10 Musicians That Were Kicked Out Of Their Own Band

Drugs, Bad Blood, and a Whole Lot of Ego.

Joey Jordison Slipknot
Wikimedia Commons

Bands can often be a bit of a fragile beast in the rock world. Compared to the solo stars that pop up in the world of pop and hip hop, the idea of a collective in the rock industry feels much more like a marriage, trying to satisfy everyone for the greater good of the project. If you're looking for the best scenario though, it might help you to lose some dead weight.

In lieu of just sorting out their problems, these bands decided to move forward with their creative pursuits by dropping some of the most foundational members. Instead of the usual hangers on from the old days of jamming, these were often key contributors in their respective projects, either a major part of the group aesthetic and even being involved in the songwriting of the group. These weren't just casual fixes, this was restarting from the ground up.

For better or for worse, these bands were able to continue on though, as the ousted found success with either their own solo outfits or another band entirely. While some of these absences feel like more of a hiatus, there's still bound to be a bit of bad blood lingering after all these years.

10. Tom Delonge - Blink 182

Creative differences are pretty much the nature of the beast when it comes to rock bands. Unless you're a band like AC/DC where you've got your sound down to a science, you can't really expect every person in the group to be on the same creative wavelength at all times. There is a difference between compromise and forcing your vision, and Tom Delonge ended up crossing it more than a few times.

While there were a lot of space themes laced throughout Blink 182's music as far back as Aliens Exist off of Enema of the State, the more ethereal soundscapes coming through on their untitled album proved to be the final straw, with the band going on hiatus while Tom made his space rock project Angels and Airwaves. After letting old grudges fall by the wayside, fans were ecstatic when Blink finally reunited, only to be disappointed once Neighborhoods rolled around.

Recorded in separate studios at the same time, the album sounded a lot closer to an Angels and Airwaves side project, with Tom's love of pop punk taking a back seat to the more synth-heavy direction. Even though everything seemed to be turning a corner, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker reached a breaking point shortly after Dogs Eating Dogs, forcing them to kick Tom out in favor of Alkaline Trio songwriter Matt Skiba. Although Tom has made plans to rejoin Blink time and again, he'll probably have to stop camping out at Area 51 before they even entertain the idea.

 
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