There's a time in your life where you're not quite sure where you are. You think everything's perfect, but it's not perfect... Then one day you wake up and you can't quite picture yourself in the situation you're in. But the secret is, if you can picture yourself doing anything in life, you can do it.
Tom DeLonge
It's actually cool to be positive and optimistic and idealistic. It's cool to see yourself doing beautiful, great things.
Angels and Airwaves is a complete, pure reflection of who I am. The philosophy, the spiritualism, the esotericism, the idea of hope and space and the themes about life and grandeur... that's all me.
I always want to do different things. I'm always obsessed with trying to do different things.
When you see opportunities in your life, you've got to analyze, 'Why was that choice given to me?'
I'm interested in a lot of different things, but first and foremost I'm into the idea of human consciousness, and Angels & Airwaves is a byproduct of that.
Whether it's at their job, or their family, whatever - everyone feels that they're stuck in some kind of struggle. The idea is how to find your way out of it.
I've realized that I love all forms of music and get excited when any artist goes crazy and creates something that is an experience.
I'm a huge stadium rock fan, but I'm also a fan of everything from Massive Attack to Peter Gabriel, U2, the Police, Radiohead, and Coldplay.
I don't believe that I'm better than anybody, but I do believe that I'll try harder than most and I hope that people just join me for a little bit of a ride.
You don't even wish for the success that I had, because you don't think it's attainable.
I'm a little left of center, for sure, with Angels & Airwaves. But even when I get really weird, it's not that weird. It's not like some obscure Sonic Youth record or something. We don't take it quite that far. But what we do like are crescendos, and we do like when a song catches you off guard and it gives you the chills up and down your arms.
You know, if a band on a label sold a few hundred thousand copies of their record these days, they wouldn't make any money. But if a band can pump out 10 million copies of a record for free, and 50,000 of those fans come to the band's website to watch pay-per-view videos or buy a t-shirt, that's roughly $10 million in revenue per year.
I'm a huge stadium rock fan, but I'm also a fan of everything from Massive Attack to Peter Gabriel, U2, the Police, Radiohead, and Coldplay. I've realized that I love all forms of music and get excited when any artist goes crazy and creates something that is an experience.
Everyone I talk to says stuff like, 'Music sucks today,' and I'm going to try and change all that.
I grew up skateboarding, but I don't even do that anymore.
Like millions of others, I have been plagued by the devastating effects of cancer hitting not one, but multiple members of my family.
When I write in the studio, I tend to gravitate toward the ability to play really loud, aggressive, post-punk stuff, with big, heavy guitars and a big rock drum sound.
The Angels shows are really intense. We play for a couple hours at a time. They're very theatrical and full of audience interaction and emotion. I've seen a lot of people crying and stuff. It's a little bit like church, but it's very secular.
I don't listen to punk any more, unless it's right before I play. Not that I don't like it, it's nostalgic. But, it's for kids and it should be... it's not art, it's expression.
I will eat anything Mexican - a sombrero, hacienda... anything. They've perfected the combo of bread items and the grill.
Geometric shapes hold an energy pattern, and scientists did some experiments which say certain geometric shapes can affect matter around them. It's simply because when a human looks at a shape, they instantly receive energy from their brain.
I used to get so jealous if my wife liked another band more than my own. Come to think of it, I still do.
I think my records will always tend to be approachable.
'Love' has that Kubrick tonality to it, but this is not a Stanley Kubrick movie - there will never be another. At the same time, 'Love' has a modern feel. For example: In one scene, these astronauts go through a wormhole sequence, and you feel like you're being slapped around inside your head by a sonic boom.
Humor has become so cliche and boring that nothing's funny anymore unless it involves something totally disgusting that offends somebody or makes them feel really uncomfortable.
'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' is the best movie for a guy like me. A cerebral adventure. A moving story. A bunch of little green men.
In ten years I will become president of the United States Of America.
They say Einstein died while he was still trying to figure out gravity. I think I'm going to die still trying to figure out some of the things about Blink.
When we started Angels & Airwaves, we wanted to produce our art on different mediums, but the film was an ambitious one because we actually didn't go into it thinking we could make a big feature film.
Every day, I read books on philosophy and science fiction and human consciousness.
I write in a very melodic way, so that will never leave. I think my records will always tend to be approachable.
My company created a platform called Modlife, this prepackaged website that runs an artist's website.
People are different when they're 30 than they are when they're 16.
I've never been a jam-band sort of musician.
My dad has had a rare form of leukemia since I was in about 7th grade. But they've come up with some amazing drugs since then and he's doing really well today.
So many artists today will talk about green this or organic that, but you know what? What we are eating, I think, is really doing a lot of bad to us. I'm not sure if I'm the guy to do it right now, because I have to clean up my house too, so to speak, but we've got to start addressing this. Too many people are getting sick today.
Most bands, if something goes wrong, they cower and walk off stage and fire people.
I would lose straight away if I went on 'American Idol.'
Records aren't selling anymore; people are burning music.
