Blink-182 Goes on "Hiatus"

Tue., Feb. 22, 2005 2:35 PM PST by Joal Ryan

Blink-182 is going on the blink.

In an announcement from its record label that stopped short of saying the punk-pop trio had disbanded, the group was described as being "on indefinite hiatus."

Television viewers may recognize "hiatus" as an old network term meaning "when your favorite show gets canceled, but nobody has the heart to tell you to your face."

Befitting Blink-182's newly murky status, Geffen Records said there was no timetable for the band to start being a band again.

"No one knows what tomorrow may bring," the label said in a statement.

Rumors of Blink-182's demise were sparked when the group was a last-minute scratch, along with Ozzy Osbourne, at a tsunami-relief benefit concert Friday in Anaheim, California. Osbourne's absence was explained as being prompted by a "family emergency"; Blink-182's was chalked up to "unforeseen circumstances."

A rep for Geffen confirmed that the "unforeseen circumstances" was the band's unraveling. There weren't details as to what went down, only that after rehearsals the word hiatus began being bandied about.

The official story is that guitarist/singer Tom DeLonge, 29, bassist Mark Hoppus, 32, and drummer Travis Barker, 29, want to spend time "enjoying the fruits of their labors with loved ones."

"For over a decade, Blink-182 has toured, recorded and promoted non-stop all while trying to balance relationships with family and friends," Geffen Records said.

Founded in San Diego in the early 1990s as Blink with original drummer Scott Raynor, the retitled band made its major label debut in 1999 with Enema of the State. The album was the unofficial soundtrack of skate parks everywhere, spawning the sometimes-jokey, always-catchy hit singles "All the Small Things," "Adam's Song" and "What's My Age Again."

Two more studio albums have followed for the tattooed trio: 2001's Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, and 2003's self-titled release. Last summer, the band headlined a tour with fellow Southern California rockers No Doubt.

Barker, who joined the band in 1998, already has a side project set. He'll debut in April in the new MTV reality series Meet the Barkers, about him, his beauty queen wife and their children.

If the show does well, don't expect the word hiatus to come up anytime soon.