Travis Barker Thinks Tom DeLonge Should “Man Up And Quit” Blink-182

In the latest instalment of the ongoing Blink-182 saga which has seen the band part ways with founding member Tom DeLonge, drummer Travis Barker has urged DeLonge to “be real with his fans” and quit the band for good.

In an interview with Alternative Nation, Barker spoke extensively about the split saying, “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.”

He continued: “I think for Tom, he doesn’t like punk music and it was a phase for him.”

Alkaline Trio‘s Matt Skiba is currently rehearsing with Blink-182 and will join them at Musink Festival in California at the end of March. Things seem to be going swimmingly for the new trio, with Barker saying Skiba is “killing it” in his new role.

“It’s just fresh blood and having someone that’s motivated and stoked to be there makes a world of difference.”

As to whether there are any concrete plans for Skiba to join the band Barker said, “We’ll see… 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.”

Over the weekend DeLonge announced that he would be releasing an LP, To The Stars, containing Blink-182 demos.

DeLonge took to Twitter back in January to reveal that the band considered ditching Barker after his 2013 Soundwave no-show.

Despite all the drama Barker now says, “As far as I’m concerned, no bad blood from me.”

Read the full interview over at Alternative Nation.

Gallery: Blink-182 @ Allphones Arena, Sydney 20/02/13 / Photos: Ashley Mar

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