There's been trouble in pop punk paradise this week as Blink-182 have been going through a messy, public war of words. No longer the Mark, Tom and Travis show, the band's rhythm section has been feuding with founding guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge. Now, the guitarist has responded with an open letter.
Posting to his Facebook page, DeLonge opened up about his frustration with bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker.
DeLonge explained that he's been trying to make things work while also balancing time with his family and his ambitious Angels and Airwaves project, which recently released a new album and currently has comic books, films and more music in the works. According to DeLonge, he's been trying to make things work while also trying to push the band in new directions. It all came to a head with a "band summit" in Utah:
The big reset was when I tried to put together a band summit in Utah where we'd talk and work things out. It quickly was narrowed down to three hours in someone's dressing room in a shitty casino. What I hoped would be a positive get-together away from everything turned into an awkward meeting in a smelly convention hall dressing room. But it was there that I told Mark and Travis that as long as we talked, and things were good between us as real friends, that I would be engaged and work passionately. I'd mirror our personal relationship. Exact words.
DeLonge claims that Blink-182 passed him a contract saying he wouldn't be able to release his many Angels and Airwaves projects within nine months of a Blink-182 album, adding that the Blink album would need to be recorded in six months. This was a demand he couldn't get behind.
He adds that the press release saying he was out of the band was sent without his knowledge, adding, "I know them very well, and their current actions are defensive and divisive. I suppose they're doing this as a way to protect themselves from being hurt. Like we all do. And even as I watch them act so different to what I know of them to be, I still care deeply for them. Like brothers, and like old friends. But our relationship got poisoned yesterday. Never planned on quitting, just find it hard as hell to commit."
To read the full open letter, go here.
Prior to this statement, DeLonge had tweeted, "A year ago Mark and I spent a week on the phone with managers debating parting with Travis... Don't pretend there isn't more to this story."
The tweet was deleted, though Hoppus also addressed that in a new interview with Alternative Press, where he admitted that a misunderstanding meant DeLonge was frustrated with Barker while the band was touring Australia with an alternate drummer.
Stay tuned for more news on Blink-182's implosion as it becomes available.
Posting to his Facebook page, DeLonge opened up about his frustration with bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker.
DeLonge explained that he's been trying to make things work while also balancing time with his family and his ambitious Angels and Airwaves project, which recently released a new album and currently has comic books, films and more music in the works. According to DeLonge, he's been trying to make things work while also trying to push the band in new directions. It all came to a head with a "band summit" in Utah:
The big reset was when I tried to put together a band summit in Utah where we'd talk and work things out. It quickly was narrowed down to three hours in someone's dressing room in a shitty casino. What I hoped would be a positive get-together away from everything turned into an awkward meeting in a smelly convention hall dressing room. But it was there that I told Mark and Travis that as long as we talked, and things were good between us as real friends, that I would be engaged and work passionately. I'd mirror our personal relationship. Exact words.
DeLonge claims that Blink-182 passed him a contract saying he wouldn't be able to release his many Angels and Airwaves projects within nine months of a Blink-182 album, adding that the Blink album would need to be recorded in six months. This was a demand he couldn't get behind.
He adds that the press release saying he was out of the band was sent without his knowledge, adding, "I know them very well, and their current actions are defensive and divisive. I suppose they're doing this as a way to protect themselves from being hurt. Like we all do. And even as I watch them act so different to what I know of them to be, I still care deeply for them. Like brothers, and like old friends. But our relationship got poisoned yesterday. Never planned on quitting, just find it hard as hell to commit."
To read the full open letter, go here.
Prior to this statement, DeLonge had tweeted, "A year ago Mark and I spent a week on the phone with managers debating parting with Travis... Don't pretend there isn't more to this story."
The tweet was deleted, though Hoppus also addressed that in a new interview with Alternative Press, where he admitted that a misunderstanding meant DeLonge was frustrated with Barker while the band was touring Australia with an alternate drummer.
Stay tuned for more news on Blink-182's implosion as it becomes available.