On the heels of a reunion tour announcement, original Blink-182 lead singer Tom DeLonge took a moment to publicly thank the band’s former singer Matt Skiba for his time as its frontman starting in 2015. Skiba assumed the role for the punk-rock band seven years ago following DeLonge’s second departure from Blink, which occurred due to creative differences and the artist opting to work on other non-music endeavors.
“I sent this to Matt personally, but it’s important for the world to know that I honor him,” DeLonge’s caption read, noting that he first sent the kind words directly to Skiba.
The post shares admiration for the Alkaline Trio frontman, who initially “filled in” for a handful of club shows and at the Musink festival in March 2015 before officially joining the band later in the year. Skiba performed shows with the band and recorded two studio albums, “California” and “Nine,” during DeLonge’s seven-year absence. DeLonge noted that the band would not still be around today if it wasn’t for Skiba’s ability to “jump in and save the day.”
“You have always been so kind to me, not only in the press, but also to others. I really noticed,” DeLonge’s statement reads.
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Further on in the post, DeLonge noted some of the complicated emotions that have derailed the band throughout its run since it was initially founded in 1992, but that “Mark’s cancer really put things in perspective.” DeLonge is referring to Hoppus’ stage lymphoma cancer diagnosis, which was announced last June but subsided in September.
The reunited band is set to embark on a world tour throughout 2023 and 2024, starting internationally in Mexico next March. Standout bands like Turnstile, Rise Against, The Story So Far and Wallows are slated to open for them in different regions.
Read the full text of DeLonge’s statement below:
“Hi Matt –
Tom DeLonge here. I wanted to take a minute and say thank you for all that you have done to keep the band alive and thriving in my absence. I think you are enormously talented (I still love to listen to your band to this day). You have always been so kind to me, not only in the press, but also to others. I really noticed. Emotions between the three of us in Blink have always been complicated, but Mark’s cancer really put things in perspective. But to be honest, the band would not even be here today if it were not for your ability to jump in and save the day. So from my heart to yours, thank you for being a member of our band.”
