Blink 182 frontman Tom DeLonge has left the band ‘indefinitely’, it was confirmed this morning. Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba will join Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker for all currently booked live dates, including the Orange County, California Musink Music and Tattoo Festival on March 22nd.
A statement from the band’s publicists reads as follows: ‘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 indefinitely, but would rather work on his other non-musical endeavors. No hard feelings, but the show must go on for our fans.’
DeLonge then insisted on Instagram that he was unaware of these developments. However, Hoppus and Barker confirmed in an interview with Rolling Stone that DeLonge has indeed left the band, and they weren’t exactly full of praise for their former bandmate. You can check out the full interview at www.rollingstone.com/music/news/blink-182s-hoppus-barker-blast-ungrateful-disingenuous-tom-delonge-20150126. Be warned – it makes upsetting reading if you’re a Blink 182 fan.
Dammit.
