Tom DeLonge Says He Never Quit Blink-182: Guitarist Clears Up Confusion From Previous Reports

Here's what the guitarist had to say, via Billboard:

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 ‪#‎BabyBackRibs

Earlier today, Radio.com ran a statement from the band's publicist that made it seem like DeLonge was out of the band and was being replaced by Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio.

"We were all set to play this festival and record a new album and Tom kept putting it off without reason," the statement read. "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."

DeLonge clarified in his social media posts and in a statement sent from his publicist that the only shred of truth from the press release is that his availability is limited this year due to other commitments. "I love blink-182 and I'm not leaving," he added.

Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker haven't responded to the ordeal. Hoppus tweeted out an image of a festival lineup for the Musink Festival, the one referenced in the erroneous press release, that has blink-182 playing with Skiba. That may just mean that Skiba is sitting in with the group.

If all is well in the blink camp, then we might be hearing some new tunes from the boys.

Tags

Blink-182, Tom Delonge, Mark Hoppus, Travis Barker