Earlier today, news broke out that Blink 182 guitarist Tom Delonge is "indefinitely" leaving the group. His bandmates Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker released a statement saying that Delonge is out and that Alkaline Trio singer Matt Skiba would be replacing him for their upcoming show at the Musink Festival.
Delonge responded immediately, posting on his Instagram account saying "I never left the band," saying that the accusations were "weird."
Hoppus and Barker discussed the brewing conflict with Rolling Stone in a tell-all interview. They opened up with an update on the band's current status, saying that they were slated to return to the studio to record their latest album.
This was followed by a flurry of e-mails from Delonge's camp and his bandmates; in the end Delonge's reps said "Tom.Is Out."
"We booked January 5th to go into the studio. On December 30th, we get an e-mail from Tom's manager saying that he has no interest in recording and that he wants to do his other, non-musical stuff and that he's out indefinitely." said Hoppus.
The band is also slated to play at this year's Musink Festival, an annual event which Barker co-owns. But now that things are indefinite with Delonge, the drummer and bassist found a way to move forward with their upcoming set.
Renowed frontman for punk band Alkaline Trio is apparently filling in for Delonge.
"All three of us agreed to play this Musink show. So just like last year, when Travis could't go to Australia and we got a fill-in drummer to replace Travis, we found a replacement guitarist for Tom on this show."
Barker revealed much of the turmoil that has been going on within the group, saying that Delonge's counter-statement on Instagram was a "lie."
"It's hard to cover for someone who's disrespectful and ungrateful. 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. You have your manager do it," said Barker.
The drummer went on, calling out his bandmate to be "ungrateful" and "disingenuous."
Stay tuned to Franchise Herald as we receive updates on Blink 182's current situation.
