Tom DeLonge Says Punk Has 'Nothing To Do With Music At All'

(TeamRock) Tom DeLonge says that punk rock has "nothing to do with music at all." The former Blink-182 singer and guitarist recalls how his encounters with both the late Joe Strummer from The Clash and Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher inspired him to broaden his musical horizons - a move which earned him criticism from his bandmates later in his career.

In an interview for guitar string makers Ernie Ball, DeLonge says of meeting Strummer: "I asked him, 'What was it like being in The Clash?' He goes, 'You know, we used to go around saying: F*** you, we're The Clash, - but now that I think about it, the Talking Heads were pretty f***ing cool. Don't close your mind.' I was like, 'Wow, the King of Punk is telling me: Open your mind up.'"

Two days later DeLonge met Gallagher backstage at a radio show in Detroit - where the Oasis man told Blink-182 they were the "best" band he'd seen in America.

DeLonge adds: "I asked, 'You like us?' and Liam said, 'I didn't say that, I said, 'You're the best I've seen in America,' and he slammed the door. That was the most punk rock dude I've ever met in my life." Read more here.

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