Matt Skiba has been accepted pretty well by fans of Blink-182. In fact, there doesn’t really seem to be any better replacements around at this time. In the past, it was joked about by many fans of Blink-182 that Matt Skiba is a better Tom DeLonge than the current rendition of Tom DeLonge by Tom DeLonge.
Yes, people grow up and things change. Of course, voices change as well when you throw in the mix of being a rock icon touring all over the world, booze, drugs, smoking cigarettes, screaming nightly, it’s all going to take its toll of the vocal chords eventually. Blink-182 and Tom DeLonge really lived it up at their peak and Matt Skiba brings back many of those party feelings back to a band that was ready to call it a night.
The new trio of Travis Barker, Mark Hoppus, and Matt Skiba started when Tom DeLonge had left the band for the seemingly last time. Many fans were scared that the band was coming to a very sad ending, but this is where Barker and Hoppus put their heads together and went out to lunch with Matt Skiba.
Originally, Skiba was told by Hoppus that the two would meet as they would be discussing a project that they were making together, but Hoppus had some other motives in mind that made sense with Travis Barker as he brought him along too.
As Hoppus had once stated, he felt that Blink-182 was a unit and they made decisions together rather than just one person making decisions. Mark wanted everyone to be in unison which is what ultimately killed the original formation of Blink-182 at the hands of both Hoppus and DeLonge.
Skiba stated the following thanks to GQ about how all of this came to fruition and feelings held by Tom DeLonge.
Matt Skiba: “They both sat down and told me that Tom had quit. I was still thinking about him leaving the band when they morphed it into a question: Would I be interested in playing with Blink? And Mark said to me, ‘We know your schedule. We already looked. It’s just a matter of: Do you want to do it? We would have to start rehearsing immediately.’ And I said, ‘Well, of course I want to do it.’ ”
Skiba was then asked about Tom DeLonge’s feelings: “It wasn’t until an hour or two later that I started to consider Tom’s feelings towards it. From what they told me, he left them holding the bag and I’ve always left it between them. It’s not really any of my business.”
Skiba closed: “Tom’s been nothing but a sweetheart to me, but it’s like somebody dating your ex-girlfriend or your ex-wife or whatever. It’s weird. No matter how cordial or adult everyone is, it’s awkward. But, people just want to see drama. They want to see a fight. Neither Tom nor myself are that kind of person. Even if it stung for him a little—and I think he said it’s a little weird—he’s man enough to admit that. I certainly didn’t take any joy in causing him any discomfort or whatever, but he and I have always been friends.”
Wherever any of these artists need to go in life, we are sure that they will always find a way and Blink, no matter who is where, will always hold a strong grip on not only the fans, but all of those who have shared the Blink-182 name at any point in their lives.
