Amid the exciting news that blink-182 are reuniting their classic lineup of Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge, and Travis Barker for a new album and world tour, you may be wondering, how does Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba, who previously replaced Tom, feel about all of this? Tom thanked Matt for his time in the band in an open letter, and Matt shared his own statement in reply congratulating the band; "I am truly grateful for my time with blink and I am truly happy you guys are a band and a family again," he wrote. He expanded further in a new interview with Vulture, where he says, "What’s happened between Tom and his bandmates is between them. I really am genuinely glad, as a fan of the band, that they’re a family again. There’s just a lot that I don’t know about the record. I saw the tour dates and everything. I saw the teaser video, which I thought was pretty cute and funny. And it seems like it’s going to be huge. It seems like people are really psyched about it, and I’m one of those people too. I’m honored to have been asked to fill in for Tom or to join the band or however you want to phrase it. I’m proud of the work that I did with them. We had a great time. I mean, I was just talking to Mark this morning about the new Cormac McCarthy book. There’s no bad blood, there’s no drama, there’s no nothing. It’s just the next chapter in the band’s life. And I think anyone, whether it’s my dad getting sick or Mark getting sick, it just sharpens your appreciation for those people in your lives, no matter how dinged up it can get. It’s like, it can always be ironed out. I’m nothing but thankful for my time with the band and to be sitting here having this conversation with you about it."
About Tom's open letter, Matt said to Vulture, "I think Tom is a genuinely good person. He’s always been nothing but kind and amazing to me. And he genuinely wrote me that, and we had a really beautiful, genuine conversation via text in response. He’s free to post everything he wants. I’m guessing it, more than anything, is to show everybody, and bless his heart for doing so, there isn’t any bad blood. There isn’t going to be any mud slinging or any of that kind of shit, not from me and I’m really glad not from them. There isn’t really any mud to sling. We’re all friends. We played music. None of us take each other or take ourselves that seriously. So I think him posting that, I guess you’d have to ask him. I would think it’s a clumsy way to clear the air. Is that a weird thing to say?"