Tom DeLonge ‘Thankful’ for Blink-182: ‘I Love Mark and Travis, We Still Talk’
Tom DeLonge has once again stoked the flames of classic-lineup Blink-182 reunion rumors. That is, he admitted onstage during a recent Angels & Airwaves performance his "super, super" thankfulness for the San Diego pop-punkers. The estranged Blink guitarist also told the crowd of his ongoing relationship with erstwhile bandmates Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker, "We still talk, we're all good."
As documented by a Reddit user present at the AVA gig in Chicago, DeLonge addressed Internet naysayers while confirming his love for Blink. Watch fan-captured video down toward the bottom of this page.
"I started another band called Blink-182, and I definitely want to let you guys know, contrary to a lot of talk out there in Internet land, I'm super, super, super thankful for that band," DeLonge told the audience, as transcribed by Kerrang. "I love that band. I started that band, by the way. I love Mark and Travis, we still talk, we're all good. Everything is awesome and people don't know, so they say a bunch of weird shit on the Internet."
He continued, "But I've always been one of those guys that wants to do something different all the time. I'm like, 'How do I really really challenge myself to feel things that are different to what I feel now, and how do I do that with other people, and inspire the people the way that I've been inspired?' So that's kind of been my path for a long time. It started with Box Car Racer and then Angels & Airwaves."
One of things DeLonge has done different is all but force the U.S. government to admit the existence of UFOs — not a paltry feat. As recently reported, the U.S. Navy has gone on the record as saying its pilots have encountered "phenomena" currently considered "unidentified" after DeLonge's company To The Stars published videos showing the unexplained entities captured on film by Navy pilots. That's right, aliens exist, and we may have DeLonge to thank for the government admitting their existence.
But could Tom's onstage talk point to the possibility of DeLonge rejoining Blink in the future? Although Hoppus previously discredited the rumor, the bassist gave hope to the hearsay in a more recent talk with Vogue. Hoppus said the band did their "best work" with DeLonge in the fold while noting the group do things a bit "differently" with current guitarist, and DeLonge's direct replacement, Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio.
"There was a real unity of spirit in the band; [it’s] when the band found itself," Hoppus said. “When Tom was in the band, that’s when Blink did its best work… Now post-Tom, with Matt in the band, we’re approaching songs differently."
Tom Delonge talking about his relation with Blink 182 members at Angel's and Airwaves concert in Chicago. from r/Blink182
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