Mark Hoppus, Tom Delonge and Travis Barker, the legendary punk rockers of Blink-182, have made us laugh as they ran around naked in their "What's My Name Again?" video, have stolen our hearts with their brutally honest lyrics against their melodic punk tunes and now they are making us wait for the reunion after they spend time with family and loved ones during their "indefinite hiatus" in which they will each be pursuing other projects.

After a decade of being in the spotlight, these hot punksters are ready for a rest. They hit the music scene back in 1993, when they were known only as "Blink." The next year, 1994, they released the album "Buddha." They were forced to change their name to "Blink-182" after a similarly named music group from Ireland threatened to sue. The "182" actually has no significance. According to the group, it was just a randomly chosen number. During this early part of their career, after the name change, the band appeared on many skate/surf/snowboarding videos.

The trio later switched to MCA, who released their 1999 album titled "Enema of the State;" this particular change was a turning point for the group. The "Enema of the State" album stayed on the Billboard's Top 200 for over a year, making the three singles: "What's My Age Again," "All The Small Things" and "Adam's Song" Top-40 radio hits.

In the recent past, Blink-182 won a Teen Choice Award, a Blockbuster Music Award, and appeared on the MTV Awards '00 where they performed "All the Small Things" and won Best Group Video. In Europe they received an MTV Europe Award for Best New Act. They performed on Saturday Night Live and the Tonight Show (twice), appeared in American Pie and opened the Billboard Music Awards.

Since they decided on a temporary break in their musical careers, MTV says that Barker will be busy with the Transplants and this Summer's Warped Tour. You can also see Travis and his wife on a new reality show on MTV called "The Barkers." DeLonge will continue to direct more music videos (he has worked with Taking Back Sunday's "This Photograph Is Proof (I Know You Know)"). Hoppus will concentrate on producing records (he recorded "Commit This to Memory," with Motion City Soundtrack.)

However, the group reiterates that all three plan on spending the majority of the hiatus with their friends and families. What really makes the group unique is their authenticity. They may, at times, be silly, "skaterboys," sexy, serious or stupid - but they are ultimately just themselves. Which proves that they will surely be missed until they regroup.


- Jacqueline Howard, Associate Editor