Over the past couple of weeks, Blink 182 members have been exchanging press releases over the current state of the band.
It started when bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker released an interview with Rolling Stone, claiming that guitarist Tom Delonge is out of the band. Delonge immediately responded via an Instagram post calling the press release "weird," claiming he is still in the band.
Hoppus and Barker's camp fired back at their estranged bandmate, revealing that for the past few years he had been declining to play a few shows and refuses to record material with the group. Barker even called Delonge as "ungrateful" and "disengenuous."
Yet another response comes from Delonge, as he claims that he didn't quit the band and wasn't planning to either. He also posted a tweet, which was quickly deleted after being published saying: "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 the story."
Fans were left confused during the exchange of statements that spanned a couple of days. What is certain is that Barker and Hoppus have announced that they are moving forward without Delonge in an upcoming concert. They will be acquiring the talents of Alkaline Trio frontman Matt Skiba for the confirmed March 22 show.
"We haven't played a show with Matt yet, so it's too soon to really say what goes beyond on that," said Hoppus in an interview with Alternative Press. "He's not going to try and walk onstage and be Tom. He's going to be himself as a member of Blink that day."
Delonge is apparently moving forward himself after the messy dispute, announcing that he will be putting out new material.
"The date is March 1st - I have a lot of music I was working hard on.... Things happen, so I guess we have a change of plans... Either way, I think you guys should hear it." wrote the guitarist on his official Facebook page.
Snippets of the new songs that can be heard on his Instagram were hashtagged "Songs Without A Home," indicating that the new material could have been intended for the new Blink 182 album.
