When you think about Blink 182 and extra-terrestrials, you may think the only connection between them is their now decades-old song “Aliens Exist.” Former guitarist Tom Delonge has made it abundantly clear that the title wasn’t a throwaway line, it’s his battle cry. Most recently, the first book in his “Sekret Machines” series reveals how deep he’s into this.
DeLonge left Blink 182 “officially” (more on that later) several years ago. His post-band project, To the Stars, is a multi-media monster which he hopes will help reveal the secrets (Sekrets?) of aliens on Earth once and for all. At the heart of the project is the “Sekret Machines” series. Here’s what you need to know about this crazy new career.
“To the Stars Inc.” is Sekret Machines Headquarters
There is one place online to catch all the DeLonge/space-related news, updates on what’s coming out, and even blog posts about NASA. To the Stars is that place. You can buy merchandise from books and music to tees and sunglasses, join the official fanclub, chat with others in forums, read press or news relating to the project… the list goes on (and on…reckless abandon…).
The Project DOES Blend Fact and Fiction
Book 1 of Sekret Machines is technically a novel, titled Chasing Shadows. However, almost everything in the novel is deeply researched, and references tons of very real people who have lived and worked in the world of U.F.Os. In almost every real-life interview with Delonge, he talks about how the early stages of the project are mostly laying groundwork for much more science-based writing in the future. More specifically according to an article in L.A. Weekly, “Two other novels, a documentary television series, nonfiction books and a new Angels & Airwaves album will follow [Chasing Shadows].” Delonge explains further in the same article: “‘We want to build on a very strong foundation of credibility by talking to very high-level people.'”
Music Has Taken a Back Seat
This particular fact is actually the hardest part of the project to determine fact from fiction so far. In official forums like interviews, articles, and even news on To the Stars, Delonge has claimed a voluntary hiatus from Blink 182, and a hold on his other musical pursuits. However, on his facebook and twitter accounts, he has been advertising personal music equipment for sale, claiming he won’t be needing any of it anymore. The equipment is also listed on To The Stars, without an explanation re: his motivation to sell. Further, when former bandmates Travis Barker and Mark Hoppus discuss DeLonge’s split, they don’t even inch towards the word “amicable.” In fact the words they chose when speaking with Rolling Stone Magazine were “ungrateful” and “disingenuous”. Oops.
So what’s really going on here? Is DeLonge going crazy? Is he secretly an alien himself? Or is he about to blow the lid on one of the government’s best-kept sekrets?
Let us know what you think in the comments below.
