Tom DeLonge on Blink-182: ‘We Do Have a Future Together’
Tom DeLonge elaborated on his statement to Rolling Stone that he’s still in Blink-182, the guitarist said in a lengthy Facebook message. The update arrives after the band announced their new album California, which will feature original members Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker as well as Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba in DeLonge’s place.
“I understand all the craziness out there in Internet-land,” DeLonge wrote. “It is an odd time for fans of the Blink-182 legacy, I know — it’s odd for me, too.” DeLonge goes on to let fans know that he met with Hoppus and Barker after they had not spoken to one another in a year. “I actually talk to Travis almost every day now,” he wrote. “In an odd way I’m almost closer to him more now than ever.”
“We DO have a future together if we want it, but for now we are busy doing separate things,” he wrote before detailing his movie, music and book projects, including Sekret Machines, which he is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Defense.
According to the Angels and Airwaves frontman, the core issue with his involvement on the next Blink album had to do with writing approaches, stating that he disagreed with the band’s decision to partner with songwriter John Feldmann, known for his work with 5 Seconds of Summer and Good Charlotte. “I guess I’ve always just liked the songwriting we did together,” he wrote. “But, at the end of the day, I support their desires. And if they are happy, then that’s what matters.”
“I obviously want them to make the music they wish,” said Delonge. As for the future of him working on new music with the band, he notes that it could happen “if we can build back that ‘special something’ that was once there.”
With Skiba on board, Blink-182 announced that their seventh album will arrive on July 1st, the 182nd day of the year. They released their first single without DeLonge, “Bored to Death,” and announced an expansive tour across North America with A Day to Remember, All-American Rejects and All Time Low opening for them on various dates.
Read Tom DeLonge’s Facebook Statement in Full