5 days ago
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Foo Fighters drummer Ilan Rubin has shared an amusing anecdote about his Angels & Airwaves bandmate and alien enthusiast, Tom DeLonge, crossing paths with Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor at Rubin’s wedding.
During a recent episode of the podcast Go with Elmo Lovano, the former NIN stickman recalled DeLonge excitedly showing Reznor a purported photo of a “dead alien” during his wedding reception.
Setting the scene, Rubin explained that he was coming down to the reception after helping his wife out of her wedding dres at their hotel suite and drinking celebratory champagne.
“We finally get down to the reception, where the first two people I see are Tom and Trent,” Rubin said. “And Tom’s a really tall guy, and he’s kind of just hovering over Trent. His phone’s out, and I know how this goes: ‘Hey, check this out.’ And I’m thinking, ‘What is he possibly showing him right now?’ Then, I go straight up to them like, ‘Hey guys, how’s it going?’ Tom’s like, ‘Dude, congratulations. I’ll see you in a bit, I’m going to get a drink.'”
Rubin continued, “And then I was like, ‘Trent, what’s going on?’ He’s like, ‘That dude just showed me a dead alien.'” Rubin added, “Nobody else could conduct themselves in that way, and [have] it be normal, but [Tom’s] just so unapologetically him. It’s infectious.”
The story came after Rubin spoke fondly of his time in Angels & Airwaves, praising DeLonge as a “funny guy” who’s impossible not to get along with. “He also knows exactly what he wants and what he’s after,” stated Rubin. “Whether it’s within a song, whether it’s in a stage production, whether it’s an alien.”
“He knows what he wants, and I mean this in the best way, he has this juvenile excitement, and that’s part of his thing.”
Rubin also said they maintain a “solid friendship” despite Angels & Airwaves going on a hiatus and DeLonge being busy with the reunited blink-182.
Watch the full episode below. The story about DeLonge and Reznor begins around the one-hour and 50-minute mark.
For those who are unfamiliar, DeLonge’s fascination with aliens and UFOs led him to form a company called To The Stars Inc. In 2020, the Pentagon declassified three UFO videos released by the company several years earlier. Around that time, DeLonge produced a History Channel series titled Unidentified: Inside America’s UFO Investigation.
Elsewhere in the podcast episode, Rubin gave his first public thoughts on last year’s so-called “drummer swap,” which saw him join Foo Fighters and Josh Freese take his place in Nine Inch Nails. “I left my tenure with Nine Inch Nails to join Foo Fighters,” he said. “Nine Inch Nails needed a drummer, and the drummer they got was the guy who was no longer with Foo Fighters. And that’s literally what it was.”
Rubin will be drumming for Foo Fighters throughout 2026 during the band’s handful of spring US shows, UK/European tour in early June, and a late-summer stadium tour with support from Queens of the Stone Age. Get tickets here.
Foo Fighters 2026 Tour Dates:
04/29 – Bridgeport, CT @ Total Mortgage Arena [Buy Tickets]
05/08 – Daytona Beach, FL @ Welcome to Rockville
05/23 – Napa, CA @ Bottlerock Napa Valley
06/10 – Oslo, NO @ Unity Arena * [Buy Tickets]
06/12 – Stockholm, SE @ Strawberry Arena * [Buy Tickets]
06/15 – Warsaw, PL @ PGE Narodowy – National Stadium * [Buy Tickets]
06/17 – Munich, DE @ Allianz Arena ^ [Buy Tickets]
06/19 – Nanterre, FR @ Paris La Defense Arena ^ [Buy Tickets]
06/19-21 – Landgraaf, NL @ Pinkpop Festival
06/25 – Liverpool, GB @ Anfield Stadium ^ [Buy Tickets]
06/27 – Liverpool, GB @ Anfield Stadium # [Buy Tickets]
07/01 – Berlin, DE @ Olympiastadion Berlin % [Buy Tickets]
07/03 – Vienna, AT @ Ernst Happel Stadion % [Buy Tickets]
07/05 – Milan, IT @ I-Days Milano Coca-Cola 2026
07/08 – Madrid, ES @ Mad Cool
07/10 – Lisbon, PT @ NOS Alive
08/04 – Toronto, CA @ Rogers Stadium Toronto $ [Buy Tickets]
08/06 – Detroit, MI @ Ford Field $ [Buy Tickets]
08/08 – Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field $
08/10 – Cleveland, OH @ Huntington Bank Field $ [Buy Tickets]
08/13 – Philadelphia, PA @ Lincoln Financial Field $ [Buy Tickets]
08/15 – Nashville, TN @ Nissan Stadium $
08/17 – Washington, DC @ Nationals Park $ [Buy Tickets]
09/12 – Fargo, ND @ Fargodome ! [Buy Tickets]
09/15 – Regina, SK @ Mosaic Stadium $ [Buy Tickets]
09/17 – Edmonton, AB @ Commonwealth Stadium $ [Buy Tickets]
09/20 – Vancouver, BC @ BC Place Stadium & [Buy Tickets]
09/24 – Louiseville, KY @ Bourbon & Beyond
09/26 – Las Vegas, NV @ Allegiant Stadium & [Buy Tickets]
11/05 – Brisbane, AU @ Suncorp Stadium @ [Buy Tickets]
11/07 – Townsville, AU @ North Queensland Stadium ** [Buy Tickets]
11/10 – Sydney, AU @ Accor Stadium ^^ [Buy Tickets]
11/12 – Newcastle, AU @ Newcastle International Sports Centre ## [Buy Tickets]
11/14 – Docklands, AU @ Marvel Stadium %% [Buy Tickets]
11/17 – Adelaide, AU @ Coopers Stadium $$ [Buy Tickets]
01/19 – Christchurch, NZ @ One New Zealand Stadium !! [Buy Tickets]
01/22 – Auckland, NZ @ Western Springs Stadium && [Buy Tickets]
01/25 – Perth, AU @ HBF Park @@ [Buy Tickets]
* = w/ Otoboke Beaver and Royel Otis
^ = w/ Otoboke Beaver and Inhaler
# = w/ Royel Otis and Die Spitz
% = w/ Idles and Fat Dog
$ = w/ Queens of the Stone Age and Mannequin Pussy
! = w/ Mannequin Pussy
& = w/ Queens of the Stone Age and Gouge Away
@ = w/ Full Flower Moon Band and Mini Skirt
** = w/ Full Flower Moon Band and Downgirl
^^ = w/ The Belair Lip Bombs and TEENS
## = w/ The Buoys and C.O.F.F.I.N.
%% = w/ The Belair Lip Bombs and Frenzee
$$ = w/ Kurralta Park and Spooky Eyes
!! = w/ Dartz and Seek Help!
&& = w/ Dick Move and Ringlets
@@ = w/ Southern River Band and Las Quokka
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