CHICAGO — Former Blink-182 guitarist Matt Skiba was seen staring out a window on a rainy day this past week while wondering if Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker think about him too, confirmed sources.
“Yeah, of course I’m happy for Tom and the guys, and I know there are no hard feelings,” said Skiba without breaking eye contact with a raindrop on a nearby window. “But sometimes I wonder if it’s something I did. Could I have played those three chords better? Did I not have the right nasally intonation on ‘All the Small Things’? Not enough dick jokes on stage? I just find myself wondering what they are doing right now and whether they think about me like I am of them right now.”
Current Alkaline Trio band members and road crew have noticed Skiba’s growing tendency to find the nearest window during rehearsals and shows.
“Matt’s been distant for a while, and as soon as he posts up by a window on a dreary day, I know what kind of night it’s going to be,” said bassist Dan Andriano. “You can’t help but feel inadequate and less than. It’s hard to compete with playing arenas with fully stocked and luxurious green rooms. We let him sit there and work things out on his own, but when he looks over and asks things like ‘Do you think they still play anything off ‘California’ or ‘Nine’?’ How do you answer that? Because we all know the truth.”
Therapist Dr. Ryan Coe, who specializes in band member relationships, notes this behavior is common among musicians who’ve gone from smaller bands to larger, more affluent ones.
“What Matt’s experiencing is a classic case of displaced loyalty,” Coe explained. “It’s not unusual for him to crave reciprocation, but in Matt’s case, he’s projecting feelings of closeness onto Mark and Travis, who—no offense to him—are probably debating which mom jokes to use on stage tonight or talking about the hundreds of thousands of dollars they made on one show of their tour. In all likelihood, they remember him as Mike Skiba by mistake.”
In a bittersweet twist, fans have reported that Alkaline Trio has added “I Miss You” to their set list, with Skiba singing both Hoppus’ and Tom DeLonge’s parts.