Fahrenheit-182: A Memoir

Blink recorded its first demo tape in May 1993, and the recording was rough, but it included six original songs and two covers. They made accompanying artwork, and Hoppus handed them out to friends and acquaintances, including a manager at work named Pat. Pat wanted to start a label and loaned the band the money to create a proper recording. They took photos of a Buddha statue Hoppus received as a gift and called the album Buddha. Hoppus duplicated the tape and distributed copies to local music shops. He also created T-shirts and stickers for distribution. The band gradually gained an audience at the SOMA, where they were originally accepted, and soon moved up to the main stage as an opening act. Hoppus found that the music shops were running out of his cassettes, suggesting that people they didn’t know were buying their music.

There are two people Hoppus considers instrumental in helping the band get a record label. O was a photographer for a local underground magazine who regularly advocated for the band to the local label, Cargo Records. Another local fan, Brahm, was the son of the label’s owner.