Raynor was replaced by Travis Barker in 1998 and the group achieved widespread success with their third album, Enema of the State (1999), which featured three hit singles; it sold upwards of 15 million copies worldwide and went quadruple-platinum in the U.S.

Thomas Matthew DeLonge was born in Poway, California,[2][3] on December 13, 1975,[4] the son of a mortgage broker mother and an oil company executive father.

[10] In the seventh grade, DeLonge visited a friend in Oregon who introduced him to the music of Stiff Little Fingers, the Descendents, and Dinosaur Jr.[9] He consequently dyed his hair purple and began practicing the guitar loudly in his bedroom.

[15] Rancho Bernardo organized Battle of the Bands competitions, and DeLonge signed up, performing an original song titled "Who's Gonna Shave Your Back Tonight?"

Although the band were criticized as synthesized, manufactured pop only remotely resembling punk and pigeonholed as a joke act due to the puerile slant of its singles and associating music videos, Enema of the State was an enormous commercial success.

The album has sold over 15 million copies worldwide and had a considerable effect on pop punk music, inspiring a "second wave" of the genre and numerous acolytes.

[27][37] After multi-platinum success, arena tours and cameo appearances (American Pie), the band recorded Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (2001), which debuted at number 1 in the United States, Canada, and Germany.

Hit singles "The Rock Show", "Stay Together for the Kids" and "First Date" continued the band's mainstream success worldwide, with MTV cementing their image as video stars.

[44] Following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, DeLonge agreed to perform at Music for Relief's Concert for South Asia, a benefit show to aid victims.

[46] During time off from touring from Blink-182 in 2002, DeLonge felt an "itch to do something where he didn't feel locked in to what Blink was",[47][48] and channeled his chronic back pain (a herniated disc) and resulting frustration into Box Car Racer (2002), a post-hardcore album that further explores his Fugazi and Refused inspiration.

[52] He rediscovered the epiphany developed during his tour with Kerry and applied it to the philosophy of his new group, Angels & Airwaves, while he redefined himself as he learned to play piano and self-produce and formed his own home studio.

[54] In September 2005, after spending months avoiding publicity, DeLonge announced his new Angels & Airwaves project and promised "the greatest rock and roll revolution for this generation".

[53][56] Thoroughly utilized by the band, DeLonge often discussed minor details and plans for accompanying films and other promotional matter, and his managers approached him having an "intervention" in which they disquietingly questioned his frame of mind.

[43] His ambitious beliefs were intensified by his addiction to Vicodin, a drug which he used due to his back problem[57] and did not try out again when he was unable to obtain it for a week, hallucinating and deep in withdrawal.

[76] He stated, "All of these other projects are being worked, exist in contract form — I can't just slam the brakes and drop years of development, partnerships and commitments at the snap of a finger.

"[77] In March 2015, DeLonge shed some light on what his other projects entailed, claiming that he was working with "best selling authors" to co-write 15 novels with accompanying soundtrack EPs.

[80][81] Angels & Airwaves would release two additional EPs within a year, ...Of Nightmares (2015) and Chasing Shadows (2016), both of which were companion pieces to books written by DeLonge.

[88] Julia Gray, a writer for Vulture, termed it "the Tom DeLonge Twang, [which] contorted words like things ("theeeengs") and my head ("myy'eaad") into a cartoonish California diction.

"[89] DeLonge's singing style on "I Miss You"–particularly his verse lyrics "Where are you / and I'm so sorry", or pronunciation of the word head[90]—has been widely referenced throughout popular culture, and is considered a meme.

Club, observes it could stem from a long line of punk singers affecting an accent: "Whether it be Johnny Rotten's snarl or Joe Strummer's overt Britishness, these kinds of exaggerated singing styles have been present from the genre’s birth.

[98] Gray of Vulture observed that his "patented wail [became] newly deep and warbly,"[89] while Patrick Doyle from Rolling Stone called it "way different."

Like previous signature models, this guitar consists of a single humbucker in the bridge position (namely a Seymour Duncan SH-5 Custom pickup) and one volume knob.

[103][104] A signature model was subsequently released by Fender in 2024 in several colors: Surf Green, Olympic White, Shell Pink, and Shoreline Gold.

"[100] When Blink-182 initially broke up in 2005, DeLonge altered his equipment setup for his work in Angels & Airwaves, pairing Vox AC30H2s and Fender '65 Twin Reverbs,[54] and using less distortion.

[107] In a 2011 article, he outlined six musical acts that impacted his growth as a musician, among them Stiff Little Fingers, U2, Depeche Mode, New Order, Fugazi, and the Descendents.

[111] Modlife handles the official websites and fan clubs for a range of artists, including the White Stripes, Pearl Jam, and Kanye West.

[116] DeLonge participated in a charity auction benefiting Rady Children's Hospital Foundation allowing fans to bid on a package including the book.

The three issue comic book series titled Poet Anderson: The Dream Walker was based on his award-winning short film with the same name.

[123] Band member Travis Barker said in a 2019 interview with Joe Rogan that DeLonge is incredibly passionate about them and would look for UFOs outside the tour bus window and even create search parties to find Bigfoot.

[132] The band Jimmy Eat World performed at the reception and DeLonge gave each groomsman, including Mark Hoppus, silver yo-yos from Tiffany's.