Last week Steven Drozd unceremoniously announced that his 30-year-plus tenure with the Flaming Lips had ended, writing on Threads in a since-deleted post: “They’re done with me — but we’re not talking about it. So I’m moving on.” A couple of days later Drozd’s ex-bandmate Matthew Duckworth Kirksey seemingly confirmed the news, but the reason for the split is still unclear. Now, Wayne Coyne — who’s now the only founding member of the Flaming Lips still in the band — has chimed in.
Coyne wrote on Instagram today implying that Drozd’s departure from the Flaming Lips wasn’t because his bandmates were “done with” him as he’d said. Here’s the full statement:
For anybody who read Stevens post about the reason he is no longer in the Flaming Lips … I can say that is absolutely not true … the reason he left is sad , and infuriating…. it is HIS responsibility to tell everyone what happened… what he told everyone was a lie ….I was trying to give him ( Steven ) his own space and time to let everyone know what REALLY happened… I will post more in just a few days ❤️❤️❤️❤️so.. at the moment we hunting down elf on a shelf and busy doing last minute Christmas things!!! We are ( as always ) grateful to the ever-amazing flaming lips fans for giving us the greatest life anyone could ever live ?????PEACE ON EARTH!! GOODWILL TOWARD MEN??????Joy to the world ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️???
Coyne’s statement sure makes it sound like Drozd went around spewing a ton of false information, but that doesn’t necessarily appear to be the case. Kirksey’s statement from last week emphasized how difficult it is to be in an actively-touring band for a long time, particularly with a show as demanding as the Lips’ tend to be. Until we get the full gossip, see Coyne’s festive Instagram post below.
