It’s sad to see one of your childhood favorite bands publicly feud, yet that’s what blink-182 fans have been dealing with since (former?) guitarist Tom DeLonge took an “indefinite hiatus” from the band this past January. Since then, DeLonge and the remaining blink-182 members Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker have released contradictory statements defining DeLonge’s role/membership within the band, with Hoppus and Barker explaining a letter sent to them by DeLonge’s lawyer and manager while DeLonge himself stated he never “officially” left the band and was blindsided by the statements released.
Nevertheless, Hoppus and Barker recruited Alkaline Trio frontman Matt Skiba to take over singing/guitar duties for their Musink Festival this past March. The reception was very positive, leading to speculation that Skiba would join the band permanently. In fact, he’s expressed mutual interest in replacing DeLonge, telling Alternative Press:
I think that’s a great idea and it’s something we have discussed. It’s something I would be very excited to do and I’ve known the Blink guys for about 15 years, and we’ve become good friends. Playing songs I haven’t written with Mark and Travis is a blast, so to go in and create music with them would be amazing.
It appears the band is moving towards that possibility with news that DeLonge, Hoppus, and Barker are reaching an amicable decision about the band’s future. Despite DeLonge’s aforementioned “hiatus,” he hasn’t yet officially left the band, leaving Hoppus and Barker stuck in limbo in regards to recording and touring – pretty much any movement or growth for blink. Hoppus recently told Das Process that they “are right now going through what so far has been a friendly divorce with our former guitarist. Hopefully things clear up and it doesn’t get all manager-y and lawyer-y and all that and we can move forward.”
blink-182 as we know it is dead, but it sounds like their future is close to being theirs to determine once more.
[via Yahoo! Music]