Tom DeLonge disputes departure from Blink-182
Guitarist Tom Delonge is disputing reports he has quit Blink-182, despite an announcement from his bandmates suggesting he has already been replaced for an upcoming gig.
On Monday (26Jan15), the line-up for drummer Travis Barker's annual Musink Festival in California in March (15) was released, and when Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba was listed as Blink-182's guitarist fans started to wonder why DeLonge was no longer part of the group.
Barker and singer/bassist Mark Hoppus quickly issued a statement in
which they announced their longtime bandmate would be taking an
"indefinite" leave of absence from the group.
It reads: "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."
However, DeLonge has disputed the story in a post to Instagram.com,
insisting he is not leaving the group and blaming the purported
split on miscommunication.
He wrote, "To all the fans, I never quit the band. I actually was
on a phone call about a Blink-182 event for New York City at the
time all these weird press releases started coming in...
"Apparently those releases were ‘sanctioned’ from the band. Are we
dysfunctional - yes. But, Christ….. #Awkward."
DeLonge formed the group Angels & Airwaves when Blink-182 announced
an indefinite hiatus in 2005. The trio regrouped in 2009.