BLINK-182 IS BACK: Band to appear at Grammy Awards

You won't find any mention of it on blink-182's largely inactive Web site, at least not yet, but the biggest-selling San Diego rock band of all time is reuniting to appear on Sunday's Grammy Awards telecast.

The key word here is "appear," since bassist-singer Mark Hoppus (at far left), drummer Travis Barker (center) and singer-guitarist Tom DeLonge (right), are currently scheduled to present an award during Sunday's telecast, not perform. Whether or not this will be a one-off appearance or a prelude to a full-scale reunion remains to be seen, but the speculation is sure to be mounting even as you read this.

The band, you may recall, went on an "indefinite hiatus" in 2005, after what DeLonge described in an in-depth interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune as a "major blowout."

DeLonge subsequently luanched his own band, Angels & Airwaves, while Hoppus formed +44.Barker, who pursued a variety of musical projects as a drummer and a producer, suffered second and third degree burns on his torso and lower body in a South Carolina plane crash last September that killed the pilot, the co-pilot and two of the four passengers aboard.

In the aftermath of the crash, DeLonge and Hoppus got together with Barker, who is expected to make a full recovery by the end of this year. Whether Barker's recovery will provide an impetus for a full-on blink-182 reunion tour is unknown for now. But Hoppus droped hints during an interview with MTV.com last month, saying: "If -- and this is a big if -- Blink-182 were ever to re-form, it would have to be the most amazing, ridiculous, mind-blowing show and tour ever. I feel like, as bitter as our breakup was, we stepped back at the top of our game, and we'd have to come back even stronger and better than before."

We'll keep you updated as more details emerge. Meanwhile, check out this Sunday's Arts section in the Union-Tribune for our annual Grammy preview, plus an interview with North County album producer Chris Goldsmith, who has been the executive producer of four Grammy-winning albums for gospel music legends the Blind Boys of Alabama.


Source: signonsandiego.com