Foo Fighters drummer Ilan Rubin has recalled a bizarre encounter at his wedding, when Tom DeLonge showed Trent Reznor a photo of a “dead alien”.
During a recent episode of the Go With Elmo Lovano podcast, the ex-Nine Inch Nails sticksman (who swapped roles with Josh Freese to join the Foos) explained how the Blink-182 frontman approached Rubin’s former bandmate at the reception.
“We finally get down to the reception, where the first two people I see are Tom and Trent,” he began. “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.’” He added: “Nobody else could conduct themselves in that way, and [have] it be normal, but [Tom’s] just so unapologetically him. It’s infectious.”
DeLonge’s keen interest in UFOs and aliens is well documented. He said 10 years ago that he’d quit Blink-182 to focus on investigating the apparent threat of unidentified flying objects.
In 2017, he co-founded the company To The Stars Inc.. Then, in 2020, the Pentagon officially released three purported UFO videos that had been made public by the research organisation. DeLonge also served as an executive producer on a History Channel series, Unidentified: Inside America’s UFO Investigation, around the same time.
In 2023, he admitted that the US government may have been right to withhold information about UFOs, shortly after he celebrated being correct about aliens existing. DeLonge has previously suggested that aliens may have even been present at the birth of Jesus Christ.
The new story about the apparent alien photo came after Rubin looked back fondly on his time drumming for DeLonge’s other band, Angels & Airwaves. He praised DeLonge as being a “funny guy” who is easy to get along with. Rubin said the pair still maintain a “solid friendship” amid Angels & Airwaves hiatus.
“He also knows exactly what he wants and what he’s after,” he explained. “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.”
Foo Fighters, 2026. Credit: Elizabeth Miranda
Elsewhere in the podcast interview, Rubin addressed the ‘drummer swap’ between Foo Fighters and NIN, saying it was “an obvious great fit”. The Foos have also said the line-up change was a “decision that was best for all parties”.
Dave Grohl and co. released a new single today, ‘Of All People’, taken from their upcoming 12th album ‘Your Favorite Toy’.
They’ll embark on their European ‘Take Cover’ tour this summer, including two concerts at Anfield stadium in Liverpool (find any remaining tickets here). Their European festival dates feature stops at Mad Cool, Nos Alive, Pinkpop and more.
In other news, Nine Inch Nails have announced a new collaborative album with Boys Noize ahead of their joint slots at Coachella 2026.
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