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Travis Barker says Tom DeLonge should “man up and quit” Blink-182

The members of Blink-182 have exchanged blows for the past couple weeks now. Following Tom DeLonge’s departure (of sorts) from the band (and all of the drama that has since followed), drummer Travis Barker gave an interview to Alternative Nation, where he spoke in-depth on the situation.

In the interview, Barker apparently criticized DeLonge’s ability to play guitar and sing harmonies live:

So you’re current touring frontman will be Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba. What is your past relationship with Matt and how are the rehearsals with him going so far?
Travis: Alkaline Trio toured with Blink-182 for awhile as an opener band. We are two weeks in to practice and he’s killing it. There’s harmonies that have never been sung. He’s actually playing the guitar instead of just Pro Tools. It’s just fresh blood and having someone that’s motivated and stoked to be there makes a world of difference. In general, Skiba has a really charming voice and it couldn’t be a better fit.

He also says that DeLonge should “man up and quit” the band:

I think this is the third time he’s quit without anyone knowing about it because we didn’t announce the other times. But this is just the last straw. It’s just not cool for the fans. He’d always agree to go on huge tours and record albums, but when it came down to going into the studio, he’d find some excuse not to. And we wouldn’t even hear from him, it would be his management. It comes to a point where you decide you’re not going to force anyone to do anything they don’t want to do and it’s time to move on. […] As far as I’m concerned, no bad blood from me. I wish him the best in everything he does. I think the right thing for him to do would just man up and quit the band instead of telling people he didn’t quit and just be real with the fans. I think that would give him some closure too and really do what he’s passionate about. Even amongst all the other projects I do, I can always find a way to prioritize and still be passionate about Blink-182 when it comes around. I love playing, listening, and everything about punk rock. It changed my life. I think for Tom, he doesn’t like punk music and it was a phase for him.

Barker also seems excited at the prospect of Blink recording a new album with Skiba.

Are there any concrete plans for Blink-182 after the festival appearance with Skiba?
Travis: We’ll see. The beginning goal was to do the show because we committed to it. There’s a really great vibe and everyone’s stoked to be playing with each other. We’re definitely enjoying each other and Skiba is killing it. If we did make an album with Skiba, it would be unreal. I don’t know if that’s a possibility yet because I can’t speak for everybody. Right now it feels like the honeymoon stage. Everyone’s really happy and there’s a vibe in the rehearsal room that we haven’t had in a long time.

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