Matt Skiba talks about blink-182 and the "goth kid" Mark Hoppus Matt, you initially signed up as a touring member, right? How did you become a full-time Blink member?I signed on to do a show. Travis [Barker] has an annual festival called Musink — it’s in Orange County, and it being Travis’ festival and having Blink play was a big deal, but they lost a member [Tom DeLonge] right before this festival. I did not sign on as a touring member initially — it was discussed that we would possibly record, possibly tour, but let’s see how this show goes. We ended up adding two more shows, and then shortly thereafter going to the studio and recording with the band. So it happened pretty quickly that I was signed on as a full-time member. It happened in a short period of time, if not immediately.The most recent Blink record, California, seemed to have a subtle Alkaline Trio influence — like that Bauhaus moment in “She’s Out of Her Mind.” Was that you?You wanna know something funny? Mark wrote that line. Mark is a big goth kid on the inside. He’s a big fan of Bauhaus, the Cure.Blink-182 did that song with Robert Smith in 2003, so it’s not too much of a stretch!You know, Blink wasn’t something I immediately fell in love with — but Enema of the State just hooked me in. It was a really fun record for me to listen to, and all of a sudden I became this huge Blink fan. [Producer] Jerry Finn brought out the best of that band, and I think he helped to bring that goth kid out. As more Blink records came along, I feel like they got less silly and more about death and divorce and depression, and things that actually affect people’s lives.Rolling Stone