Major label bidding war

By March 1996, the trio began to accumulate a genuine buzz among major labels, resulting in a bidding war between Interscope , MCA and Epitaph . MCA promised the group complete artistic freedom and ultimately signed the band, but Raynor held a great affinity for Epitaph and began to feel half-invested in the band when they chose MCA. The group, discouraged by Cargo’s lack of distribution and faith in the group, held no qualms about signing to a major label but were fiercely criticized in the punk community. After nonstop touring, the trio began recording their follow-up LP, Dude Ranch , over the period of a month in late 1996 with producer Mark Trombino . The record was released the following June, and the band headed out on the 1997 Warped Tour. ” Dammit “, the album’s second single, received heavy airplay on modern rock stations. Dude Ranch shipped gold by 1998, but an exhaustive touring schedule brought tensions among the trio. Raynor had been drinking heavily to offset personal issues, and he was fired by DeLonge and Hoppus in mid-1998 despite agreeing to attend rehab and quit drinking, although Hoppus claimed in his memoir that Raynor had chosen to quit voluntarily. Travis Barker , drummer for tour-mate the Aquabats , filled in for Raynor, learning the 20-song setlist in 45 minutes before the first show. By July, he joined the band full-time and later that year, the band entered the studio with producer Jerry Finn to begin work on their third album.