The Naked Truth: An interview with Tom Delonge by Rachel Butera from Liner Notes If you’re 17 years old with raging hormones and a burning desire to see the girl who sits in front of you in 7th period history class naked, Blink182’s Enema Of The State might be your favorite album of the year. Tom Delonge, Mark Hoppus, and Travis Barker (formerly known as Blink until an Irish band with the same name threatened to sue) are a trio of San Diego skate rats who put a lot of stock in masturbation, twisted humor and porno stars – they also happen to be today’s most talented young punk bands. They burrowed their way into the hearts of millions of adolescent music lovers on the strength of one song “Dammit (Growing Up),” from 1998’s Dude Ranch, and they planted themselves firmly in the soil of rock and roll on the strength of their Warped Tour performances.

Staying true to their immature form, Blink runs wild on Enema Of The State with song topics ranging from prank phone calls (“What’s My Age Again?”) to leaving home for the first time (“Going Away To College”), thus re-embracing the high school going fans who so adore them. And while listeners who appreciate a tight, hard-hitting power trio are aiding Blink’s success in the business, the band is doing their part in the world by bringing the “obscure” to the mainstream with the help of adult film star Janine Lindenmuller. This voluptuous sex goddess not only adorns Enema’s album cover, but also joins the boys in their debut nude video, where they let it all hang out – literally.

Don’t ask them what’s behind their lyrics. Don’t try to delve into the intricate world of Blink182’s music-making. You won’t find anything as profound as all that. Just put a good sex question to them and the conversation will last for hours, as we found out when we talked to Tom Delonge.

Liner Notes: Humor obviously comes naturally to you guys, but do you find it hard to write?

Tom Delonge: Not really. When you incorporate the two together sometimes it works out really good. (laughs) No, it’s easy to write, I mean that’s what we do. The humor thing is just personality and the writing thing I guess you might call it a talent, but some people might say our writing is not a talent, it’s a disability(laughs).

LN: Did you guys basically have a free range of equipment this time around?

TD: Our producer Jerry had like, 30 guitars and 10 amps so it worked out good for the recording. A lot of times we’d have to rent the stuff, we wouldn’t know what to rent. But he had such an array to choose from. So, yes, we did have free range and it really made a difference this time around, so I’m so glad.

LN: When you compare Enema to your other stuff, do you feel that it’s musically superior?

TD: Oh yea, it’s musically superior, the production is superior. I think the songwriting is. Everything matured and came up a step and I think that’s why we’ve been getting more compliments from educated listeners. People really say, “Hey, you got better.” So I hope we did, because you could hear the opposite.

LN: Were you amazed that the record sold 100,000 in the first week?

TD: (gasp) We almost combusted. Really, we literally almost blew up when it happened. We don’t know how that happened.

LN: How is newcomer Travis’s drumming style different than Scott Raynor’s was?

TD: Travis is more technical of a drummer. He’s really good and you only run into those guys once in a while. He’s got a much broader mind about arrangements because he’s a really talented guy. I only know a few other drummers who are like that. We weren’t even looking for that when we got him. We were just looking for someone who could play our songs and get along with us. So, we got a little added bonus with him.

LN: There seems to be a lot more pop infusion in this album. Do you like going hard or softer better?

TD: I like both. I think when there’s a perfect synergy, it’s hard and soft at the same time, that’s usually what we try to do. But, we’ve done different things on the album this time, not for any reason other than those were the songs we wrote.

LN: Did you guys feel embarrassed or liberated to be running naked in the video?

TD: I felt both. I felt kind of horny, actually.

LN: Did making the video “excite” you guys?

TD: Almost. (laughs) We were walking around naked and we’re talking to girls. That was a concern of mine, believe it or not.

LN: Will you play naked at Warped tour?

TD: I don’t know. I’de get sunburn, probably. Probably be bad for my skin.

LN: Did you end up making that film called Pranksters?

TD: We started working on it, but it’s one of those things that will take years to do if we ever wanted to do it. We were working on it in the past, but we really haven’t lately.

LN: What kind of music will Blink182 play when you guys can no longer identify the high school mentality?

TD: Retirement home music. We’ll just sing about getting in and out of wheel chairs.

LN: Who’s your favorite 80’s band?

TD: (long pause) Would have to be something like Quiet Riot.

LN: It’s coming back you know.

TD: (laughs) I know. That’s what I hear.

LN: Let’s probe into the band’s anal obsession. What’s it all about?

TD: I don’t know. We’re really immature and we joke about bodily functions, so somehow we got into the world of enema and just used it as a title.

LN: How do you know so much about the digestive tract?

TD: Well, we did a lot of research and we just want people to be aware of their bodies.

LN: Star Wars – thumbs up or down?

TD: Thumbs in the middle. I love some parts and I hate, hate, hate other parts.

LN: Anyone ever throw anything interesting on stage?

TD: Someone threw a blow-up sheep.

LN: Did you do it?

TD: No, I would have though if no one was around and it didn’t pop.

LN: On a scale of one to ten, how sick are you of goofy journalists’ questions?

TD: It depends what the questions are. If it’s a normal question then it’s 10, but, if they’re good questions about sex and stuff …

LN: How bad were mine?

TD: Yours were good. Because we talked about sex and that’s kinda horny.

LN: Your CD collection is on fire, which one do you save?

TD: Right now I would save The Pucker Up from the Teen Idols. I just picked it up the other day and I like that one a lot.