010s, though tension was growing between the members yet again. From the start, the initial reunion was said to be dysfunctional regarding band dynamics. So, after a couple more reunion tours, big shows, and releases in 2015, Tom Delong decided to indefinitely leave the band to focus on activities outside of music. Barker and Hoppus agreed to continue playing in Blink 182 with Matt Skiba from Alkaline Trio. With Skiba now in the band, Blink 192 released the album "California," produced by John Feldman. Released in July 2016, this album was a decent success for the band, being the band's second number-one album on the Billboard 200. From 2015-2021, the band collaborated with many different artists and experimented vastly with sound and song structure. Once the 2020 pandemic hit, touring was brought to a halt. Still releasing some music, the band laid low like most musicians did during this time. 

In the summer of 2021, Mark Hoppus was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, but thankfully, by the end of the year, he was reported cancer-free. During Hoppus's cancer battle, Delong, Barker, and he were rumored to meet to discuss what went wrong and Hoppus's current condition. No matter what happened on the business side, the original trio always cared for each other during their time apart.

Finally, in 2022, Delong announced his official return to Blink-182. Since then, the band has been recording and releasing new music, touring, and so on. Fans are thrilled about his return and hope to watch the band continue growing as they are one of the world's most established and notable Pop-Punk bands.