When the Honda Civic Tour was looking for a headliner for its 10th anniversary jaunt, organizers went back to their roots, signing pop-punk powerhouse Blink-182, which was the main attraction on the initial edition.
It is kind of an apt pairing, as Blink-182 was there for the emergence of the annual tour, and this year marks the re-emergence of Blink-182, which has a new record, "Neighborhoods," set for a Sept. 27 release, the group's first in nearly eight years. "Up All Night," the album's first single, was released last month and hit the Top 10 on Billboard magazine's alternative singles chart.
Since their fans will not have heard the new record when the Honda Civic Tour -- which also includes My Chemical Romance and Manchester Orchestra -- comes to Hartford's Comcast Theatre Sunday, the band members plan on performing a good amount of older hits in addition to the new tunes.
"I think it will be a good mix of the new stuff and the music that we've been playing for the past couple of decades," singer-bassist Mark Hoppus said in a recent conference call. "I think that all of us know that when people come to a Blink show, they're going to want to hear `All of the Small Things' and `Rock Show' and `Stay Together for the Kids' and the singles that we've had over the years.
"And we will put some of the new songs into the set list, as well. (We're) just working to figure out what those songs are going to be."
Blink-182 went on hiatus in 2005, after singer-guitarist Tom DeLonge left to form his own band, Angels and Airwaves. Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker stayed together, starting the band +44. Barker also performed with other bands, dabbled in producing record and starred in an MTV reality series, "Meet the Barkers." Barker also nearly died in a plane crash in 2008 in South Carolina, which took the lives of four people.
DeLonge, who also took part in the media session, said the members' work outside of Blink-182 has helped shape the sound of "Neighborhoods."
"I think we've had an incredible time bringing all of our skill sets that we do in our off time to this and I think it's been a lot of fun for every person to contribute things that they've learned in different places," he said. "And it's one of the things that has made this band so strong."
The sessions for "Neighborhoods" were different than in the past, with DeLonge doing his parts in a studio in San Diego, where he resides, and Hoppus and Barker working in Los Angeles. DeLonge and Hoppus said the two-studio system is vital for getting the work done without infringing too much on the members' personal lives and outside projects.
"I think it has been a really great way for all of us to be able to both work intensely and also be able to spend time with our families," Hoppus said. "The thing that's changed as far as our recording schedule is that when we were younger, we used to start in the studio at like noon or 2 in the afternoon and go until midnight or 2 in the morning.
"And now, for me, I'm in the studio at 9 in the morning and I'm usually done by 5 and I can go home and be with my family and I still get the same amount of work done in a day as if I started at noon.
"And because we have two studios, we don't have to sit around the studio while another person is writing their part or tracking their part. ... It just frees up a lot of time that way."
With the Blink-182 machine back up and running, the members all speak of it as the main artistic project in their lives, not a one-shot reunion event.
"Blink is our priority as a band. It's what we've done since Day 1 for almost 20 years at this point," Hoppus said. "The other projects that we have in our lives allow us to kind of break away and do something creative and bring that knowledge and those skills back to Blink as a band."
And, having been around for nearly two decades, Hoppus and DeLonge said they find it "weird" to hear that they have inspired some of the younger bands that are starting to make waves.
"It's strange to be cited as an influence when we still feel like we're trying to figure out what we're all about in the first place," Hoppus said. "I'm very grateful that a lot of bands that are having a lot of success right now cite us as an influence. That's a huge honor."
DeLonge attributed it to the staying power of Blink-182's music.
"Maybe that just happens to bands that have been around," he said. "But I also think there's something that's really honorable in a band that can preserve and push forward a legacy and continue to take risks."
The Comcast Theatre is at 61 Savitt Way, Hartford. Sunday, Aug. 14, 7 p.m. $20-$85. 800-745-3000, www.LiveNation.com.
