Chad Gilbert, founding member and lead guitarist of New Found Glory, died Sept. 20 at age 45 following a battle with brain cancer. Mark Hoppus, co-lead vocalist, co-founder and bassist of Blink-182, wrote an exclusive tribute to Gilbert, recalling a friendship that stretched back to New Found Glory's earliest days.
Hoppus said he couldn't recall exactly when the two met, but remembered Gilbert and his friends showing up to every Blink-182 show in Florida, pointing the band toward good places to eat. He later discovered Gilbert's band, New Found Glory, had an album out on Drive-Thru Records. Hoppus said he played the record constantly for friends, labels and radio stations, and pushed his own management to sign the band. New Found Glory eventually signed to Hoppus's label, joined his management roster, and toured with Blink-182.
During Blink-182's tour supporting Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, Gilbert often rode the bus with Hoppus and his wife. Hoppus recalled Gilbert opening up during those rides about feeling lost despite his band's success. The next day, the two filmed the "First Date" video, which featured them riding waterslides and Gilbert throwing a baseball bat into a bicycle's spokes.
Hoppus also worked with New Found Glory on their 2009 album Not Without a Fight, a period he described as tense, with shouting matches in the studio. He said Gilbert would defuse the tension by saying, "Okay come on let's do cool shit," then return the next day upbeat and ready to work. Hoppus also mentioned Gilbert's repeated attempts to get him to play a Disney-themed card game similar to Magic: The Gathering, featuring characters like Elsa and Olaf.
In recent years, the two frequently texted about Gilbert's cancer treatments, tracking prognosis, methodology and results as one treatment failed and another was tried. Hoppus noted that despite the medical uncertainty, Gilbert remained visibly positive, including in hospital photos he posted on Instagram.
Hoppus last saw Gilbert backstage in Nashville on the final night of a tour, a night that also included Luke Combs being present and Hoppus's wife deciding to adopt a dog. Gilbert, walking with a cane, introduced Hoppus to his wife and daughter. When Hoppus said, "Ah shit, Chad, I'm so sorry" upon learning of a new medical issue, Gilbert replied, "Mark, don't worry about it! This one's gonna work!" Hoppus closed his tribute by recalling Gilbert waving and smiling as they said their final goodbye.
Photo: LostLikeTearsInRain (talk), CC BY 3.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
