Tom DeLonge decided to part ways with Blink-182 last year, but probably not for the reasons you were thinking.
During a recent interview with Mic, DeLonge, who is both a singer and guitarist, admitted that he left the band to investigate aliens and UFOs. Tom’s fascination with extraterrestrial life has never been a secret. In fact, the songwriter frequently included alien references in the titles of his songs: “Aliens Exist,” “The Flight of Apollo,” and “Valkyrie Missile.”
Now that DeLonge is no longer a part of Blink-182, he has shifted his entire focus to his new multimedia franchise called Sekret Machines, which he told Mic ‘s Kelly Dickerson, will seek to investigate “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.” The franchise will include music from Tom’s band Angels & Airwaves, a documentary, and both fiction and non-fiction books. Sekret Machines Book 1: Chasing Shadows, the first book in a new series, is already out.
Tom DeLonge says he quit Blink-182 to focus on the threat of UFOs. https://t.co/6LZYAjTu0n pic.twitter.com/8As7DjYcnR
— Pigeons & Planes (@PigsAndPlans) June 20, 2016
“ It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” DeLonge said of his new franchise. “I’ve always had a passion for space and the future. But when you dive into this type of material, it’s a lot more than just science and technology. It has to do with religion and cosmology and it has to do with politics and secrecy. So it’s a pretty fantastic ride when you start studying this stuff. You’ll find yourself trying to challenge your belief system. This project was a good way to bring it to the world in a more elevated way.”
While speaking to Dickerson, DeLonge explained his obsession with aliens and the threats of UFOs. It’s a fascination, Tom says, that started way back in junior high and continued throughout his adult life.
“[In] the beginnings of my career with [Blink-182], you have a lot of free time in the van, traveling across the country for 12 months, so I found myself getting a lot of really interesting books that challenged the way I thought about stuff,” he said.
. @blink182 debut visual for “Bored to Death,” their first music video without Tom Delonge https://t.co/NOM4pShwFW pic.twitter.com/ZyDkCBTOvH
— Paste Magazine (@PasteMagazine) June 21, 2016
Eventually, Tom realized that he was going to have to make a choice — continue touring for nine months out of the year with Blink-182, or follow his dream of investigating the unknown. Last year, he made that choice and decided to leave the band for good.
“ When you’re an individual like me, dealing with something that’s a national security issue, and you’re being gifted with the opportunity to communicate something you’ve been passionate about your whole life — something that has the opportunity to change the world over time — being a small part of that is enormously important for my life path,” he explained. “But I can’t do everything. I can’t tour nine months out of the year with enough time to do the enormity of what I’m setting out to do.”
While DeLonge admits there have been those who make fun of his new endeavor, he insists he is taking his new role very seriously.
“My goal is to have a conversation within reality, that’s very grounded,” Tom said. “Novels and films and documentaries — it’s a very good way to get people to understand how it could really exist and what the ramifications are. The whole UFO phenomenon is different than what people think it is.”
What do you think about Tom DeLonge’s decision to leave Blink-182 to investigate aliens and UFOs? Leave your comments below.
[Photo via AP Photo/Katy Winn]