Boxcar Racer
| Box Car Racer | |
|---|---|
The group during the music video for "I Feel So"
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| Background information | |
| Origin | San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2001–2003 |
| Labels | MCA |
| Associated acts | |
| Past members | |
Box Car Racer was an American rock band formed in San Diego, California in 2001. The group consisted of guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge and drummer Travis Barker of Blink-182, alongside guitarist David Kennedy of Hazen Street. Anthony Celestino later joined the ensemble as a bassist. DeLonge created the project to pursue darker ideas he felt unsuited to his work with Blink-182. Jeff Russell from Signals Midwest was also invited to join the band but declined. Box Car Racer was partly inspired and viewed as a tribute to Jawbox, Quicksand, Fugazi and Refused.
The group recorded the band's eponymous debut, Box Car Racer, in quick fashion with a more DIY spirit. MCA Records issued the band's lone release in May 2002, which peaked on the Billboard 200 at number 12. Singles "I Feel So" and "There Is" also charted on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, with the former shooting to number eight. The band embarked on their sole headlining tour across North America in the fall of 2002 with supporting act The Used. Box Car Racer created unresolved tension within Blink-182 and inevitably influenced the band's following studio album, the more experimental Blink-182 (2003). DeLonge ended the project in mid-2003, considering it to have served its purpose; however, DeLonge's later band, Angels & Airwaves (which also featured Kennedy) has been described by DeLonge as a continuation of Box Car Racer.
Box Car Racer was conceived by Blink-182 guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge and formed during a break from touring. A European tour for Blink-182 in winter 2001 was delayed in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, and rescheduled dates in early 2002 were also canceled due to DeLonge's back problems. The roots for Box Car Racer began with DeLonge playing acoustic guitar during recording sessions for Blink-182’s 2001 album Take Off Your Pants and Jacket and grew from there. Feeling "bummed out" in the studio during the recording of Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, DeLonge felt an "itch to do something where he didn't feel locked in to what Blink was." In a 2012 interview, DeLonge likened the creative state of Blink-182 to the art of painting, in which one has several different colors but, in the case of Blink-182's previous efforts, only employs one.
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