The lives of Blink 182 band members Tom DeLonge, Mark Hoppus, and Travis Barker have been tumultuous over the past few weeks. After planning on releasing a new Blink 182 album, rumblings about the band’s relationship with Tom DeLonge began to surface. DeLonge was described as “ungrateful” by Travis Barker in an interview with Rolling Stone in late January. Things got much stranger when DeLonge made a comment that he and Hopper had discussed letting Barker walk from the band.
Since these comments, Tom DeLonge has publicly left Blink 182 and is pursuing a solo life without the band as well as releasing new music with Angels and Airwaves.
DeLonge has also taken to social media in order to engage fans and keep them privy to the changes being made in his career. He took to Facebook and issued a statement saying, “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.”
The songs in reference can be found on Tom’s Instagram page, filed under the name “Songs Without a Home”.
The question that all of this brings up is where does Tom go from here? What is the future of Blink 182?
Travis Barker and Mark Hoppus have announced that Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba will replace DeLonge for the band’s upcoming set at Musink Festival. If DeLonge’s indefinite leave from Blink 182 is a permanent move, this will push back the plans for the album that Blink 182 was going to release this year.
Hoppus and Barker seem to be committed to the Blink 182 band they have forged over the past 15 years. However, this opens up some interesting opportunities for them as well if they decide to go a different route.
Travis Barker has been recently involved with rappers Yelawolf and Hopsin, releasing an EP with Yelawolf, Physco White, in 2012. If Barker decides to move on from Blink 182, he could easily transcend into the rap and hip-hop scene. The EP debuted at #49 on the Billboard Top 200, showing that his notoriety can carry over into different musical genres aside from Blink 182.
Hoppus brings a subtle tenderness to the table with his work in +44. The producing team of Barker and Hoppus only recorded one album with +44 and though it did not reach the sales expectations that were set, I think there would be a welcome reception for a return to this style. One of the aspects of Blink 182 that was so appealing was the intimacy that Hoppus’ voice carried. This is effective with the musical stylings of +44.
For Tom, his reveal of a March 1st date that accompanied the short clips on his Instagram page is definitely something that the music community needs to monitor. The sound of the songs are reminiscent of Blink-182’s sound from Enema of the State, which is arguably the bands best album to date. If this is a precursor of things to come for Tom DeLonge, the future could be very bright even with the ugly band separation that took place.
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