Mark Hoppus Describes the Status of Blink-182 as a ‘Friendly Divorce’
Mark Hoppus has offered an update on the status of Blink-182 and the band’s tenuous relationship with estranged guitarist Tom DeLonge, describing the current state of affairs as “a friendly divorce.”
“We are right now going through what so far has been a friendly divorce with our former guitarist,” Hoppus said during an interview with the Das Process podcast. “Hopefully things clear up and it doesn’t get all manager-y and lawyer-y and all that and we can move forward” (via NME).
“Tom was my best friend for years and years,” the Blink bassist continued. “The thing is, if you think about the people that you were friends with at the end of high school and the beginning of college … how many of those people are you still friends with? We’ve been in the same van and bus and airplane and backstage room and stage for 20-something years.”
It certainly didn’t seem like a “friendly divorce” when Hoppus, drummer Travis Barker and DeLonge’s feud first blew up at the beginning of the year. At the time, Hoppus and Barker accused DeLonge of delaying recording commitments “without reason,” and Barker responded by saying he “never quit the band.” A very public falling out ensued, with each of the two parties taking their shots at one another.
If Blink-182 do decide to finalize that divorce, Hoppus and Barker's replacement for DeLonge, Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba, has expressed interest in becoming a permanent fixture in the band’s lineup.
“There’s some time and some things that those guys need to figure out before we can start saying I’m a permanent member,” Skiba said in an interview. “But that is a hope of mine. If we’re discussing recording an album, I think that seals the deal. But, we shall see, only time can tell.”
DeLonge has been keeping busy, too, releasing his debut solo album, To the Stars… Demos, Odds and Ends, last month.