Alkaline Trio frontman Matt Skiba reflects on his time in blink-182 during a new interview with the Tuna on Toast podcast.
Skiba started playing guitar and singing in the “All the Small Things” trio in 2015 in place of founding member Tom DeLonge, and played on two records with them: 2016’s California and 2019’s Nine. His time with the band ended when DeLonge rejoined in 2022.
“I feel like the timing was perfect,” Skiba shares of his departure. “I think everyone’s glad that Tom is back, but I’m really thankful for those guys, and the work that we did.”
Skiba also recalls thinking that Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker were “on acid” when they asked him to join blink, and how pleasantly surprised he was that fans embraced him.
“But I remember at the time I said to Mark, I was, like, ‘Well, eventually Tom is gonna come back, right?'” Skiba says. “And Mark was, like … I don’t think it was any secret he was pretty hurt and upset, but I think somewhere he had to know that that was true.”
Skiba says that he still keeps in touch with his former blink bandmates and that he “love[s]” the band’s comeback album with DeLonge, ONE MORE TIME… He adds that his only regret over his time with the band is when he unwittingly wore a T-shirt made by the clothing company Hurley, which DeLonge famously wore, during what turned into his first blink-182 photoshoot.
“I got a baseball hat on and this Hurley t-shirt, and everyone’s, like, ‘What the f***?'” Skiba says. “Like, ‘You f****** poser … You’re trying to be Tom.’ I was, like, ‘I didn’t know we were gonna take a picture.'”
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