Cheshire Cat (Blink-182 Album) - Release

Release

Cheshire Cat was released through Cargo Music on February 17, 1994 on cassette. Initially, Goodis bet DeLonge the album would only sell 3,000 copies; by 2001, over 250,000 copies of the debut were sold. A CD release of the album occurred in 1995, and a vinyl version was released in small quantities in 1996. Along with the re-release of Buddha in November 1998, Cheshire Cat was re-released and received national distribution for the first time. Cheshire Cat has been called an iconic release by bands and fans.

"M&M's", described by Anne Hoppus as "a song that hit a special chord with fans," was the first to have radio play. Mike Halloran, disc jockey at XETRA-FM (branded on-air as 91X), made the song a regular part of his radio show playlist, which Hoppus cites as the first person to play the band. When DeLonge first heard their song on the radio while driving in his truck, he rolled down his window, "yelling at everyone to turn their damn radios on." The single was a local success and Cargo offered the band a small budget ($10,000) to film a music video. Darren Doane, who had previously worked with MxPx and Pennywise, directed the clip. "We weren't planning on doing anything with that video except hoping it got on a surf video or something," said Hoppus. A Cargo Music employee presented the video to MTV with the executives "threw the tape out" upon seeing guns in the film.

Cheshire Cat was a strong seller for an independent band, despite the fact that popularity grew in the form of pirated CD copies across the country. The band were acquiring legions of new fans and radio play, and the buzz created by the album inspired manager Rick DeVoe to call Hoppus, wanting to manage the band. DeLonge threw together a "press kit" for DeVoe, which included photocopies of fanzines, reviews, and some cartoons drawn by DeLonge. The band members were ecstatic when DeVoe signed on with the band, as he promoted larger bands such as Pennywise, NOFX, and The Offspring. The attention also brought forth calls from Rick Bonde, of the Tahoe Agency, a booking agency based out of Lake Tahoe that worked with big punk and ska names such as Sublime. The husband-and-wife team of Rick and Jean Bonde, who owned and operated the company, began arranging shows for the band and minitours that gave Blink their first promotion outside of San Diego.

Meanwhile, the record also drew the attention of an Irish techno band, also named Blink. Unwilling to engage in a legal battle, the band agreed to change their name. Cargo gave the band a week, but the trio put off the decision for more than two afterward. Eventually, Cargo called the band, demanding to "change the name or change it for you," after which the band decided on a random number, 182.