‘I never quit the band,’ says Blink-182’s Tom DeLonge

It appears that Tom DeLonge hasn’t quit pop-punk trio Blink-182 after all, even though bandmates Travis Barker and Mark Hoppus issued a statement to that effect, saying that their decision to tap Alkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba for the group’s headlining performance in March in Orange County resulted from Longe’s departure.

“I never quit the band,” DeLonge said in a statement issued Monday following widespread reports on his status with the long-running San Diego group. “Actually, I was on the phone discussing a possible Blink-182 event in New York City when I heard the ‘news.’ The ONLY truth here is that I have commitments that limit my availability this year.”

Blink is slated to headline the closing day of the three-day MusInk Tattoo & Music Festival scheduled for March 20-22 at the Orange County Fair & Events Center in Costa Mesa, following Friday’s headliner Rancid and Saturday’s bill-topper Bad Religion. Other acts in line to play the eighth annual fest this year include Yelawolf, OFF!, Sick of It All and Ignite.

In their statement, Barker, who has organized the event, and Hoppus said: “We were all set to play this festival and record a new album and Tom kept putting it off without reason. A week before we were scheduled to go in to the studio, we got an e-mail from his manager explaining that he didn’t want to participate in any Blink-182 projects indefinitely, but would rather work on his other non-musical endeavors.”

The Costa Mesa show is billed as “Blink-182 w/Matt Skiba.”

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