a brother named Shon and a sister named Kari. His first musical instrument was a trumpet, which he received as a Christmas gift at age 11. He originally planned to become a firefighter, and participated in the San Diego Cadet Program. He first picked up the guitar from a friend at church camp, and became preoccupied by the instrument. He received his first guitar as a Christmas present from two friends in the sixth grade, which he described as a "beat-up, shitty acoustic guitar that was worth about $30". 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. He consequently dyed his hair purple and began practicing the guitar loudly in his bedroom. He attempted to form a band named Big Oily Men, which was essentially a one-man band because its line-up consisted of whomever he could persuade to join him for short periods. He first began skateboarding in the third grade, and it would consume much of his activity outside of school: "I lived, ate, and breathed skateboarding. All I did all day long was skateboard. It was all I cared about." He and friends would begin at one side of San Diego and attempt to skateboard to the other half, pranking people in the process. As such, he was an average student and later said, "I knew exactly how hard I had to work in school. As long as I got that C, I wouldn't try one minute extra to get a B. I just cared about skateboarding and music." DeLonge's parents were constantly fighting in his formative years, culminating in a divorce when he was 18. Shortly thereafter, his mother lost her job. He promptly moved out, feeling as though he needed to start his own life; his brother was also away at that time in the Army, and his departure affected his family: "My mom and sister were left asking, 'What happened to our family?'" Following high school, he worked on construction sites, where he drove a Diesel truck and handled concrete and piping: "I hated, hated, hated my job. You know those people who hate their job? That was me." He quit when Blink-182 signed to MCA Records in 1996. 1992–2004: Music career beginnings 1992–1998: Early years DeLonge formed his first successful band, Blink-182, in 1992. He was removed