Happy Birthday to Blink-182's Founding Drummer
May 23, 2018 |by James Greene, Jr. [The good ol' days: Raynor, Hoppus, DeLonge.]
Drummer Scott Raynor turns 40 years young today, which means it's been two decades since Raynor parted ways with Blink-182 just as the group's popularity was mushroom clouding. A gold sales status for the trio's second album, 1997's Dude Ranch, couldn't solve the interpersonal conflicts between Raynor, singer/guitarist Tom DeLonge, and singer/bassist Mark Hoppus — many of which were rooted in Raynor's chronic drinking — so out the percussionist went in favor of Aquabat Travis Barker.
Blink-182 only got bigger after the 1998 addition of Barker, riding out a genuine career until 2015 when DeLonge suddenly bailed to become punk rock's answer to Stanton T. Friedman. This guy wasn't kidding when he sang "Aliens Exist." At any rate, Barker and Hoppus refused to go quiet or gentle into that good night. The group pressed forward with Alkaline Trio guitarist Matt Skiba. That decision's paid off in the sense that this weekend Blink-182 begins a Las Vegas residency at the Palms Casino.
These days Scott Raynor performs with California outfit the Wraith and has also been active with homeless youth outreach program StandUp For Kids. He'll always have a piece of Blink's first big hit, though; the perfectly obnoxious "Dammit," a song nine million other Billabong-clad skate punks Xeroxed well into the new millennium.
Fun(?) fact: Raynor recorded his parts for Dude Ranch with two broken heels, a result of alcohol-related shenanigans. It speaks to his talent that you can't hear the injury.
