Getting Their First Chance
Cargo Records was at the center of the independent record labels. They gave the band a chance and signed them on a “trial basis” with the help of a friend’s father, who was president of the record label. Only Hoppus was able to sign at the time as Raynor was still a minor, and DeLonge had a separate job.
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Their debut album was called Cheshire Cat that took them three days to write at Westbeach Records, and was released in 1995. Their first single was “M+M,” played on local radio station 91X. Cargo Records granted them a small budget to make a music video.