Travis Barker and Mark Hoppus release statement, Tom reacts

Jan 28, 2015 11:48 GMT  ·  By
Blink-182 is done in this current lineup: Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker pushed Tom DeLonge out
   Blink-182 is done in this current lineup: Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker pushed Tom DeLonge out

Tom DeLonge founded Blink-182 with Mark Hoppus in 1992, but yesterday morning he woke up to the news that he had dropped out of the band ahead of a festival appearance and scheduled recording sessions for a new album, and no knowledge of ever doing that.

High school-type of drama ensued, with Tom taking to social media to shut down reports that he’s out of the band, which he justly branded “dysfunctional.” In a later update, he confirms that he’s no longer a part of Blink-182, but blames it all on his mates.

The mysterious announcement

In a statement to the media, Barker and Hoppus said that DeLonge had been pushing back plans with Blink-182 and that he did so until the very last moment, when he didn’t even have the courtesy to break the news to them in person, but had his manager contact them via email.

“We got an email from his manager, explaining that he didn’t want to participate in any Blink-182 projects indefinitely but would rather work on his other, nonmusical endeavors,” the statement said, adding that Tom will be replaced by Matt Skiba on guitar.

Tom’s reaction suggested that there had been no discussions about his leaving the band, so he most definitely didn’t have his manager tell his mates that he wanted out. He blamed the release of the statement on their “dysfunctional” relationship, which seemed to hint that he was still on board.

However, in a later update, DeLonge got his side of the story out, and in the process, left no room for doubt: high school drama or not, he was out of the band.

DeLonge’s refusal to commit

The guitarist explains that his other, “non-musical” projects have progressed at a rapid pace, so the reason he may have seemed to try and stall Blink-182 plans was because he was against the label’s interdictions to focus on anything else but music.

He claims he was told he and the other two bandmembers must deliver a new album within 6 months, which he believes is impossible considering his other commitments, which he still wants to honor.

Even so, the news that he’s out of the band came as an utter shock.

“You can imagine my surprise when a press release went out yesterday – without my knowledge – about the band’s future. This is new to me. It’s not in my nature to fuel negativity about the legacy of the band on something as trashy as the Internet world. But I guess that’s another example of how I differ from most. I follow the light... I follow passion and I make art,” he says.

He continues that he’s saddened by this new development, for the band, for the legacy and for the fans who have to “witness this immaturity.” He’s right about that last part.

Still, no hard feelings, Tom adds: the way Travis and Mark handled this doesn’t sound like something they would do, but he suspects they’re just being “defensive.” Not that this is an excuse: he has nothing but love and respect for them, but there is no going back from this.