Touring and Good Times
The band expanded their fan-base outside of San Diego by embarking on their first national tour shortly after the release of Cheshire Cat. Alongside 7 Seconds and Unwritten Law, the band travelled in a small convoy of cars, being too young and broke to afford a van. Unwritten Law loaned the band their van, named "The Cock", for their first out-of-town gig in Reno, Nevada, and it broke before they were able to make it back. The band eventually purchased a Chevy Beauville tour van they christened "The Millennium Falcon". Through new manager Rick DeVoe's connections, the band broke through the surf/snowboarding scene by appearing on the surf video Good Times. The video was financed by Taylor Steele, friend of DeVoe, who wanted to put together a tour in support of the tape.
The Good Times tour of October 1995, featuring the aforementioned bands and Sprung Monkey, introduced the trio to the south and east and was the band's first national tour. The trip was not without its incidents: DeLonge was arrested for underage drinking on Halloween 1995 in Jacksonville, Florida, and on another occasion, a small riot broke out between bouncers using excessive force and fans. The trio desperately wanted to continue on the second leg of the tour in Australia but lacked the funds; the members of Pennywise helped out and bought the band's plane tickets. Raynor recalled the tour fondly in 2010: "Honestly, the shows went well. We always got a good reaction, and the next time we came around we had more fans and better floors to sleep on — some with carpet!" Hoppus' sister, Anne, made T-shirts and described the tour: "Any money made goes back into the gas fund. You only have five dollars and it has to feed you all day. You eat nothing but crappy fast food, or on a good night, Denny's."
Early 1996 saw the three trekking to Alaska to perform and compete in a King of the Hill snowboarding contest. It was the site of an infamous prank fight between the members of the band and Pennywise that ended with local police being called and hotel security banning them. The band's first headlining tour took place afterward, and the following February dates — later dubbed the "Shitty Weather" tour — found the band performing through a harsh rain and snow. A seventeen-hour drive to Quebec City found DeLonge driving the entire way, unable to see through a snowstorm ("the biggest to hit the Northeast in forty years"). By March 1996, major labels began courting the band and the trio signed a joint-venture deal with MCA Records to distribute their sophomore effort, Dude Ranch, to be recorded that winter.
Read more about this topic: Cheshire Cat (Blink-182 album)