The Flaming Lips’ drummer Matthew Duckworth Kirksey has addressed Steven Drozd’s departure, claiming the band’s show is “better than ever”.
Last week, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Drozd appeared to confirm that he had parted ways with the band in a since-deleted post on Threads. “They’re done with me – but we’re not talking about it,” he wrote. “So yes I’m moving on. Just keep it to yourself for now. OK?”
The band have not formally made an announcement, but Drozd had been absent from their shows in recent months, with AJ Slaughter stepping in. Drozd had been a fixture in the band since 1991.
Drummer Duckworth Kirksey, who has been with the band since 2014, has addressed the situation in a post on Instagram on Sunday (December 21). Under the caption, “Some thoughts about @flaminglips land”, he wrote: “Man…hard to read a lot of these comments. Being in a band, for a long time, that never really stops is hard.”
He said “a lot of great friends” have “come and gone” throughout his time with the band, adding: “I still love them, and miss them, and some of them are my family.”
He went on to talk up the current incarnation of The Flaming Lips. “If you haven’t heard this newest iteration of the band, give us a shot,” he said. “The music, and the show is better than ever.”
Appearing to address rumours that Drozd had been the dominant creative force in the band rather than frontman Wayne Coyne, he continued: “And remember…NONE of this ever happens without Wayne. This idea that Steven was THE musical genius, and Wayne is just some weirdo artist…It’s just not true. Wayne pushes the creativity, the sound, and the show forward, like no artist I’ve ever been around.”
He concluded his message with a tease at upcoming music from the band. “There is new music on the way and I think it’s the best thing we’ve done in ages,” he teased. “I can’t wait for you to hear it. Come see us this summer if you get a chance. Happy holidays!”
Among their upcoming dates are next year’s Latitude Festival, where they will be playing alongside the likes of Lewis Capaldi, Teddy Swims and David Byrne.
Elsewhere, The Flaming Lips and Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock also recently paid tribute to Ozzy Osbourne with a cover of Black Sabbath’s ‘War Pigs’ during their joint-headline tour at the Coca-Cola Roxy in Atlanta.