Tom DeLonge, co-founder of Blink-182, has quit the band. A series of statements by both DeLonge and remaining Blink members Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker have made it clear that there has been a longstanding dissonance between members, and the latter have concretely confirmed Tom’s departure..
In a statement released Monday morning from the band’s publicist, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker explain the show must go on.
Matt Skiba of the Alkaline Trio will join Blink-182 in replacement of Tom DeLonge at the 8th annual Musink Music and Tattoo Festival. “We were all set to play this festival and record a new album and Tom kept putting it off without reason. A week before we were scheduled to go in to the studio we got an email from his manager explaining that he didn’t want to participate in any Blink-182 projects indefinetly, but would rather work on his other non-musical endeavors.” Travis Barker and Mark Hoppus plan to honor all Blink-182 commitments including the Musink Festival and are excited to have singer/guitarist Matt Skiba join them for this project. “No hard feelings, but the show must go on for our fans.” Additionally, Skiba will continue to make new music and tour with the Alkaline Trio.
In a quick update following initial publication, DeLonge denied quitting in a Facebook post, calling the news “weird”. Shortly after, Hoppus and Barker exclusively told Rolling Stone that DeLonge is certainly out. In their interview, the duo laid out some hostile hindsights on DeLonge’s behavior in recent months, with Barker questioning his reunion motivations to begin with.
“You don’t even have the balls to call your bandmates and tell them you’re not going to record or do anything Blink-related,” he said. “You have your manager do it. Everyone should know what the story is with him and it’s been years with it. When we did get back together after my plane crash, we only got back together, I don’t know, maybe because I almost died. But he didn’t even listen to mixes or masterings from that record. He didn’t even care about it.”
So now the music world is tasked once again with the prospect of Angels & Airwaves being shoved in our faces once more. Tom’s AVA delivery sounds like that of a class-clown jokester who’s realized that everyone’s laughing at him and not with him, and is trying his damnedest to put forth some substance of heart before we collectively pull the shades on giving a damn.
Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiva will reportedly be filling in for DeLonge on live dates.
